Barcelona is hosting La Ciutat que Volem (The City We Want), an exhibition of future city ideas created by children aged 8 to 12 from across the city’s ten districts. The project is part of the Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026 programme.
The exhibition opened on 7 June 2026 and will be open to the public at Sala Ràfols, in Barcelona City Council, from 11 June to 26 July. It brings together 38 collective models, with themes including the environment, play areas, coexistence, mobility and community life.
The project was organised by the Transita Association and involved around 100 children who took part in free weekly after-school workshops from October 2025. They explored their neighbourhoods, looked at how people use public space, and developed ideas for changing urban areas.
At the opening, the children presented their proposals. Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet and the City Council’s chief architect, Maria Buhigas, attended the event. Collboni said public participation is needed to shape the city, and that Barcelona is made up of many people and many ideas.
Tamara Ianowski, an architect and artistic mediator with the organising team, said the project aims to give children a space to express their views on the city and to show that their ideas matter. The programme begins with architecture and its role in daily life, then moves through observation, neighbourhood visits, model-making and shared design work.
The project is supported by Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda. Readers can follow more local coverage on our news page, and learn more about the programme through the Barcelona City Council and Government of Catalonia websites.
