Tram 22 on the colourful Rua Campo dos Mártires da Pátria
I won’t be the first person (or the last) to say that the cities of Europe are looking more and more the same by the year, thanks to chains, i.e., multinational corporations aiming for world domination. Food and beverage chains, especially. I remember the first time I went to Barcelona and there was a Dunkin’ Donuts in the metro station. I was so taken aback. Do the people of Barcelona actually like donuts?
Why are we letting the chains take over? Am I missing something here and most of the world wants all cities to look the same?
I searched for a photo illustrating why I think Porto is unique, but practically speaking, this entire blog is dedicated to show you why I think Porto is unique. You’ll see in my pictures that Porto has its own culture that isn’t beholden to a set of brands, but the historic centre needs to be preserved or it will end up looking like Anytown, Anywhere. I’ve been especially vocal about Portugal’s café culture that isn’t (yet) overrun by Starbucks, except the company has already 10 locations in the Lisbon area (including two at the airport and one at Rossio Train Station). There’s now a Starbucks at El Corte Inglés (a Spanish department store) across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, and the latest planned opening is in São Bento Railway Station, which crosses a line for me… I won’t complain if Starbucks opens at a shopping centre or the airport, but hands off the monuments and historic centre!
I have been ranting about this all over social media, so I will spare the further ranting on this blog and instead point you to what I have already posted.
Not in chronological order:
- Facebook, October 26
- Instagram, October 22
- Instagram, October 26
- Facebook, October 22
The last item includes a link to a petition that’s going around, which I think is incomplete (it needs a strongly-worded letter and the recipient list needs to include Infraestruturas de Portugal). Porto City Hall needs to protect the local trade and keep the big chains out of the historic district!
Unfortunately, I have a feeling this is all too late. I saw the announcement in the station already :(
