Copenhagen and Barcelona will be the next World Capitals of Architecture in 2023 and 2026. Having developed along the water—the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean—both cities now face the challenges of the climate emergency.
Since the 1990s, spaces traditionally occupied by industrial activities have been the subject of urban regeneration projects, altering not only local forms and functions but also the image and physiognomy of the city itself. These transformed spaces act as a mirror, faithfully reflecting the city's image and contemporary urban culture. As geographer Francesc Muñoz notes, "they constitute testing grounds where the urban challenges of the future manifest. In this sense, few urban spaces are as exposed to the three main risks currently highlighted on the agendas of European cities: on one hand, urban simplification and trivialization driven by hyper-specialization in tourism consumption and use; on the other, the trends of social exclusion clearly illustrated by phenomena such as gentrification; and finally, the effects of climate change, which are already being felt with particular sensitivity at the urban edge in direct contact with bodies of water."
