Fent barri : Heritage tourism policy and neighbourhood scaling in ciutat de Mallorca

Abstract

This paper explores the meanings of the local expression fer barri (neighbourhood making) in a gentrifying area located in the Historic Centre of Ciutat de Mallorca (Spain). After closely examining the relation of fer barri with tourism in Mallorca, I analyse the tensions between the urban planning schemes unleashed by the public authorities upon this heritage-loaded territory and the practices of its inhabitants. I argue that the concept of neighbourhood scaling best accounts for the social relations that this suburban context embodies, given the hierarchy of forces impinging on it (urban, regional, national, global). Urban policy plans and organised residents scale the neighbourhood in conflictual terms. Some follow a tourism-dependent logic and try to promote the neighbourhood along the lines of heritage, its centrality or by setting up large events. In addition to State-led policies, tourism businesses and real estate enterprises, urban movements often depicted as oppositional groups have their own understanding of fer barri. This is an understanding of contradictory kind since in their attempts to contest capital accumulation by placing a value on the neighbourhood, urban movements can also unintentionally pave the way for both renewal and gentrification. A thorough analysis of the local term fer barri therefore reveals contrasting projects of neighbourhood scaling.