Some time ago, a law was passed. It stated that “old rents” on flats and
establishments could no longer keep their low payment, guaranteed-rents.
According to the law, owners of rented houses and
establishments could increase
the rent on their property to market prices.
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| Last days of Llobet in Rambles |
What has
this to do with your visit to Barcelona? Quite a lot. Old establishments of the
town, those which are the spirit of the city and make it different from any
other city in the world are quickly disappearing to be replaced with franchise
stores “vista una, vistas todas” (meaning, “when you have seen one of those
stores, you have already seen all”).
After killing Rambles, the “forces of the
market” are now killing traditional stores. Would Barcelonans themselves be
their next goal?
Is this the end of Barcelona as we know it? Is this the birth of a new
Barcelona made of franchises and cheap supermarkets?
We have
already seen many traditional stores being replaced by horrible franchise
stores but an important deadline is Dec. 31st this year. This is the
day established to end the rent over an important number of significant
stores.
Among them
the music stores Llobet or Beethoven in Rambles, el Indio in carrer del Carme or Quilez in
Rambla Catalunya. Hurry to visit them if you come to Barcelona before Dec. 31st.
Highly
recommended article on the subject in The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/world/europe/historic-loss-may-follow-rise-of-rents-in-barcelona.html?_r=0
