Spanish Essays Barcelona and London

Spanish Essays Barcelona and LondonBarcelona and London deuce appeal a lot of immigrants from polar push throughs around the world.Barcelona and London both(prenominal) perpetrate a lot of immigrants from assorted fundaments around the world. This foreign population is distri excepted in distinguishable boroughs of the cities, but there ar boroughs where the immigrant population is more than beta and visible than in early(a)s. This is the crusade in El Raval, in Barcelona, and Camden, in London.However, it seems that the consolidation of this immigrant population as dealed turn up to be more difficult in El Raval than in Camden, with its population world ghettoised.Although the report of both boroughs has a lot of confusableities and both were marked by modern mass immigration, it seems that assorted elements, much(prenominal) as history and culture and alike the differences among the origins and types of immigrants, as substanti wholly in ally as their urban developments, led to different types of models in El Raval and in Camden.The two boroughs of Camden and El Raval, could at prototypical glance be thought as similar places. Indeed they electric arc through a number of similarities. Both can be described as multicultural, and popular places, where one can hear all sorts of languages from all over the world, and see faces and clothes representing all kinds of heathenish backgrounds and cultures.The immigration has been in both boroughs a unfit part of the local history, reflected in the current residual of immigrants. According to El Pas of 13th June 2003, the percentage of immigrants in El Raval, in 2003, was 47%, which makes El Raval the borough with the highest proportion of immigrants in Barcelona. In Camden, according to a census carried out in 2001(ONS, 2001 census), the proportion of immigrants is rattling similar, reaching approximately 47,8 % of the population of the borough. In both boroughs these immigrants clear brought with them their cultures and traditions, and they energise opened stags and restaurants selling products culmination from their country of origin, and other businesses in apprisal to their status of immigrants as shops fling Internet access as easy up as cheap international calls. All these elements make them really gaudy places, and a curiosity to the eye of the passer-by.But the similarity between the two boroughs does not only lie in their current appearance, but besides in their history. Indeed both were at the beginning at the outer boundary of the city. El Raval was, until the 14th century, outside of the walls that were surrounding the city of Barcelona. It was an open field, with a few isolated houses and there was only a very weeny town gathered around a monastery. The main activity was agriculture. It was then(prenominal) integrated inside the walls of the city but remained a marginalized part of the city where structures that were not wanted in the centre of the city were built, such as hospitals or charities. It then changed with the industrialisation, which brought the root wave of immigrants from the rest of Catalonia. The main activity in the argona was the textile industry. New waves of immigration arrived at the leftover of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, bringing immigrants from outside Spain.The neighboring transformation of the surface theatre arrived when afterwards the civil war and the beginning of the dictatorship, untried trapping plans led to more accommodation being built in the periphery of the now ext end uped city, with cheaper rents, leading to a lot of mint to leave El Raval and moving to the outskirts of the city. The industries also moved to the periphery of the city. The borough emptied and started its humiliation subprogram (Sargatal 2001).Camden enjoyed a similar history, going from open fields out of the city to a highly industrialised place, with the flourish ing of the transport industry and the construction of the canal and of train stations (Withebead 1999 37). The building of railways and the canal brought the first grown wave of immigrants, at the beginning of the 19th century the Irish. otherwise waves followed including the Greek Cypriots in the 1930s (Denford and Woodford 2003 14). Another sizeable industry was the Gilbeys company, first selling wine from South Africa and then expanding to sell all sorts of wine and spirits (Withebead 1999 60). But this industrial era was ended after the 1st World War. One of the main reasons for that was that the roads and lorries provided cheaper and faster transportation, than the canals and rails. The industries petty by little deserted Camden and the wad started to leave the borough, as happened in El Raval, to follow the companies and find work (Withebead 1999 130).Both boroughs therefore went from being very popular and labour oriented to being emptied and left to degradation. They b oth were revived afterwards, although through different way. They both had more immigrants coming to turn up there, from all over the world. In the case of El Raval, the improvements started after the end of the dictatorship, whereas in Camden the improvements started back in the 70s with the opening of the Camden put behind bars market which really kick started the revival of the area.But as we are going to see in the following sections, although both areas have been the place of important migration, they did not evolve in the same way, and while Camden township look like a mosaic of race with different styles, religions, backgrounds and colours, the integration of the different ethnic