Gentrificación y segregación residencial en ciudades españolas en globalizaciónUn estudio sociohistórico y comparado de los centros de Madrid, Barcelona y Valencia

Abstract

Abstract Over the last three decades, Spain's largest cities have undergone profound spatial, social, and economic transformations. The emergence of new urban economies has played a crucial role in accelerating these changes, resulting in a wide range of both positive and negative impacts on the spatial, social, economic, and environmental aspects of urban life. In this context, the current dynamics of large Spanish cities are characterised by the advance of three interrelated processes which, together, tend to structure polarised urban models: the gentrification and touristification of historic centres and the vulnerability of deprived urban areas. This research analyses the relationship between the gentrification of urban centres and the difficulties in access to housing for the middle and lower classes in large Spanish urban areas, which leads to the disappearance of the community networks that make up neighbourhoods and of "neighbourhood" life in city centres. The current situation and the trends observed in this respect force the social sciences to ask themselves about the relationship between the transformations of the economic and urban model occurring in globalising cities and this situation of housing crisis experienced by large sectors of the population in urban societies. To address this issue, a mixed methodology was employed, which combined quantitative data analysis, the use of semi-structured interviews as the main qualitative research technique, and a rigorous historiographical review of the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia. Firstly, relevant quantitative data were collected and analysed to comprehend the magnitude and characteristics of the problem at hand. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders involved in the topic of gentrification, including residents, activists, experts, officials, and individuals affiliated with the private sector. At the same time, an exhaustive historiographical review was carried out on the three cities. Official documents, previous studies, and pertinent historical sources were investigated to obtain a deeper understanding of urban evolution, social changes, and historical factors that have contributed to the issue studied. The research findings highlight that gentrification has become a phenomenon inherent to the dynamics of globalising urban areas.. It is noted that the study of the process is essential to understand the changes in contemporary metropolises, as it clearly reflects the impacts of structural phenomena such as globalization, outsourcing, the technological revolution and / or neoliberalism on local urban communities. In this respect, this research demonstrates that the gentrification of historic centres has prompted the emergence of three fundamental trends: an increase in social inequality, greater residential segregation based on socio-economic factors and a generalised expansion of urban vulnerability. The intrenchment of this dynamic ¿gentrification of centres and suburbanisation of poverty and popular groups¿ points to the formation of polarised urban spaces, which tend to reproduce in the territory the differences observed in the social structure. In this framework, the growing contrasts between the winning and losing areas and groups of globalisation emphasise the need to reformulate a new social pact that, framed within the conditions of the new global context, is capable of harmonising the economic interests of the territories with the social well-being of their residents. Keywords: gentrification, residential segregation, city in globalization, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia.