10 Years, 10 Urban Ideas: Anna Gener

By  | 2021

This post is part of the series ’10 Years, 10 Urban Ideas’

Anna Gener is CEO of Savills Aguirre Newman —one of the world’s leading real estate agents and consultants — in her hometown, Barcelona. We at Anteverti and Ana are united by a passion for cities, but also for something that beautifies and enriches them: art. Anna shows a great commitment to the social and cultural life of Barcelona, being a member of the Board of Patrons of the Fundació Catalunya Cultura and patron of the Fundació Museu Picasso, among other institutions. Therefore, it is a pleasure to have her in our series ’10 Years, 10 Urban Ideas’.

And here are her answers to our 10-item questionnaire.

— What is your city? Highlight one feature or virtue that can inspire other cities in the world.

Barcelona is my city. I highlight its capacity for transformation; Barcelona is a city that knows how to reinvent itself.

 

«Lisbon is adopting very successful policies to attract talent.«


©Gemma Fjam, under Unsplash license.

— Mention the three major global transformations at the urban level that have occurred in the last 10 years.

 

1. The application of technology to city management.

2. The incorporation of environmental sustainability criteria in mobility and buildings.

3. Social cohesion as an inexcusable goal.

 

— Mention one pioneer or benchmark city for you…

In Europe, London continues to lead innovation, for its extraordinary ability to attract talent from around the world.

— …and one emerging city that we will have to pay attention to in the next 10 years.

I would highlight Lisbon, as it is adopting very successful policies to attract talent.

Ildefons Cerdà planned the Eixample, the 19th-century «extension» of Barcelona.

© Carles Rabada, under Unsplash license.

One female urban expert and one male urban expert that you admire.

 

Jane Jacobs to understand that urban planning must take people first and foremost. She highlighted the associative life that exists in urban spaces and defended that urban transformations should be put at the service of the communities affected by them.

And Ildefons Cerdà, the father of modern urbanism, for his extraordinary intuition of anticipating the trends that today define urbanism: fractal urban structures, polycentric cities, the importance of the mixture of urban uses for our quality of life and to avoid unnecessary long-distance travel within the city, etc.

 

— In one sentence: in 10 years, cities will be…

 

…more beautiful, more sustainable and more inclusive, following the precepts of the New European Bauhaus.

 


Interview and edition by Sergio García i Rodríguez, Executive Editor of CitiesToBe and Manager of Communication at Anteverti. Interview translated from Catalan.

Keep discovering expert insights on the present and future of cities in our series
’10 years, 10 urban ideas’

About the authors

CEO at Savills Aguirre Newman Barcelona | + posts

Anna Gener currently serves as CEO of Savills Aguirre Newman —one of the world's leading property agents— in Barcelona.

She shows great compromise and involvement in the economic and social life of her city, Barcelona, and participates actively in various organizations — being a consulter member of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, member of the International Advisory Council of UPF School of Management, member of the Social Council of Ateneu Barcelonès, member of the Editorial Committee of El Periódico, member of the Board of Directors of Mutual Midat Cyclps, member of the Board of RICS in Spain and member of PIMEC.

She is also a member of member of the Consejo de Mecenazgo de la Fundación Catalunya Cultura, Patron of the Cares Fundation and patron of Picasso Museum Fundation

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