- Barcelona mayor, Ada Colau has promised to crackdown on cruise ships allowed to dock in the city and also on the opposition of an additional terminal to the city’s airport.
- The city’s air quality regularly exceeds World Health Organization limits for nitrogen oxide and PM10 particulates.
- Based on a report, tourism was cited as one of the city’s biggest problems, second only to the lack of affordable housing exacerbated by the rapid spread of tourist apartments.
- Last year more than 2.5 million people disembarked from cruises in the city, now Europe’s busiest cruise destination.
- The airports’ authority has already approved an €18m terminal extension to cope with growing numbers of passengers which she plans to oppose.
According to an article published in The Guardian, Barcelona’s mayor, Ada Colau, has pledged to restrict the number of cruise ships allowed to dock in the city and to oppose the expansion of the city’s airport.
Restriction to reduce pollution
Colau said, “We don’t have infinite capacity.” She also said the limits would reduce pollution in the city, where air quality regularly exceeds World Health Organization limits for nitrogen oxide and PM10 particulates.
Restrictions would also help reduce the number of visitors to the city. Dealing with what most of its citizens see as an excess of tourists is high on the Barcelona city council’s agenda.
Tourism exploitation – a source of headache for residents
In a survey, last year tourism was cited as one of the city’s biggest problems, second only to the lack of affordable housing, which is itself exacerbated by the rapid spread of tourist apartments.
The city will declare a climate emergency in the city and will roll out plans to extend low emission zones – similar to the one that has just been lifted in Madrid – and a ban on the most polluting vehicles entering the city except the ring roads.
“In Barcelona, we want to act on all fronts,” Colau said, speaking after a visit to the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, which docked in the city. This would include reducing plastic use, better recycling, reducing speed limits and increasing car-free zones, in particular, near schools.
Crackdown on cruise ships
Neighborhood associations and environmental groups have campaigned for years to curb the number of cruise ships that visit the city. Last year more than 2.5 million people disembarked from cruises in the city, now Europe’s busiest cruise destination. Opponents argue that they contribute little, spending on average only €57 each during their brief visit while significantly adding to the problem of overcrowding.
Gala Pin, a councilor in Colau’s last administration, raised eyebrows when she compared cruise passengers to “a plague of locusts” who devour the public space and then leave.
Last month, in a report published by a Brussels-based NGO, Barcelona topped the list of 50 European ports for the amount of pollution produced by cruise ships.
Approval of an airport terminal
The problem Colau faces is that she doesn’t have authority over either the port or the airport, which last year handled more than 50 million passengers, a 6% increase in 2017. The airports’ authority has already approved an €18m terminal extension to cope with growing numbers of passengers.
The ports are run by the central government while Spanish airports are managed by a public-private company in which the government has a 51% stake.
Number of tourists to increase
However, as Colau is governing Barcelona in coalition with the socialists, who are expected to form the new national government, she may feel she has some leverage in Madrid.
Authorities predict an increase in the number of tourists visiting Spain this year. The country received 82 million visitors in 2018, almost twice the population, with Catalonia – of which Barcelona is the capital – receiving the biggest share.
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Source: TheGuardian