mathematical collections seems more difficult in El Raval. for the first time of all, we saw above that the proportion of immigrants in both boroughs was almost identical, but there is a difference in the way the various ethnic groups are represented and the proportion of each of these groups. Indeed in El Raval, there seems to be big predominant groups of immigrants such as the Maroc (25,39%), the Filipinos (25,06%), or the Indians, Pakistani and Bangladeshi (17,10%) (Sargatal 2001). Then in smaller proportions sticks the friar preacher population, and finally people from different countries of the European Union. The concomitant that they are big groups of immigrants essence that there are more chances that they form communities, stay together, and do not mix with other present populations. Especially so, as the biggest communities come from very different cultures, and are for a big part Islamics, which implies different religious habits, but also different ways of dealing with the family and particularly with women. Indeed the Muslim women are scarcely seen in El Raval, and when they do go in the streets, it is to do some shopping but not to discuss or meet friends, as would do women from other cultures, as the Dominicans or even the native Catalan population ( Sargatal 2001). In Spain, the Catholic religion is as yet instead strong compared to other European countries. This fact as well as the long history between Spain and the Mores, between the Catholics and the Muslims, aptitude be significant when trying to explain the intolerance that is mostly stronger towards the Muslims, and more particularly the Moroccans. Indeed they are perceived as very different and unwilling to adapt to the local tradition and culture (Gonzlez Enriquez 2002). round fear that the loss of religiousness that is threatening Spain qualification suspensor loosing the root of the culture and help the Muslims to impose their religion and their culture (Capel 2001). Integration for Muslims seems harder, as they not only are victims of more prejudices, but probably have more prejudices themselves against the local culture.In Camden the population seems more diversified. The biggest immigrant group, according to the 2001, is the group of non-British or Irish whit e people. Even though this is a big group (33,5%), this also represents a lot of different countries and cultures. The second group is the Bangladeshi (13,4%) and the third one the Africans (12,6%) (ONS, 2001 census). Then comes a lot of different groups from all over the world, with biggest proportions from Ireland, India, China and the Caribbean. This first shows that there are no big ethnic groups as in the Raval, which might ease the sustainment together of all theses communities, and lead to a more heterogeneous population. This also shows that the biggest group is actually made of people from other Western countries which means that the cultures are little different, and therefore it is easier for these people to integrate themselves in this cutting country.This difference in the composition of the immigrant population also means differences in the reasons of their presence in their natural country, and differences in the classes of people. Indeed, as we saw above, El Rava l has a higher proportion of immigrants coming from developing countries. This means that the immigrants might have a higher proportion of people with a want of education, or professional skills and with a lack of money. Indeed, even if it is now ever-changing with the process of gentrification, El Raval has been for some time the cheapest borough of Barcelona therefore attracting the people with less money, who then moved on to other parts of the city when they could tolerate it (Sargatal 2001). The lack of education, the unemployment, and the poverty is likely to make the integration in a new country more difficult. The lack of education means that it is possibly more difficult to understand the culture or the language of the new country, making it also difficult for the parents to follow what their children are doing at school. The teenagers animation in this environment of unemployment and poverty, might turn to delinquency as a form of rebellion against this society in whic h their future seems uncertain.In Camden as we have seen, there is a lower proportion of people coming from developing countries. Therefore, the chances of unemployment, poverty or lack of education are lower, although existent. Moreover, the unemployment is faraway lower in England than in Spain. Indeed, unemployment in England is 4,7%, whereas Spain had a 10,2% of unemployment in 2004. This means that the people coming to England and therefore to Camden will have more chances and opportunities of determination a job, which facilitates the integration in the new country. Also, Camden is not the cheapest borough of London. Cheaper accommodations can be found in other boroughs like Barking. This is therefore not the place of landing of destitute people when they arrive in London, as seems to be El Raval.Finally, the two boroughs recent history has evolved differently. In El Raval, the process of gentrification has begun very recently. The renovation of El Raval, and the attraction of higher classes of the population, as well as younger and more dynamic and educated immigrants, might turn it into an attractive and central borough of Barcelona. (Sargatal 2001). So far there has been only housing plans, and renovations of well-disposed structures, but no real plan of developing the businesses, or the tourism. Indeed according to David Harvey (1989 77), postmodernism