The Foundational Economy and strategic planning in Barcelona: reshaping the urban economy from the bottom up.

AuthorEstela, Oriol

The new Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan applies the concepts of the Foundational Economy, to use strategic planning to build a more resilient and prosperous local economy for all, regaining local sovereignty over foundational services.

The outbreak of the financial crisis posed a powerful threat to local authorities' ability to intervene in economic development and promote employment in Spain. First, the framework of austerity led to state legislation that considerably restricted local authorities' ability to act, and local authorities found themselves heavily dependent on the resources of other levels of government, as in the case of local development and employment policies. Second, local policy-makers were uncertain about what strategy to follow to improve the situation, since the main instrument for promoting the development of cities and city areas had thus far been real estate activity.

This was the context for discussions in Barcelona about whether to accept or reject a project such as Eurovegas, for example, which would have built a large complex dedicated to gambling and leisure near the airport, one of the few agriculturally productive areas of high natural value that remain in the metropolitan area. This proposal was diametrically opposed to our principles for local economic development, and it highlights the lack of ideas and instruments available to local authorities.

However, new visions and new approaches to developing local economies did develop in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Those located closer to the economic mainstream were more committed to knowledge, talent, 'soft' infrastructure and technological intensity. On the radical end of the spectrum, others proposed disconnecting from the prevailing capitalist system and embracing alternative concepts such as degrowth, community development and the social and solidarity-based economy - a logical reaction to the disasters of the economic crisis. These two approaches sit at two extremes, but they are not the only way forward.

The twenty-first century economy must combine both global and local dimensions, and the most important thing is to grasp how each of these forces acts in the functioning of the local economy today. This means going back to basics, to an analysis of the assets and flows that support the whole economy of a given place. Approaches like the Foundational Economy model are, therefore, vital in local economic development, and particularly in developing a strategic vision, since-as the name indicates - the Foundational Economy is focused on the most quotidian aspects of the local economy. Focusing on these parts of the economy might seem anachronistic in the era of technology, digital and quantum, and yet it continues to be fundamental.

In this article, I will outline how the approach of the new Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan - of which I am General Co-ordinator - is informed by the concepts of the Foundational Economy, in order that strategic planning is used to build a more resilient and more prosperous local economy for all.

Barcelona: a double-edged success

The awarding of the 1992 Olympic Games to Barcelona in October 1986 inspired the city's residents with enthusiasm and pride, but it also posed an extraordinary challenge to local government and to society as a whole: that of undertaking immense urban transformation in less than five years.

One of the tools used to achieve this was strategic planning, adopted in 1988, following a model developed by San Francisco (USA) in 1982, which gradually spread to other American and European cities. The key element in this kind of planning was the creation of an...

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