Abstract

SILVA, PAULO CELSO. Okupa spaces in Barcelona and communication in the city. Signo pensam. [online]. 2008, vol.27, n.53, pp.140-161. ISSN 0120-4823.

This work propounds a thorough analysis of the printed press coverage of the evictions of Barcelona squatters, better known as "okupas", which took place between December, 2006 and January, 2007. The dailies herein used were: Metro Directe, Diario ADN, 20 MIN Barcelona, and Qué Barcelona in tabloid format. Our interest was stimulated by the frequency with which the problem was approached, by the people who participated -among them the "Mossos d'esquadra" and the Catalonian police force-, by the interest shown by the city's policy makers on housing and cultural issues, as well as by the very popular concern for the squats. We even got in touch with the "okupas" themselves, and visited the Casa Miles de Viviendas, where on November 15, 2006, Universitat Pirata was created, but did not reach the news till February 7, 2007, via the 20 MIN Barcelona paper, with a feature titled "Obren al La Barceloneta una universitat 'okupa'", with the by-line F. CEDÓ. The issue of the "okupas" is part of a bigger problem, that of the use of urban space in a city that claims world status and serves as a customary reference, at least in Europe. We also examine how the printed discourse of the daily free publications gradually constructs a particular topic for a particular public.

Keywords : Barcelona; okupas; city; gratuitous newspapers; space; Barcelona; okupas; city; gratuitous newspapers; space.

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