Fieldwork School Trip to Mallorca

Introduction to Mallorca and Fieldwork Preparation Session

Arrive in Palma, the capital of the Balearic Island. The airport itself gives indication to the popularity of Mallorca with tourists, as it is Spain’s third busiest airport, welcoming 27.9 million passengers each year, despite a population of only a million.

You will have a chance to meet your field studies tutor for the week, who will give you an introduction to Mallorca and you will begin preparation for your week’s field studies.

Rural Fieldwork; Regeneration and Rebranding

The open plains in the centre in the island, known as the Es Pla region is made up of small, picturesque villages and agricultural land.

As you drive away from the coastal towns towards the Es Pla region, it will feel like you are leaving behind the typical tourist hub and headed for a more traditional Mallorcan area, but this region is just as affected by tourism.

You can see this through villages such as Sineu. This small village has just over 3,600 residents but is home to the 700-year-old weekly market that now attracts 6,000 visitors every week. The village has to learn how to deal with overcrowding, maintain its identity and promote responsible tourism

It seems, the whole of Es Pla is in a process of regeneration and rebranding. Students will review to what extent places are able to adapt to changing circumstances, minimising negative impact of tourism and engaging in place making.

Urban Fieldwork; Regeneration and Rebranding

In stark contrast with yesterday’s study of rural rebranding, students will spend day 3 exploring the impacts of regeneration in an urban setting.

Students will head to the capital city, Palma, to discover how over the last 20 years the city has undergone a process of urban change and how public funds and private investment has transformed even some of the most deprived neighbourhoods.

They will look into how, currently, buildings in the city centre are being purchased by foreign investors and converted into luxury hotels, tourist apartments, second homes or nightlife venues. This new aspect of the regeneration process is currently provoking conflicts between local residents, the city council and tourists.

Urban fieldwork; Sustainable City

Staying in Palma, students will explore the city with a new focus; how the city is striving towards sustainability.

Taking into consideration the city’s transport, architecture, community, economy, energy and waste management, students will collect qualitative and quantitative data to review how successfully Palma is becoming sustainable.

To do this, students will ask questions such as; What more can the council do in order to make the city more sustainable? Is the participation of local people necessary for sustainability? Who are the stakeholders in the sustainability process? What are the impacts (both positive and negative) of sustainability for the stakeholders? What are the benefits to Palma of becoming a sustainable city?