Tourism, gentrification and displacement By Agustin Cocola-Gant Thesis submitted for the degr

256 Pages·2017·5.06 MB·English

by  Agustin Cocola Gant

Struggling with the leisure class:
Tourism, gentrification and displacement

By Agustin Cocola-Gant

Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

School of Geography and Planning
Cardiff University

February 2018

Declaration

This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any
other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any
degree or other award.

Signed ……………………………………………………… (candidate) Date …………

STATEMENT 1
This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD.

Signed ………………………………………….…………… (candidate) Date ………

STATEMENT 2
This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise
stated, and the thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff
University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students. Other
sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own.

Signed ……………………………………….……….…… (candidate) Date …………

STATEMENT 3
I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open
Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available
to outside organisations.

Signed ……………………………………………..…..….. (candidate) Date …………

STATEMENT 4: PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BAR ON ACCESS

I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open
Access repository and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously
approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee.

Signed ……………………………………………..……… (candidate) Date ………
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Abstract
This research explores the socio-spatial impact of tourism in a central neighbourhood
of Barcelona. Tourism is a significant cause of neighbourhood change in several
places but research on the impact of urban tourism remains scarce. The research
argues that a process of tourism gentrification is taking place. From a political
economy perspective, the dissertation combines demographic analyses with
ethnographic fieldwork and reveals that tourism leads to different forms of
displacement. In addition, the research relates neighbourhood change driven by
tourism with leisure migration. By doing so, it sheds light on understanding a growing
process of transnational gentrification. By putting into conversation gentrification and
tourism, the dissertation contributes to both strands of research. Firstly, it points to a
geography of tourism gentrification that has been overlooked by research. This
provides an alternative understanding of gentrification that differs from
conceptualisations originating from the Anglo-Saxon world. Secondly, it shows why
the leisure industry in cities should be understood as an example of accumulation by
dispossession. In this regard, the research suggests the need to place tourism at the
centre of critical urban theory.

The demographic findings show (i) that lifestyle migrants represent the main group of
gentrifiers in the area of the case study; and (ii) that the neighbourhood experiences
a process of population flight led by the out-migration of Catalan-Spanish residents.
The ethnographic fieldwork reveals that population flight results from a process of
tourism-driven displacement and an unmistakable change in land use involving the
conversion of residential space into a tourist district. Displacement is linked to the
growth of holiday rentals and hotels as well as to daily disruptions caused by tourism.
Tourism makes residential life increasingly unpleasant. The research identifies a
process of place-based displacement in which the impact of tourism is experienced
as a sense of expulsion from the place rather than as a process of spatial dislocation.

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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the School of Geography and Planning, University of
Cardiff. I am thankful for their financial assistance which enabled me to complete my
research. I would like to thank Mara Miele and Gillian Bristow. They gave me the
opportunity to join the school. I am grateful to my supervisors, Geoffrey DeVerteuil and
Peter Mackie, for the support that they have given. Their guidance and knowledge had
a significant impact on my work. I will be eternally grateful for their suggestions, advice,
encouragement and the time they have spent on guiding my research. I have to thank
Bob Smith for reviewing the dissertation. I found the school to be an amazing place to
work and my colleagues were exceptional. Particularly important to me was the time I
spent with and the love I received from Diana Beljaars, Tara Hipwood, Claire
Vanstaveren, Jen Owen and Federico Bellentani.

I spent eight months doing fieldwork in Barcelona. I received the support from several
friends and colleagues. I must thank Antonio López-Gay from the Centre d'Estudis
Demogràfics for the enthusiasm and help that he provided. Silvio García Aguirre
developed a website which provided both information about the research and was the
platform that delivered the online survey. He also gave me a place to stay. I could not ask
for more. I must thank Francesca Cantarini, Gabriele Storai and Ivan Bordetas for their
help during the fieldwork. Discussions with colleagues provided useful insights into
understanding my findings. I would like to thank Antonio Paolo Russo, Saida Palou,
Alessandro Scarnato, Mercè Tatjer, Albert Arias, Alan Quaglieri and Ernest Cañada.

