A leap forward in the Besòs: the AMB's plans to enhance its urban, social and ecological value

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.

Besòs is now experiencing a new era. The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) has identified it as one of its top transformation priorities. It aims to enhance its urban, social, and ecological value and consolidate it as a metropolitan hub of cohesion and sustainability. The Impuls Besòs and ReViuBesòs projects are two of the key initiatives.

Besòs Impulse: an innovation laboratory

The first is an integrated action plan (PAI) with a budget of 15 million euros to transform, in a coordinated manner, the neighborhoods located around the river, between Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs. The project aligns with the four pillars of the Metropolitan Urban Agenda – social, environmental, territorial, and strategic – and aims to reverse the vulnerability of this area and transform it  in a more natural, resilient space that serves the citizens.

Of the €15 million investment, €6 million comes from the Spanish government through the ERDF 2021-2027 funds, and €9 million is contributed by the AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area) and the participating municipalities. But what exactly are the actions included? They are social, economic, and environmental interventions with a common goal: to improve quality of life and overcome the physical and urban barriers that still separate neighborhoods. "Impuls Besòs is presented as the only urban innovation lab in Spain led by a metropolitan administration and geared towards scaling its projects throughout the metropolitan area," explains Antonio Balmón, executive vice president of the AMB.

The program includes initiatives such as the transformation and improvement of the C-31 highway to minimize its barrier effect and enhance connectivity. Balmón also highlighted the quality of the projects submitted by the AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area) and the municipalities, "which is demonstrated by the budgetary impact it will have on the region." The experience gained from European programs will allow for the application of new criteria for urban resilience and energy efficiency, with the aim of "consolidating the AMB as a leader in urban transformation and social cohesion."

The projects will focus on six neighborhoods in Badalona – Artigas, El Remei, Sant Antoni de Llefià, Sant Joan de Llefià, Sant Mori de Llefià, and Sant Roque – and two in Sant Adrià de Besòs – Sant Adrià Nord and Sant Joan Baptista. In total, twelve urban and social regeneration projects will be developed with the aim of improving quality of life, reducing inequalities, and overcoming the infrastructure barriers that still fragment the area.

ReViuBesòs, a key project

The AMB's other initiative to revitalize the area is the ReViuBesòs project. This project aims to restore the river mouth and transform it into a more natural, resilient, and accessible space for the public. With an investment of €2.7 million—40% from ERDF funds and the remainder co-financed by the AMB and the Sant Adrià de Besòs City Council—the initiative has been selected as one of the 12 projects chosen by the European Union in the Biodiversity Foundation's call for proposals to promote green and natural infrastructure.

The goal is to renaturalize the Besòs delta, reorganize pedestrian and bicycle routes, and restore the river mouth as an ecological connector between the river, the city, and the sea. "This proposal represents the consolidation of a constant and permanent transformation of the Besòs River, which two decades ago was a degraded area and is now a high-quality ecological corridor, both environmentally and scenically, serving the citizens," explains Ramon Torra, manager of the AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area). "This project, with its 100% metropolitan vision, also represents a qualitative leap that will improve the final stretch of the river mouth and adapt it to the effects of climate change."

The planned actions include the construction of a canal parallel to the river to better distribute water and protect wildlife refuge areas, the restoration of existing lagoons, the creation of new wetlands, and the installation of a saline pond on the left bank closest to the sea. This last intervention will promote the growth of vegetation adapted to saline environments—such as glasswort and rushes—and pave the way for the reintroduction of the Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius iberus), an endangered species that had disappeared from the Besòs River. With all these actions, the area takes a step forward in consolidating its role as a green and blue hub of the metropolitan area.