Quo Vadis Barcino

Cap i casal, comital pearl of the Mediterranean, which came to dominate the Mare Nostrum; which, upon demolishing its walls, exploded into an Eixample, a global urban planning model. A leading and exemplary city in Spain and a gateway to Europe at the end of Francoism. A center of tourist attraction. 42% of Barcelona residents who want to buy a home want to do so outside the city (24% in Madrid), why? Where are you going, Barcelona? 

The locomotive has lost steam. It seems that the decentralization initiated with the 1978 Constitution has harmed us. Not only has Madrid surpassed us, but Malaga is becoming a competitor to be reckoned with. It is true that the capital has a larger area to grow and that "people attract people." And that there is a lack of investment in infrastructure. But the economic policies of the city council also influence (opposition to the airport expansion, no to the Four Seasons hotel, Hermitage...). The millor botiga del món thrown away by the current municipal government, which favors de-escalating the economy to shrink the city. With a city model of small towns, as it was in the 19th century: Gràcia, Sarrià, Sant Martí…. And we cannot forget the beret pulled down under the eyebrow on the other side of Plaça Sant Jaume, which has a fiscal policy that invites people to live in Andorra.

But the glass can be seen as half full. Barcelona has the Sagrada Familia, and Paseo de Gràcia, business schools like IESE and ESADE, and a strong associative fabric. It is like an ocean liner: it has great inertia and movements are slow. The long-term (generational) vision must prevail over tactical decisions. Paraphrasing Clint Eastwood, what city we want to leave to our children is important, but even more important is what children we want to leave to our city.

Elections are coming and we must remember Drucker: planning is not thinking about future decisions, but about the future consequences of present decisions. The city council is the closest administration we have. Who to vote for? The leadership of the mayor can be the decanter. We can paraphrase by saying that every city has the mayor it deserves.

We must turn the page on restrictive activity policies. We all agree on having a green and inclusive city; but carving up Consell de Cent street, cutting the city open, is not taking the economy into account. Pacifying the city is not making it inaccessible. Perhaps it is better to recover the interiors of the Eixample blocks as true green lungs of the city. The skyline of Barcelona must include Montserrat to incorporate it into its extra-metropolitan area in the strategic design with territorial balance, not just so that the Moreneta illuminates the land. 

We must recover pride and passion to once again be a reference city. A global idea of a city model is needed, with strategies for mobility (internal and access), housing, security (personal and property ---what most concerns citizens---), commerce (physical versus online as the backbone of the city), taxation, culture, third sector, environmental and social sustainability, technology, entrepreneurship,... in short, an ecosystem of progress; an image of the city as a pole of attraction. With driving projects. Experts must be listened to, and through a public-private dialogue, efforts must be combined. The administration manages resources and must create the environment for companies to generate them. For example, political spending can be reduced, and procedures can be simplified. 

But not everything depends on others; if everyone swept the sidewalk in front of their house, how clean the city would be. Barcelona must get beautiful again; and be a city open to innovation, to the world. The best city in the world, to buy, work, visit and live. Whether the stock market rings or not, Barcelona must be good.