To Map the City's Retail Health You Need to Walk the Streets

Barcelona and Manhattan, two municipalities with the same population and retail model, share many similarities and a couple of things they can learn from each other.

1 minute read

January 7, 2020, 8:00 AM PST

By PabloValerio @pabl0valerio


SoHo Broadway

Tony Fischer / Flickr

Municipalities, facing the need to understand the real economic activity of the city, and its retail composition, can’t rely on registration data, they need to do fieldwork and keep updating it.

Eixos, a Catalan firm specialized in retail mapping, has recently published a report on Manhattan and Barcelona.

According to Eixos’ CEO David Nogué, both municipalities share a standard grid model for commercial space and have almost the same population. While Manhattan and Barcelona show a similar healthy occupancy rate, there are a few differences and a couple of lessons that both can learn from each other.

Friday, January 3, 2020 in Cities of the Future

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Aerial view of single-family homes with swimming pools in San Diego, California.

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule

The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

March 9, 2025 - Axios

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan

Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

Canadian flag in foreground with blurred Canadian Parliament building in background in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Has President Trump Met His Match?

Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.

March 11, 2025 - Toronto Star

Orange Biketown bike share bikes parked at station on sidewalk in Portland, Oregon,

Biketown Lives

Despite public perception of its decline, Portland’s bike share system is alive and well.

16 minutes ago - Willamette Week

Quiet tree-lined street in Stockholm, Sweden in summer.

‘Stockholm Tree Pit’ Saves Dying Urban Trees

After noticing that two-thirds of its trees were dying, Stockholm developed a new planting method to protect trees surrounded by concrete.

1 hour ago - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Green Detroit public transit electric bus with high-rise modenr building in background.

Analysis: Just 5 Percent of Detroit Bus Stops Have Shelters

The city’s thousands of bus stops are sorely lacking in seating and shelters to protect riders from rain, snow, and sun.

2 hours ago - Bridge Detroit