Poblenou, is known as the Manchester of Catauyna and has a vast industrial tradition. Poblenou, had the biggest number of factories in the province at the beginning of the 20th century. Until year 1860 its isolated location was separating it from the old city of Barcelona but with very good connections with the coast train system. There were textile industries and other modern industries established hubs in this area of Barcelona.  

At present, Poblenou is being  re-constructed and is going through big process of transformation. Imagination is required to draw the image of the future shape that this place would acquire currently under construction.  Poblenou faced an industrial decline that was brought about by global reconstruction of the industrial production that began in the late sixties. The old industrial sites were broken up into smaller segments for craftsmen and carpenters. These sites were largely abandoned as well. A small but sizeable community of artists emerged from within this industrial decay. The community contained various members of the artistic community like painters, designers and theater companies, to name just a few.  Little by little, the artistic community moved and achieved a critical mass in the area by the late eighties and formed associations depending on the building and their respective locations.

Presently the artistic community faces trouble. Their inexpensive studio space and collective experiment have fallen victim to the combination of rising property values and the 22@plan that plans to convert the industrial areas of Poblenou, Barcelona into a high tech ’knowledge-based’ economically viable zone. A visit to any of these industrial factories shall evoke the somewhat romantic image of a bohemian artist oozing of creative energy struggling with his art, confined in a decrepit space.