The construction of parks and green areas in cities tend to attract the higher social classes and excludes the most vulnerable groups. This was revealed by a project of the Autonomous University of Barcelona funded by the European Union which analyzes the process of “green gentrification”. And foreign citizens with high income rich countries have settled in recent decades around several parks in Sant Marti, in Barcelona, according to a pilot study.
This project already has a pilot study conducted in the city of Barcelona which shows the “Green gentrification”. The study Assessing the impacts of environmental gentrification in the historically vulnerable neighborhoods of Barcelona analyzed how it has changed the socioeconomic profile of residents with 18 parks and gardens created in Barcelona between 1992 and the early 2000s, in Sant Andreu, Sant Martí, Nou Barris, Ciutat Vella and Horta-Guinardó.
The results show that in some neighborhoods, the environmental improvements have led to a revaluation of homes that have finally expel the most vulnerable classes to make a way for citizens with higher incomes.
The study uses six indicators: college degree tenants; non-EU immigrants, immigrants from Northern countries; residents over 65 years alone; increase in income of residents and the value of the home. Researchers believe that “green gentrification” occurs when three of these parameters are detected simultaneously. This happens in Poble Nou parks and Nova Icària, both in Sant Martí, and the Prince of Girona, in Horta gardens.
This phenomenon is noted in an extraordinary way in the area near the park Poble Nou, where neighbors with a minimum of a bachelor living less than 100 meters from the green zone have increased by 689% compared to 139% of the average Sant Martí citizens. The increase was also significant in the parks of the Cascades, Port Olimpic, Nova Icària and Carles I.
The income of families living in areas near parks grew significantly (20.5% in Poble Nou) and the presence of foreigners from northern countries soared in some cases up to 3,791% around the park Poble Nou, front to 228% of the whole of Sant Martí, while the number of foreigners from southern countries declined.
