Collboni will review Barcelona's challenges at the midpoint of his term in Moments Estel·lars

Having just passed the halfway point of his term as mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni will return to Casa Seat with The New Barcelona Post to take stock of these two years at the head of the City Council and to address the future of the Catalan capital. In a new session of the Moments Estel·lars cycle, the mayor will review the challenges and opportunities facing the city, and will outline what the Barcelona of the future should be like to respond to the needs of the present. To attend the session and be able to ask questions to the mayor, prior reservation is required.

In this first half of the term, Collboni has promoted some of his flagship projects, such as the Pla Endreça, the progress of the remodeling of Glòries and the announcement to eliminate tourist flats by 2028. Now, he has just taken a step in one of the issues that the City Council had pending: the review of the 30% protected housing reserve. Collboni's government —in minority— proposes several ways to reduce the measure, such as making it more flexible in large rehabilitations and having compensation mechanisms in new construction, in a package of proposals that is under negotiation with the opposition.

In these two years of his mandate, Collboni's City Council has also redoubled its commitment to science, in a Barcelona where projects such as the expansion of the Clínic, the Barcelona Science Park and the Ciutadella del Coneixement stand out, among many other initiatives called to strongly position the city in the global scientific landscape.

Thus, Barcelona is committed to sectors with which to generate quality employment and attract international investment, which include areas such as audiovisual, technology, creative industries and the blue economy. Transversally, Collboni's Government has set out to promote entrepreneurship, with initiatives also linked to venture capital, with the third investment fund launched by the City Council.

The city also looks to the future by facing major urban transformations, such as that of the Sagrera surroundings, that of the Marina area and the progress in the coverage of the Ronda de Dalt. Among these transformations also stands out that of Montjuïc, with an investment of 2.8 billion until 2035 and with the expanded Fira —also in L'Hospitalet— and with implications also for the culture and mobility of the Catalan capital, as the metro will reach the Montjuïc park-mountain for the first time.

Also in the field of mobility, during the current mandate, the city has seen the development of works, including one that has represented a milestone for Barcelona's mobility: the extension of the tram to Verdaguer. Now, the question remains whether the tracks will continue to extend to connect with the other end of Diagonal.

This and many other questions can be addressed with the mayor in the new session of Moments Estel·lars. Titled "Conversation with the Mayor," the session will be led, as usual, by journalist and UPF-BSM professor Toni Aira, and will take place on July 14 at 6:30 p.m., in an event that has the collaboration of Casa Seat, Barcelona Global and Must Media Group.

Where is the city going, and where should it go? And its economic model? What role should tourism play? How does Barcelona want to be known and recognized internationally? And how to ensure a city for Barcelonians in an increasingly global metropolis? Housing is in focus as one of the main challenges of the city, as well as inequalities between neighborhoods, which are being reduced through measures such as the Pla de Barris.

All this in a context where cities must take measures to be more resilient and adaptable to a changing reality, both in climatic conditions and in the geopolitical landscape. These changes generate impacts in all areas, and must be addressed transversally, from urban planning to the economic and social model. The Moments Estel·lars session will serve to address these and many other questions with the mayor, who will be able to take stock of his first two years in office and set the priorities for the two years that remain.