Are there more conflicts between neighbors than before?

BarcelonaStaying at home due to the COVID pandemic often meant discovering the neighbors. In 2020, the Barcelona City Council's Alternative Conflict Management (GAC) service, which is responsible for mediating in these situations, received 2,600% more referrals, mostly of cases that initially came to the Guardia Urbana from 28 to 686. Back to normal, these referrals have been decreasing, but remain at levels much higher than in 2019.

Specifically, according to data from the City Council, the number of cases handled by the GAC has stabilized at around 150 per year during 2022, 20,500% compared to 2019. This increase is also noticeable in the data from the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police) to which ARA has had access on incidents attended to by the police in the last decade due to problems of neighborhood coexistence, although in cities these attentions are usually made by local police in 5.3. In 2019, there were already 7,117 complaints, and in 2024, they rose to 10,278. In 2024, the most common complaints were those caused by noise or music playing too loud. They accounted for more than half of the incidents, with more than 6,000 complaints. Tourist accommodations, with 90 cases. The record year for complaints received by the Mossos d'Esquadra was in 2023, with more than 17,000. These data confirm a trend they have also noticed on the streets: after the pandemic, society is more "irascible." Sources from Barcelona City Council also affirm that people are more "sensitive." School playgrounds: noise complaints have increased in these environments.

Creating a culture of peace

Angi Vila, director of prevention at Barcelona City Council, explains that the GAC is a "qualitative" council service that seeks to bring neighbors closer together through prevention and mediation. Núria Ventura, a prevention officer at the city council, states that its objective is to establish a "culture of peace." This means that, when faced with a problem, such as noise, the issue is not only resolved through dialogue, but also that neighbors have "tools to solve future problems." They intervene in short-term cases, which can last a couple of months, but there are much more complex ones that can last years.

In mediation of this type, the first step is to "reduce the escalation of tension" and, above all, "listen." "By listening to the other person and understanding their situation, sometimes everything is resolved," says Ventura. She adds that often the problem is simply a "lack of communication." They've encountered cases of noise in which the person causing the noise was an elderly person who had the television too loud, and then the complaining neighbor became more tolerant. Thus, this service is responsible for "bringing things together" and facilitating solutions, such as speaking with social services so the elderly person can see a hearing clinic. At that point, they affirm that "recognition of the problem" is very important. The final step, if this approach has failed, is to open mediation, which is a formal and regulated process that must end with an agreement signed before a notary. Vila points out that the scenario to avoid is always a complaint in court.

Noise is also one of the most common neighborhood conflicts in Barcelona. They recall a ten-year-old conflict. Some neighbors complain about a parish courtyard, where some young people often stay after recreational activities, late at night. They complain about noise, music, and lights on. Dialogue between the parties didn't begin until the city council's intervention, which contacted all parties and de-escalated the conflict. Now, a dialogue circle has been implemented, and the conflict is on the way to resolution. "It's very fashionable to say this now, but we've been saying it for a long time: we listen and don't judge," says Ventura.

Heterogeneous society

Complaints also often arise from odors. These include the accumulation of animals on balconies, for example, and in these cases, the proper handling of the animals is also analyzed. Complaints even arise about strong cooking odors, since in such a diverse city, there are cuisines that use spices that are not as familiar here. Their support service also includes support for large neighborhood communities. Last year, they handled 60. In these cases, the mediation sessions tend to last longer and are intended to help communities that are not organized, which is the main cause of the problems. Some cases reach them, but others are detected by conducting preventive measures on the streets and observing doorways, for example, that always have their doors open.