Spain: Gentrification creeps up on Barcelona

Originally Barcelona's El Poble-Sec area was a poor neighborhood where factory-workers from the power plant used to live. It is an eclectic working-class district, home to many Dominicans.

Due to the exorbitant rises in rent, local residents are being driven from their neighborhoods. As a result, community networks are disrupted, leaving locals with little sense of cohesion.

Blai Street, the main street of El Poble-Sec, has been transformed into a hotspot for bars and cafes selling pinchos, a typical snack much like Tapas, to visitors and tourists.

Rising rents are often directly linked to the presence of Airbnbs in the neighborhood. Barcelona's city council has stopped issuing new short-term rental licences, making Airbnb illegal for most of the landlords in the city.

Gentrification leads to speculation and as a result prices and rents for housing have increased exorbitantly. Nowadays the average rent of an apartment is €950 euro ($1,056). The minimum wage is around €1,050.

When local residents move out of the city, their places are taken over by more affluent residents, expats and businesses. Originally from Brazil, Catarina Jakovac has been living with her boyfriend in a El Poble-Sec apartment for six months. Both work as researchers at European universities.

During the summer season especially, Barcelona is a mass-tourism destination. It's in the top 10 most visited destinations worldwide, accounting for 30 million tourists annually.

Last year, neighbors joined forces and protested against the eviction of a man living here in the El Poble Sec neighborhood. An investor bought the property to convert it into upmarket designer apartments.

Mohamed became homeless a few weeks ago. After separating from his wife he rented a room in El Poble Sec. However, with his €600 allowance, he can't afford rents over €220 However, lodgings in that neighborhood (and Barcelona in general) start at €300.

Barcelona has suffered the consequences of mass tourism. As a result more and more initiatives are popping up to confront gentrification. Under Mayor Ada Colau, an initiative called "Barcelona Manifesto: Cities against Gentrification" has been developed to highlight the housing problems here and elsewhere in cities where gentrification is becoming a serious problem.