Mallorca’s Traditional Sobrasada Sausage

 Xavier Beltran is a longtime Washington DC municipal executive who serves the District of Columbia Department of General Services as general counsel and provides leadership in areas such as construction and real estate portfolio management. An avid traveler, Xavier Beltran has visited family in Spanish locations such as Mallorca, and enjoyed sampling the cuisine of the Mediterranean island.

One of Mallorca’s most versatile dishes is the cured pork sausage sobrasada, which is spiced with paprika and cayenne. It’s distinct from the chorizo of the Spanish mainland in being cured in a climate of mild winters and high humidity, which creates a far softer texture. The sausage is traditionally made during the matanca, a time when local families traditionally gathered and produced pork products that would last throughout the year. In past centuries, sobrasada was the only consistent source of meat for many of the island’s inhabitants.

Combining bacon and minced pork, the sobrasada is often smeared on local bread or eaten as a tapa, and it is even used as a pizza topping or filling for empanada. One of the best locations to purchase sobrasada is Palma de Mallorca’s Mercat Olivar, which is the major market for fresh produce in the city. Sobrasada is available in a variety of shapes and sizes, from the extra large bufetes or bisbe, to the medium-sized pultrums or cular, and the bite-sized llonganissa.

Some Challenges of Modern Urban Planning

 Urban planning refers to the process of developing and designing urban regions to serve the needs of a community. It draws on various disciplines, ranging from architecture to finance to sociology. However, the rapid expansion of urban areas poses multiple challenges to modern urban planning, including growing population density, resource scarcity, climate change, and social disparity.

In the past two centuries, the world’s population has increasingly concentrated in urban areas, with the 2018 United Nations Urbanization Prospects reporting that more than half of it inhabits cities of all sizes. By 2050, the number will exceed two-thirds of the global population. This substantial expansion in urbanization, aggravated by external influences like climate change, could place big cities’ inhabitants under considerable pressure. In case of a natural disaster, densely populated urban areas could experience the impact of climate change with catastrophic consequences.

The sharp increase in the urban population also correlates with a considerable strain on various resources, including food, water, and energy. Urban areas already lack sufficient space for farming, making food scarcity a valid concern.

While climate change affects society in various aspects, urban populations are particularly susceptible to its impending threats. For example, in the United States, many principal cities are situated near coasts, which makes them highly vulnerable to climate change repercussions such as rising sea levels. Their exposure to multiple stressors and sensitivity to weather impacts also mandates a higher level of adaptivity to the influences of climate change.

The shift in weather patterns in the last several decades has also presented significant challenges before new urban development. Urban planners are seeking ways to increase urban areas’ resistance to natural forces, such as rising heat, rain, and wind levels, and combat the higher risk of natural disasters.

One example is the so-called “sponge cities,” in which rooftop gardens help with absorbing water and trapping carbon dioxide. In addition, to minimize flooding, these cities feature permeable paving and central reservations that function similarly to a rain garden. Rain gardens are recessed areas in the landscape, to which rainwater from driveways, streets, and roofs drains away to soak into the ground.

Finally, the increase in urban populations also triggers an ever-growing social disparity and consequent urban poverty. As more people move to urban areas, the number of quite wealthy individuals shifting to cities also grows. Left without control, expanding urbanization tends to support certain socio-economic demographics, force out others, and eventually clear the scene for the super-rich. Only those who can access highly-paid jobs can afford the higher cost of living in city centers.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness lists income inequality and lack of access to affordable housing as the primary causes of homelessness. Exclusionary zoning practices, such as redlining, continue to hamper the economic mobility of particular urban demographics. Redlining, dating back to urban planning from the beginning of the 20th century, refers to the systemic denial of various financial services, including insurance loans and mortgages, to residents from certain demographic groups. Without adequate urban planning, cities may end up exclusively inhabited by the super-rich.