Barcelona City Council will allocate up to €300 million to boost education, housing, and social cohesion in 27 neighborhoods.

Barcelona takes a new step to combat inequalities and strengthen social cohesion with the launch of the Pla de Barris 2025-2028. This initiative, consolidated as a structural public policy for the city, will invest up to €300 million in projects that will improve the quality of life of 438,000 people—26% of Barcelona's population—in 27 neighborhoods across Barcelona's seven districts. The objective of this new edition of the Pla de Barris is to reduce social and territorial inequalities through in-depth intervention, innovating in public policies, working with residents, and committing to the future through transformative projects. It focuses on priority profiles: adolescents, with programs to strengthen ties and address mental illness; women, through socialization and support spaces; the elderly, with support networks to combat loneliness and improvements in accessibility; and migrants, with support networks and inclusion strategies. The project focuses on education and culture, public space and accessibility, and housing and rehabilitation—three strategic areas for a more inclusive and accessible neighborhood.

A necessary public policy for a city in transformation

The Barris Plan is presented as a municipal tool to improve coexistence, social cohesion, and the well-being of its residents. Together with residents, innovative projects and programs are developed to foster the potential of neighborhoods. This third edition redefines the areas of action, concentrating efforts on three priority areas: education and culture, public space and accessibility, and housing and its rehabilitation. The plan will focus on three strategic areas: health, well-being and community, socioeconomic development and employment, climate adaptation, energy transition, and urban greening.

On the one hand, the goal is to understand education and culture as a comprehensive process, with educational leisure initiatives and host language projects, achieving a comprehensive education between neighborhoods and communities, involving all stakeholders in the training process and offering support to families in educational guidance. The goal is also to transform public spaces—the city's hub for coexistence—into more inclusive, safe, and accessible areas with a social function. This will be achieved through the creation of sports and leisure areas and the implementation of community projects. In the area of housing and rehabilitation, technical and financial support will be provided to rehabilitate buildings or programs to improve residential conditions. Focusing on health, well-being, and the community, emotional support and mental health programs and actions to combat loneliness are being considered. Job placement programs, actions to reduce precariousness and promote youth employment, and support for local economic initiatives will also be included. Finally, regarding climate adaptation, energy transition, and urban greenery, we aim to develop actions to transform public spaces to improve climate comfort, such as increasing green areas and shade, and measures to reduce energy poverty.

New actions of the Pla de Barris

The Pla de Barris (Barriers' Plan) is a public policy with broad political consensus that is essential for the city of Barcelona, ​​a pioneer in offering this type of response to current urban challenges. This new edition will be implemented in 27 neighborhoods, grouped into 13 neighborhood plans, including two unique plans for areas with specific needs: the Muntanya Unique Neighborhood Plan, which will improve accessibility and services in neighborhoods such as Les Planes, Montbau, Sant Genís dels Agudells, and La Teixonera; and the Marina Unique Plan, which will manage the impact of urban growth. Furthermore, for the first time, Ciutat Vella (Old City) will have its own comprehensive plan with increased investment to address the challenges of Barcelona's historic center.

Since 2017, the Barris Plan has reversed some inequality trends by improving education, with fewer school dropouts and more psychosocial support in schools. It has also promoted housing renovation based on social and ecological criteria, generating employment and improving quality of life. It is part of the four major strategic city plans (Pla Endreça, Pla Clima, Pla Viure, and Pla de Barris) and is transversally linked to all of them, especially the Climate Plan with the Pla Clima program in the neighborhoods.