The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), which manages the drinking water supply service, has approved the tender to establish a private management model in the municipalities of Cervelló, Corbera de Llobregat, Palma de Cervelló, Molinos de Rei, Ripollet, Sant Andreu de la Barca, Sant Cugat del Vallès, and Tiana. The 25-year contract, valued at over €1 billion, will make it one of the largest public tenders in Catalonia. The eight municipalities will share water management through a single company that will provide the service, with different tariffs for each. This new model abandons the electoral proposal of some municipal governments for a publicly operated system. These metropolitan towns, with a combined population of approximately 230,000, need to renew their management contracts because their previous concession agreements have expired. Furthermore, they are outside the scope of Aigües de Barcelona, ​​which cannot participate in the tender approved this Tuesday by court order. The estimated value of the contract will total €1.078 billion. This figure is divided into €937.5 million for the 25-year contract and €140.6 million for an extension, which will have a maximum duration of 3 years and 9 months. The contract also includes a necessary investment of €168.7 million in the service for the eight municipalities. The deadline for submitting bids is two months. The AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area) expects to begin working with the new contractor during the second half of 2026. During the first year of service under the new concession, user rates will remain the same. This will allow the new concessionaire to implement the new system and plan the necessary actions in detail. From the second year onwards, the larger investments will begin to be implemented, which will affect the bill.

Nearly half of Catalonia's population—some 3.4 million people—live concentrated in the Barcelona metropolitan area. This means that the housing market is under considerable strain across the 636 square kilometers of its 36 municipalities. In recent years, housing prices have risen far beyond what most households can afford. The result is clear: more and more families are struggling to access and maintain decent housing.

Along the Besòs river promenade, there is constant activity. People stroll, jog, and cycle. Years ago, the scene was quite different: the river was surrounded by a degraded and inaccessible area, turning its back on the community and making the zone one of the most vulnerable in the metropolitan area.

The percentage of Catalan products sold at Mercabarna was 53% in 1988, while in 2023 it was only 15%. This figure, which appears in a study presented this Thursday by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, perfectly summarizes the difficulty that the metropolitan population of Barcelona has in finding fresh, quality products close to home. In fact, the vast majority of the inhabitants of this large urban conurbation (88.65%) live in areas where the main food offering is ultra-processed products, with few fresh or healthy options.

The lack of affordable housing isn't just a concern for Barcelona. It also affects its metropolitan area, where the inability to find an apartment at an acceptable price is spreading like wildfire. With a skyrocketing real estate market, the Catalan capital and the 35 surrounding municipalities only have 1.8% of social housing, a proportion that the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has been working to increase for years and trying to revive a sector that shrank in the wake of the real estate bubble and the economic crisis. "We're at 20% of what was produced before," remarks AMB manager Ramon Torra.

The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has launched the awareness campaign "On the bus, stop abuse" to prevent and combat sexual assault and abuse on public transport. Under the slogan "In the event of harassment, we act as an AGENT on the bus," the initiative aims to involve users, especially those on buses, so that if they detect inappropriate behavior, they can report the situation.

She is the first person in the world to hold a specific chair on cycling at a university, in Ghent. Meredith Glaser (California, 1982) holds a PhD in urban planning from the University of Amsterdam, a city where she has lived for the past fifteen years, and is director of the Urban Cycling Institute. "I grew up with the car as the king of transport, and arriving here shook my world: I've never had a car again," she says. This researcher and expert in cycling planning advises the Flemish government and affirms that it is necessary to "redistribute street space." A few days ago, she gave a talk, in collaboration with the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), to promote bicycle use in "greater Barcelona."

Antonio Balmón (Barcelona, ​​​​1960) has been the mayor of Cornellà de Llobregat for 21 years. He is also executive vice president of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB). He speaks to the ARA in the midst of a debate on the future of the metropolitan region.

January 1, 2025 was a date marked on the calendar of residents of the Barcelona metropolitan area. After months of half-heartedness, six low-emission zones (LEZ) began to operate at full capacity and, therefore, with fines. This is the case of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Cerdanyola, Sant Joan Despí, Gavà and Viladecans. In these cities, residents with polluting cars can circulate in the affected neighborhoods for a maximum of 24 days a year if they are registered, but if they exceed this threshold and do not prove any special circumstances, such as low income levels or transport needs for health reasons, they are fined. There is only one exception: Cerdanyola has decided to exempt all registered residents from fines for the next three years. Now, other municipalities will follow the same path.