Jordi Ludevid Anglada - A City of Professions

A City of Professions

A City of Professions

Jordi Ludevid

To those who have said and continue to say,

«We aren’t heroes, we’re professionals.»

And of course to Roser,

my good luck charm.

Acknowledgements

Asemas, Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos, Diputació de Barcelona and Unión Profesional. Also Eloy Algorri, Sandra Bestraten, Ivan Cabrera, Josefina Cambra, Victoria Camps, Ricard Domingo, Celestino García Braña, Arcadi Gual, Manuel Guirao, Josep Maria Llop, Marc Longaron, Marcel Ludevid, Joaquín Mañoso, Cristina Murta, Gonzalo Múzquiz, Juan José Rodríguez Sendín, Joaquim Sabaté, Eva Serrats and Antoni Solanas.

With support from:

With the collaboration of:

© Jordi Ludevid Anglada, for the text

© Cristina Murta and Jordi Ludevid Anglada, for the plans

© Angela Kay Bunning, english proofreading

MY16 EDIT, for the edition

© Jordi Ludevid Anglada, for the edition

Jordi_Ludevid@Coac.net - www.jordiludevid.com

Graphic production: Edito

Editorial direction: Ignasi Torras

Graphic design: +3

First edition: November 2020

ISBN: 978-84-09-32050-9

Legal deposit: B 12414-2021

No part of this work may be reproduced, incorporated into a computer system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

A democratic, equitable and sustainable city

A City of Professions, comes at a time of intense concern when the Covid-19 crisis calls into question some of the prevailing assumptions of recent decades about the role of urban density and its economies of agglomeration. The health crisis comes on the heels of the major impact of the 2008 crisis, so the sum of these two impacts is likely to have important effects on paradigms and theories of urbanization. For its part, the New Urban Agenda that emerged from Habitat III proposes a paradigm shift in urbanization based on a systematic review of the regulatory framework, urban design and financing, in order to achieve socially, economically and environmentally sustainable cities. The two crises mentioned above, in addition to climate change, will challenge the current model towards a more acceptable one, capable of articulating a new social contract. However, this transformation will not be easy given the highly diverse and complex interrelationships inherent in the modern social structure.

Professor Jordi Ludevid’s book describes with special interest the contribution of the professions that contribute directly to urban construction, in its physical, civic and regulatory aspects. With an extensive professional, institutional and intellectual background, Jordi Ludevid has constructed this innovative reflection on the link between the professions and cities, which is undoubtedly of special interest in the current difficult and delicate circumstances, proposing a radical regeneration of the professional fact, betting in a clear way on their commitment and link with the cities, thus promoting the “new social contract”. The knowledge developed and managed by the urban professions, in close relationship with the universities, has been a fundamental part of modern knowledge. If in the Middle Ages, convents were the guardian institutions of classical knowledge, since the 16th century the baton has been taken over by cities. This is how the author’s thesis on the relevance of the professions resonates strongly when it comes to creating and reproducing cultural and knowledge goods and to recognizing their positive impact on urbanization.

By reflecting on the collegiate professions and trades, but also on the professionals linked to municipalism and public institutions, and beyond that, by considering their relationship with universities and educational establishments, this book is of interest to a very broad and diverse public. It will undoubtedly be of interest to the professionals of the world, but also to all citizens committed to social and collective issues and who aspire to a democratic, equitable and sustainable city. A City of Professions will undoubtedly participate in a remarkable and significant way in the existing international debate on the present and future of professions… and cities...

JOAN CLOS

Medicine Doctor

Former Mayor of Barcelona

Former Executive Director of UN Habitat

A Social Category, an Alliance

Today, professional associations are a recognised social category, the result of a long historical evolution, which achieved its status in Europe with the Treaty of Rome (1957) and which has been reflected in different regulations and customs in the different countries across Europe. Subsequently, our country promoted extensive legislation on the professions, including the Law on Professional Associations (1974). Special mention should be made of the 1978 Constitution; Article 36 recognises the peculiarities of professional associations and the practice of the professions. Moreover, this social category has taken on meaning in specific areas: internationally, through the World Union of Liberal Professions (UMPL); in the European Union, through the European Council of Liberal Professions (CEPLIS); and in Spain, through the Unión Profesional (UP), an institution over which – here, I concur with the author – it is a privilege to preside. The different professions grouped together in UP thus share international, European and national space, but also regional space, forming an inter-association network of great social utility.

We can affirm, especially after having read A City of Professions, that the history of our professional culture can be built in parallel to the rise of cities. To this end, each and every one of the regulated professions needs a mission that «develops in the urban world», as the Catalan author describes it.

If the pandemic, which has shaken our socio-economic model, has taught us anything, it is that, as this book explains, «in the face of social emergencies, the professions always rise to the challenge», on behalf of citizens who, for their part, trust in professional work insofar as it is an act of doing good, a continuous pursuit of personal and social well-being. A commitment to society that is evident throughout the pages of this work, in which the inseparable relationship between the professions and human rights is alluded to on many occasions. In this sense, as the former president of UP, Jordi Ludevid, is well aware, the organization states that «human rights will only become a reality if there is effective access for all people to basic professional services, on a universal basis». Seventy-two years after the Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the commitment to the protection of these rights is still valid for all the regulated professions, which are first and foremost human professions, because of their capacity to feel affection, understanding and solidarity towards others.