Poblenou

Poblenou, in the Sant Martí district, is a box of surprises. A stroll through its streets reveals striking examples of interesting industrial architecture, such as Can Felipa. In the old part of the district, the Rambla, which can stand comparison with the best of Barcelona's boulevards, is lined with elegant buildings and pavement cafés where you can sit and enjoy this part of the city.

In the 1940s, the Poblenou skyline was dotted with all kinds of factories and the shanty settlements of Somorrostro and Pequín. This was the natural evolution of a district that had grown from an area known as Taulat: the part of Sant Martí that stood closest to the sea. It was a wetland zone which offered favourable conditions for the setting up of the first factories and textile mills at the end of the 19th century. The area came to be known as the Catalan Manchester.

The industrial decline of the 1960s brought about changes in the Poblenou neighbourhood, with areas of land being freed up for development resulting in a residential area with better living conditions. The regeneration of Poblenou culminated in 1992 with the implementation of the 22@ Plan which has enhanced the social, urban and economic profile of the neighbourhood. 22@ is a project that has transformed Poblenou into a city of knowledge, with its abandoned factories being used for new economic activities, design studios and housing adapted to the needs of today.

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