Barcelona City Council will invest up to €50 million over the next three years in the Marina del Prat Vermell and Marina del Port neighbourhoods, according to Mayor Jaume Collboni. This investment aims to prevent social and urban inequalities as the area undergoes significant expansion.
The Marina district, alongside La Sagrera, is Barcelona's primary growth area, one of the few places left for urban development. Around 30,000 new residents are expected to move into the area over the next decade, with approximately 12,000 new homes planned. Mayor Collboni expects half of these new homes to be public housing.
“These growth processes can bring many imbalances and inequalities,” Mayor Collboni said during a visit to the area. “New residents in these neighbourhoods must have all the necessary facilities. Typically, neighbourhood plans try to fix problems that are already clear. With this unique plan, we truly aim to get ahead of problems, to ensure these imbalances and inequalities do not happen. This way, we will improve the quality of life for residents.”
Boosting Public Facilities and Local Commerce
The municipal plan focuses on establishing numerous public facilities and encouraging local commercial activity to meet daily needs. Mayor Collboni noted that work has already started on a new infant school and swimming pools within a sports complex. The City Council has also chosen a site for the Generalitat to build a new Primary Care Centre (CAP).
The plan also includes measures to revitalise public ground floors to promote local commerce. However, this initiative is still in its early stages. Previous failures of similar projects remind the municipal executive that fostering local commerce is not straightforward.
Mayor Collboni has set 2035 as the main horizon for his plan, stating that in nine years, the city will be unrecognisable. This includes areas like Montjuïc, Ciutat Vella, and the Marina del Prat Vermell and Marina del Port neighbourhoods. The current municipal government often defers the realisation of much of its legacy, partly because public housing construction is slower than commercial revitalisation plans.
Focus on Housing and Infrastructure
Housing is a key priority for Mayor Collboni in these previously overlooked areas. “The right to stay in Barcelona is defended by creating new housing,” he explained. “Here we have 1,056 flats under construction and over 1,400 more in progress, half of which are protected housing. In two weeks, we will hand over another 112. We are preparing another development of 192 homes.”
“We are also commissioning the executive project for the reform of Passeig de la Zona Franca,” Mayor Collboni added. “We expect it to be ready by 2028, with works starting in the next term. The new Passeig de la Zona Franca will look very similar to the new Avinguda Meridiana, with a central section for pedestrians and cyclists, traffic lanes on the sides, and much wider pavements. This is a critical project to connect this new area of Barcelona.”
