CityLab Weekly

Madrid Faces an Identity Crisis as Luxury Tourism Threatens Small Venues

Also this week: Kansas City’s mayor talks World Cup, and Manchester’s mayor talks politics.
A band plays at Café Central on the last night before the 44-year-old jazz venue closes.Photographer: Emilio Parra Doiztua/Bloomberg via Madrid Losing Soul

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From local jazz clubs to small cafes serving up traditional fare, Madrid’s rich culture has long fueled the city’s thriving tourism industry. But not everyone has benefited from it: The very businesses that built that culture are now under threat as the Spanish capital morphs into a luxury playground for international tourists and wealthy migrants — what some have dubbed the “new Miami.”