There are many Catalonias, some more visible than others. The metropolitan Catalonia, the Catalonia of coastal tourist centers, the empty Catalonia of inland micro-towns, the Catalonia of medium-sized cities, the Catalonia of dispersed housing developments... The urban and social problems are diverse and real. One of the achievements of tripartite governments, often recognized more after the fact than at the time, was the Pla de Barris (Barriers' Plan), conceived and directed by geographer Oriol Nel lo: it aimed to target particularly run-down neighborhoods with specific improvement actions in different areas. The idea was later adopted by the Colau government in the city of Barcelona, where, despite the criticism it received, it has been continued by Mayor Collboni. Now the Catalan government, led by fellow Socialist Salvador Illa, has adopted this planning and action model with a new Neighborhood Plan open to all the country's municipalities for the period 2025-2029, with a planned investment of 200 million euros per year—to which should be added municipal contributions totaling 6 million euros in housing and public spaces, building adaptation to climate change, and social action over the five-year period.
The involvement of municipalities is key. They are the ones who truly understand the deficits and needs, the ones who truly know where action is needed, the ones who sense the pressure and concerns of the people. The government's global perspective and oversight are also necessary to balance the territory: placing the investment emphasis on the most neglected neighborhoods and towns is a way to avoid ghettos and, therefore, work toward social cohesion. Putting resources on the ground is also an effective and pragmatic policy to combat the demagoguery of the far right, which exploits obvious inequalities and lack of opportunities to ignite coexistence.
When the first Barris Plan began, Catalonia had a population of 7 million. Over the last 20 years, it has grown by another million, despite experiencing two major crises: the real estate crisis and the COVID crisis. This rapid growth has strained many cities and towns, and not just in metropolitan areas. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to reconsider these measures. ad hoc In areas that have been overwhelmed and suffer from a lack of services and infrastructure, and are therefore susceptible to falling down the slope of undesirable social and economic trends. Prevention is better than cure, although in some cases it is clearly too late and serious, entrenched situations will have to be addressed.
Naturally, we will have to ensure and demand that this Neighborhood Plan receives the promised funding, that it is technically implemented soundly, with citizen participation and coordination between the different administrations, that it does not fall into partisanship (helping only municipalities of my party) and that it has the necessary continuity, even beyond.
