El plan especial urbanístico de alojamientos turísticos (PEUAT) de Barcelona o los límites del derecho urbanístico como modo de intervención en el desarrollo de las actividades económicas

Tourism has undeniable implications for cities. The government of Barcelona City Council, after the moratorium on new licenses in 2015, approved an Special Tourist Accommodation Plan in 2017. Local urban planning is strongly restrictive both with tourist housing and with hotels and other accommodation whose licenses depend on density of implantation in each area. New licenses are prohibited in almost the entire downtown area (Z1 and Z2). This Plan was declared null and void by the Catalan High Court of Justice and in 2021 a new one is approved. The 2021 Plan content is practically identical to the previous one. All this context serves us as an opportunity to debate on the interrelation between tourism and urban planning as well as between economic development and neighborhood rights. Some limits are proposed to the exercise of local urban planning powers, and in the same way, to the balance resulting of the judicialization of several interests at stake.