Metropolitics

Liberty, Community and Religion: A Hispano-Moroccan Family in Andalusia

Alain Cottereau & translated by Oliver Waine — 2016-10-11T05:00:00Z

In Europe, the relationship that migrants originating from the Arab Muslim world – whether first- or second-generation – maintain with Islam is both a little-explored subject and a source of confused concern. An ethnographic study of an Andalusian family conducted by Alain Cottereau and Mokhtar Marzok sheds light on the different ways in which people relate to religion, and calls into question what is often presumed to be a binary opposition between religiousness and a return to tradition on the

- From the Field / gender, Spain, ethnography, religion, migration, citizenship, community, Islam, Muslim, Andalusia, family, identity, belonging, male–female relations, domestic life

The participatory production of temporary public spaces in times of crisis

2015-05-08T04:54:00Z

Are participatory measures a viable solution when it comes to developing urban spaces in times of crisis? According to the right-of-centre city council that came to power in Barcelona in 2011, the answer is “yes”, as reflected in the roll-out of its “empty spaces plan”, or “Pla Buits”, whereby the city subsidises associations and other groups in exchange for developing municipally approved activities on vacant urban lots, until such time as the coffers are replenished – and better uses found for

- From the Field / participation, public space, Spain, green spaces, Barcelona, urban agriculture, crisis, vacant lots, wasteland

Barcelona: local mobilisation or global desperation?

Charlotte Vorms & translated by Oliver Waine — 2012-02-08T06:00:00Z

What is the history behind today's protest movements involving the occupation of urban public spaces? In the film Squat. La ville est à nous, Charlotte Vorms finds a secular anarchist heritage combined with a tradition of Spanish urban struggles of the type that have fuelled the 15-M Movement in Barcelona.
Close-up on the young people, harnessed, scaling the facade of a building and entering by a window: this is the opening sequence to Squat. La ville est à nous. (“Squat. The City is Ours.”).

- Reviews / democracy, urban renewal, squat, social movement, Spain, Barcelona

Integrating the train into the city: some thoughts from Spain

Luis Santos y Ganges & translated by Eric Rosencrantz — 2011-09-21T05:00:00Z

Are inner-city railways condemned to form boundaries or barriers within the city? Based on a critique of the situation in Spain, the author suggests a few ways of integrating the railway into the city. His proposals shed some revealing light on the rationale behind efforts to redevelop derelict railway land in France, too, such as the Jardins d'Éole rehabilitation project in Paris.
The railway system is a fully-fledged urban element unto itself, a vast, complex space that forms an integral

- Debates / public transportation, urban planning, Spain, local finance, mass transit

Drug-consumption rooms in the city?

Laurent El Ghozi & Nadine Roudil & translated by Oliver Waine — 2011-05-04T05:20:00Z

Following a number of experiments in Geneva and Bilbao, the question of whether supervised injection centres should be opened in France recently shook the nation's political scene, giving rise to lively discussions on the subject. In April 2010, the association Élus, Santé Publique et Territoires (literally "Elected Representatives, Public Health and Territories") initiated a public symposium with the aim of encouraging debate on this issue.
Could you give us a brief outline of the history

- Interviews / public space, health, drugs, safety, Spain, Genève, Bilbao, Switzerland