Prior to completing this dissertation, I received a Research Fellowship at the Centre of
Geographical Studies (CEG), University of Lisbon. In Lisbon, tourism-driven
gentrification is a major topic of academic and political debate. I found the CEG to be a
perfect environment to discuss my ideas. I am thankful to Isabel André, Ana Estevens,
Eduardo Ascensão, Leandro Gabriel, Luís Mendes, Jorge Malheiros, Teresa Barata-
Salgueiro, Herculano Cachinho, Jennifer McGarrigle, Nuno Rodrigues, Filipe Matos,
Marina Carreiras, Katielle Silva, Luciano Diniz, Pedro Guimarães and Ana Gago.

This research would not have been possible without the love of my family. I must thank
Jack Adamson for his patience and proofreading. He has provided more
encouragement and support than I can articulate.

I dedicate this work to all of the participants that shared their experiences with me and,
by extension, to all those who suffer the violence of tourism on a daily basis.
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Contents

Declaration i
Abstract iii
Acknowledgments v
Contents vii
List of Figures x
List of Tables xi
Chapter 1. Introduction 1
1.1. Research aim and objectives 6
1.2. Structure of the thesis 8
Chapter 2. Gentrification, tourism and displacement 11
2.1. Gentrification 11
2.1.1. Explanations 13
2.1.2. Urbanisation, neoliberalism and state-led gentrification 15
2.1.3. Expansion and forms of gentrification 18
2.1.4. Conclusion: a definition of gentrification 20
2.2. Tourism and gentrification 22
2.2.1. Tourism and gentrification in advanced economies 23
2.2.2. Tourism and gentrification in peripheral economies 27
2.2.3. Transnational gentrification 30
2.2.4. Tourism gentrification and displacement 32
2.2.5. Conclusion 35
2.3. Displacement 36
2.3.1. Marcuse’s conceptualisation 38
2.3.2. Survival practices 39
2.3.3. Indirect displacement 42
2.3.4. The importance of place 46
2.3.5. Conclusion: identifying displacement pressures 49
Chapter 3. An introduction to Barcelona’s historic centre 53
3.1. The Gòtic neighbourhood 53
3.2. Ciutat Vella and the Barcelona model of urban regeneration 56
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3.3. A tourist city 58
3.4. Literature on gentrification 61
3.5. Conclusion 63
Chapter 4. Methodology 65
4.1. Positionality 65
4.2. Methodology in gentrification research 68
4.3. Conceptual framework 71
4.4. Research design and methods 74
4.4.1. Census and Population Register 74
4.4.2. Survey 75
4.4.3. Observation and informal interviews 81
4.4.4. In-depth Interviews 82
4.4.5. Data about tourist accommodation 88
4.4.6. Other secondary sources 89
4.5. Conclusion 89
Chapter 5. Demographic analysis 91
5.1. Population and household change 92
5.2. Census analysis 98
5.3. Population Register analysis 102
5.4. Gentrification in Barcelona: contrasting socio-demographic changes 107
5.5. Conclusion 110
Chapter 6. Tourism, housing and displacement 113
6.1. Case Study 1: Duc de Medinaceli Square and Passeig de Colom Street 114
6.2. Transnational gentrifiers and housing rehabilitation 117
6.2.1. Three waves of gentrification, 1986-2016 117
6.2.2. Experiencing gentrification: the perspective of long-term residents 120
6.3. Holiday rentals and hotels: from housing to tourist accommodation 123
6.3.1. Holiday rentals 123
6.3.2. Hotels 127
6.4. Tourist accommodation and displacement 134
6.4.1. Direct displacement 135
6.4.2. Exclusionary displacement 138
6.4.3. Displacement pressures: cohabitation and noise 140
6.4.4. Collective displacement 142
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