Barcelona, city of innovation and culture. Municipal policies and their contradictions

Abstract Innovation processes as social praxis, promoted by governmental policies, have generated important territorial, economic and social changes. In this context, this paper analyses the policies implemented in the city of Barcelona with the aim of projecting it as a European center of knowledge, innovation and culture, and their main impacts on the urban, social and economic fields in the last two decades. The chosen projects were the institution of the 22 Barcelona Innovation District and the Universal Forum of Cultures held in 2004. We examined critically their creation and implementation process, as well as the results obtained.