A renovated Ciutat Vella emerged between the 80s and 90s as a result of a transformation process that provided it with new public spaces and facilities. Now, more than three decades later, the district that cradled the city is preparing for a second transformation, with the aim of looking towards its neighbors and those of the city, so that they identify it again as the center of Barcelona.
"The transformation process of the 80s and 90s was a success. But over the years and with demographic and economic changes, the situation has been changing. Ciutat Vella began to slip away and, when Ciutat Vella slips away from you, it is difficult to recover it," assures the commissioner of the Pacte per Ciutat Vella, Ivan Pera. To redirect the district and the activities it houses, the City Council has promoted the Pact process, "with the will to carry out an integral and strategic transformation of Ciutat Vella."
Thus, the Pact aims to return to the Ciutat Vella that suits Barcelona and its residents through a comprehensive ten-year strategic vision, which goes far beyond urban planning and works. In fact, it focuses on the well-being of residents —taking into account everything from housing to health, education and security— as well as the economic model and public space, as well as the community, with one objective: "To recover the identity and pride of Ciutat Vella for all citizens."
To advance in this direction, the process began at the end of 2024 with dialogue as a basic tool. "And not only with neighbors, businesses, district associations, but also with people from all over Barcelona who want to commit to Ciutat Vella," Pera points out. As the commissioner highlights, the will is to advance in the renovation of the district with the maximum possible consensus, even among actors with apparently opposing interests who now "sit at the same table."
The objective is, after setting priorities and concretizing proposals, to present the conclusions in autumn, "as a roadmap with defined actions," which will then have to be accompanied by a budget to be developed over the next decade. To define it, the Pact has held debates and initial conferences, which are expected to continue with a second meeting.
The strategy proposes that Ciutat Vella be repositioned as "the center of the city," which has been moving slightly on the map upwards, to an area with Paseo de Gràcia and Gran Via as its epicenter, according to Pera: "Now it seems that Ciutat Vella is for visitors, and we want to bring the city center back down". And the district is marked by the visitors who tread on it daily: while tourists per square kilometer in the city are around 1,600, in Ciutat Vella they are 14,000.
In this context, the Ciutat Vella of 2035 must seek balance, also in its economic and commercial model, with local and proximity commerce in balance with that which is more focused on visitors. Thus, the new Plan de Usos (Uses Plan) on which the City Council is working opts for an offer designed for residents, and for the city: "We don't want more nail salons, or mobile phone cases, or grow shops". In fact, the intention is for commerce to shift its focus from visitors to residents, not just of the district: "We want proximity commerce and city commerce, so that Barcelonans return to that thing of going down to Ciutat Vella."
This model, however, must go beyond commerce, and the promoters of the Pacte have decided to focus on social entrepreneurship: "If 22@ is the technological district, we want Ciutat Vella to be the district of social innovation." To this end, they propose creating a space to encourage the attraction of talent in this area, which explores innovative proposals in issues such as housing and coexistence, which can transform Ciutat Vella and which, at the same time, can be exported to other places.
And it is that coexistence plays an essential role in this process. In a district conditioned by the presence of visitors, it is also demographically marked by immigration, including expats who "must integrate among the neighbors." The objective is to strengthen the community and forge ties, and it is that "the community helps to face the challenges of the neighborhood and the district." One of the main challenges facing the community is housing. In a district without space to build, Pera advocates prioritizing rehabilitation, with measures to incentivize it. Regarding attention to the homeless, the City Council defends addressing it also at a Catalan level, as the issue transcends the city, with people arriving in the district from beyond Barcelona: "We must have a very clear country strategy and that it be coordinated among all cities."
New squares and axes
The transformation will have effects on the urban fabric of the district. The most visible will generate a new centrality in the Raval, next to La Boqueria, and will convertthe Plaza de la Gardunya"a new large square", with a library towards which new market stalls will look, which now seems to be turning its back on the square.The project is for the old Hospital de la Santa Creu to become a cultural lung of the Raval,"also with a 2035 horizon.A few meters away, another large avenue is emerging as a major cultural axis: La Rambla is advancing in its renovation with the aim of being a pole of attraction with culture as its emblem. For this, something is pending: the Principal. In private hands, the old theater still has no plans to reopen. When it does, it must do so with a project that endures and is economically sustainable, as the commissioner highlights: "Now that we have recovered the Capitol, the Principal is missing. It is an issue that must be addressed."
In addition, there is a desire to reduce the density of areas such as Picalquers street, where the possibility of creating a new square is being considered. But the improvements will go beyond major works, and will include precise retouches on axes such as the one that goes from Macba to Liceu, which is now intended to be extended by stretching it towards the sea and giving it continuity along Avenida de las Drassanes, "which now remains a bit like the backyard of the Raval." Another axis that will be strengthened, in addition to the essential ones of La Rambla and Via Laietana, is the one that follows the old Decumanus —now Bisbe, Ciutat and Regomir streets—, with the intention of "commercially enhancing it, as a commercial axis." Beyond commerce, cultural axes will also be promoted, such as the one that goes from Palau Martorell to Portal de l'Àngel, passing through the future Borsí and the Reial Cercle Artístic, with a fundamental maxim: "We have to fill the Gòtic with residents again."
A debate online
Barcelona is not alone in this debate. "Other cities in the world are going through this process," emphasizes Pera. In order to share experiences and points of view, the commissioner proposes creating a working space between cities with similar problems and opportunities, to face them by sharing proposals online. With one goal:decidedly advance towards cities for their citizens.Because, ultimately, the final objective is there: "For Barcelonans to see Ciutat Vella as a place to stroll, for culture and shopping," for them to set aside stigmas that link the district solely with tourism, problems, and security. "We want to show the district outwards and for Barcelonans to see beyond," and for them to return to the district or, in some cases, discover it for the first time: "We want to make Barcelona fall in love again."