The factors of hotel location in Barcelona, 1849-1989

Abstract

The objectives of the following study are to reveal the main factors which have influenced the location of hotel accomodation in the city of Barcelona and to trace the development of such accomodation since 1849. In order to discover those factors from a diachronic point of view, the study has the additional support of maps of hotel location for several dates: 1849, 1888, 1929, 1965 and 1989. Three main factors recur throughout the evolution of the location of accomodation in Barcelona: the attraction of the CBD, of transport modes, and of areas of specific interest. (the principal exceptions are the deficient supply in the Plaça d'Espanya area, and the new projects outlined in the City Council Plan). As the CBD has shifted due to the growth of the city and the transport network has extended, the area of hotel accomodation has experienced a parallel movement: initiated in Placa Palau-Rambles and successively being displaced towards Placa Catalunya-Eixample-the Central section of Diagonal-Diagonal/Pius XII, thus demonstrating the superposition of functions which is characteristic of the centre of Barcelona.