The Barcelona model must be a balance between being a global city and maintaining its local identity.

The New Barcelona Post talks this month with Paula Ciria Espinosa, one of the young executives participating in the leadership and city program taught by Barcelona Global, Barcelona 2040. As New Business Coordinator at Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), Ciria is currently working on the launch of the operation of the Lleida–Manresa line and the shuttle to the Airport.

The objective of this series of interviews is for this new generation of leaders to share their vision of the Barcelona of the future they aspire to, as well as their impact proposals for the improvement of the city.

--- What do you expect from Barcelona in 2040?

--- Barcelona is a city with a unique geography and history, and its future will depend on how it addresses the challenges of connectivity, sustainability, and territorial growth. Barcelona is surrounded by four natural barriers, with the Mediterranean and Collserola to the north and south, and the Besòs and Llobregat rivers to the east and west. In this sense, I hope that by 2040 it will be better connected with its surroundings, overcoming these natural barriers, and that these connections will be both in terms of mobility and technology, allowing for better integration with the metropolitan area and beyond, evolving the city towards a broader territorial concept. I also hope that in 2040 we will have completed the main infrastructures planned in the 20th century and be executing those that respond to the challenges of the future, expanding and strengthening the territorial fabric in the same way that major interventions did at the time, such as the creation of the ring roads or the arrival of high-speed rail between Barcelona and Madrid. Furthermore, I hope that we will have learned from previous experiences and manage to establish a consensual and coordinated planning among administrations, with a long-term vision and continuity beyond the four-year political cycles, as well as being able to implement more efficient management and financing models that allow progress at the pace required by a modern, competitive, and sustainable city.

--- What city would you compare Barcelona to?

--- At a territorial and infrastructure level, we can compare Barcelona with several cities around the world that have made or are making a leap in scale thanks to key projects. In Tokyo, they have a high-speed network that connects the country's main cities. In addition, they have a commuter transport network that serves around the large nuclei that make up each city and, finally, urban networks that offer last-mile solutions and proximity transport that completes point-to-point transport. From Tokyo, I would highlight the intermodality and coordination between the networks of different levels and the high quality of each of them, which results in a highly efficient system independent of private vehicles. In Paris, the Grand Paris Express railway project is being executed in its metropolitan area, which includes the construction of four new lines that will surround the capital and connect different neighborhoods in full development and the city's three airports. Of this project, the objective of promoting peripheral economic areas and guaranteeing their interconnection without exclusively depending on the center, all through a sustainable transport system, deserves special attention.

"Barcelona must bet on business sectors that provide social, environmental and economic value"

--- Barcelona must promote a city model that combines sustainability, efficiency, and quality of life. Its future is not in replicating other models, but in adapting the best global practices to its own context. The ideal city model for Barcelona will be one based on proximity: a connected metropolis where people can access services and opportunities quickly and sustainably, minimizing environmental impact. This model must be a balance between being a global city and maintaining its local identity.

--- What is the main challenge Barcelona must solve in the coming years?

--- Barcelona has various challenges on its agenda, such as access to housing, resilience to climate change, and tourism management. But focusing on the infrastructure sector, the main challenges are long-term technical planning, financing, and efficient management, all interrelated. Long-term technical planning is needed, agreed upon by the multiple agents involved, both public and private, and this must anticipate the demographic, technological, and climatic changes that will influence the city and its metropolitan area. Financing mechanisms must ensure that these plans are executable sustainably and continuously over time, whether through public budgets, European funds, debt or green bonds, public-private collaborations, concessions, or a combination of several of these mechanisms. Furthermore, public administrations must be able to manage agilely, reducing bureaucracy, improving inter-administrative coordination, and having and attracting qualified personnel.

--- What do you think should be the role of new generations and their involvement in the city's development?

--- New generations have the responsibility to learn from previous ones and continue working on Barcelona's major challenges. But they must also innovate, bringing new ways of doing things that are more technological, transversal, and connected.

"It is through talent and technical and professional leadership that the city's challenges can be overcome"

--- Barcelona must bet on business sectors that provide social, environmental and economic value, and for this, one of the focuses must be on attracting and developing talent, creating collaborative environments that promote innovation. This includes investing in training, improving urban quality of life and fostering ecosystems that enhance both local talent and its ability to attract international talent. It is precisely through talent and technical and professional leadership that the city's challenges can be overcome, both in the infrastructure sector and in the rest that have an impact on Barcelona.