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“sustainable” city. Its hosting of the 2004
Universal Forum of Cultures
expo might have been politically controversial, but at its heart was a vision of
sustainable development
that the city authorities embraced with vigour.
Subsequent urban-renewal projects have all incorporated innovative “green”
methodology, while the city has pioneered several successful green schemes,
from neighbourhood recycling of rubbish and rain-water to the Bicing
bike-
sharing
project and charge-points for electric vehicles. However, in 2008,
the worst
drought
in Spain since the 1940s brought Barcelona’s green image
into sharp relief.With Catalan reservoirs at only a fifth of capacity, drinking
and ornamental fountains were closed (including the famous tourist ones at
Montjuïc and outside the Sagrada Família), beach showers turned off and
severe water restrictions put in place. In the end, water had to be imported to
Barcelona by ship (the first time a major European city had had to be relieved
in this way), and it’s a solution that will be probably be repeated in future years
until new desalination plants come on stream.
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Barcelona snapshot