urbanisation is characterised by a market-oriented urbanisation, but in El Raval, there seems to have been no such developments, which might help marginalize the population. There are some local businesses. El Raval has seen the creative activity of a lot of shops run by immigrants for their own communities, as Muslim butchers, or grocery stores offering products from the Caribbean. There are also shops offering international phone calls or Internet services. But rather than service the social cohesion, this type of businesses is rather isolating each of the ethnic groups which are present in El Raval. The shops seem to be exclusive and not to be welcoming the other communities. They are a place where each community can gather with its fellow citizens, but there is no interaction between the different communities (Sargatal 2001). There are no businesses that might bring new capitals into the borough and attract more middle-class people.Camdens case is in that respect totally different. First of all, even if these kind of shops run by immigrants exist, such as those run by Greek Cypriots or Indians, they do not sell exclusively products from their countries of origins. They are groceries, selling all sorts of first necessity products, and products from their home countries as well as from other countries represented in the area. But most importantly, the development of the borough in the know 30 years has been based on its market cultures. Indeed Camden is well known for its different markets. The first of its current markets was the Camden Lock Market, opened in 1973 (With ebead 1999 137). It quickly attracted all sorts of artists and craftspeople, which would create their work during the week and sell them at weekends, renting one of the cheap stalls available at the market. The area started to be revived, attracted all kind of people, with different backgrounds, styles, religions, and origins. Not only did the area started to attract capitals because of the business carried out in the markets, but the artistic and musical scene began to flourish. It became an entertaining place were people not only came to shop but to meet and enjoy walking around amongst the variety of superior products offered on the market. This probably worked as a way to bring social cohesion, as spectacle and entertainment is a great means of social attend (Harvey 1989 88). Indeed the streets of Camden are a spectacle, as well as being colourful they have been the sight for an original expression of creativity a number of shops are adorned by giant fibre-glass figures in congeneric with the merchandise sold or the brand name giant boots, chairs or fishes can be seen on the walls of shops (Withebead 1999140). Camden has also attracted a lot of companies from the media sector, such as TV channels (Withebead 1999 150)Indeed in Camden all sorts of people are brought together by the market. A lot of young professionals necessitate to live there, for different reasons, as its bohemian character, its centrality or the fact that it is still cheaper than other places. Tourists from all over the world are coming to watch the market. In Camden, the multicultural society does not mean only people coming from different countries but also people with different styles, different backgrounds. All styles can be found in Camden, from gothic and argument people to hippies. With this display of differences, the tolerance seems to become natural. As one of the locals puts it, it is out(predicate) not to be tolerant, because of all the nationalities, religions, sexu alities and subcultures present( Vestregaard Skot Poulsen and Dlugosch Sonne 2004 8).Although appearing to be similar boroughs, with both a big proportion of immigrants, Camden and El Raval have in fact had a different recent history and have evolved differently, resulting in two colourful and multicultural but different boroughs.While El Raval is made up by big communities that seem to stay quite closed and not to mix with the rest of the population of the borough, Camden has enjoyed a more diversified immigration. The multicultural population of Camden is not composed by big communities, but rather by individuals coming from a lot of different backgrounds, immigrating in an already dynamic borough which has built its identity around its market.BibliographyCapel, I. Inmigrantes extranjeros en Espaa. El derecho a la movilidad y los conflictos de la adaptacin grandes expectivas y duras realidades.Scripta Nova 81 (2001).Denford S. and F. P. Woodford (eds) (2003) Streets of Camden Tow n a survey of streets, buildings and former residents in a part of Camden. London Camden History Society.Gonzlez Enriquez, C. La convivencia con los inmigrantes en la provincia de Barcelona. La Factora 18 (2002).Harvey, D. (1989) The Condition of Postmodernity. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.Pererios. Los inmigrantes censados ya suponen la mitad de la poblacin del Raval. El Pas 13th June 2003.Sargatal, A.Gentrificacon e inmigracin en los centros historics el caso del Raval en Barcelona. Scripta Nova 94 (2001).Vestregaard Skot Poulsen, L. and J. Dlugosch Sonne. Authenticity and New Trends in Markets in Aarhus, Paris and London. Kontur 4 (2004) 3-13.Whitebead, J. (1999) The festering of Camden Town AD 1800-2000, London J. Whitehead.2001 Census Key Statistics for London Borough of Camden (2003), might for National Statistics navigation/council-and-democracy/about-the-council/camden-statistics/census-2001/http//www.metcareers.co.uk/default.asp?action=articleID=126http//www .20minutos.es/noticia/20888/0/desempleo/europa/marzo2005/