Barcelona for Climate

Incorporate the climate variable in urban planning.

Actions:

• 6.1. Adapt the necessary current urban planning regulations so they help to achieve the climate change mitigation and adaptation goals and targets (2020).
• 6.2. Draw up a design guide with sustainability and resilience criteria (based on the sustainable urban planning workshops) for architects, engineers and so on, as well as key players such as research centres and universities (2020).
• 6.3. Draft a green and biodiversity charter, to provide an instrument with the technical, environmental and design criteria that need to be borne in mind when planning green spaces and urban trees, in the spirit of conserving and enhancing the city’s plant and animal diversity. This charter must include the technical aspects that plans for a green space or planting roadside trees have to comply with: soil quality, soil volume, planting distances, distances between trees and lamp- posts or other urban furniture, etc. It also has to decide the choice of the most suitable species (depending on the necessary resources, which produce allergens and which avoid pests and infestations) as well as recommendations for obtaining more services (2020).
• 6.4.Analyse how climate change specifically affects each district in order to identify possible risks and vulnerabilities (heat, presence of people vulnerable to climate change, buildings in a bad state of repair, a lack of green spaces, etc.) and define what specific action is required, in collaboration with existing plans and their updated versions, such as the Neighbourhood Plan or the Barcelona Green Infrastructure and Biodiveristy Plan (2020).
• 6.5.Locate and characterise the areas at risk (of extreme heat, flooding, power cuts, availability of water, etc.) (2020).
• 6.6.Influence higher-level planning instruments, such as the Urban Development Master Plan (PDU) and urban planning legislation (Catalan Urban Planning Act) to incorporate planning considerations that ensure the presence of quality green infrastructure, such as green corridors, reserved spaces that allow water to infi ltrate the subsoil, the protection of areas at risk from climate change or agricultural use on a metropolitan scale (2025).
• 6.7. Characterise the various urban fabrics according to the risks that affect them and establish co- relationships between them and key existing planning instruments to enable corrective measures to be incorporated when they are revised (2025).
• 6.8. Keep suffi cient space in the soil and subsoil to allow for the necessary climate services (greater water infi ltration, better quality soil to allow plants to grow properly, etc.) (2025).
• 6.9. Rethink and adapt the criteria in project and works protocols and in the technical specifi cations for urban spaces, in order to equip them with a more mainstream vision and ensure the compliance of these sustainability and resilience criteria in urban transformation projects (2025).

Achieving another 1.6 km2 of green surface area and preserve species that are vulnerable to climate change

Actions:

• 7.1 Incorporate climate change criteria in the Special Plan for protecting the environment and landscape of the Serra de Collserola nature reserve (2020).
• 7.2. Maintain the firefighting and prevention services, paying special attention to areas that are more vulnerable to the risk of fire and the hillside neighbourhoods bordering woodland. Promote and supervise sustainable forest management (ongoing).
• 7.3. Create design criteria and, with public participation, plan the network of urban green corridors, a mesh connecting the green spaces with each other and with the surrounding natural areas, expressly strengthening the role that green infrastructure plays as a measure for adapting to the possible effects of climate change (2020).
• 7.4. Prioritise the actions planned in the PIVU in those districts and neighbourhoods with fewer green spaces or infrastructure and those areas most exposed to heat (2020).
• 7.5. Consolidate the existing programmes to conserve wildlife vulnerable to climate change (birds in buildings, amphibians, bats) and create new ones (for fish, such as the Catalan barbel in Collserola, and pollinators) (2020).
• 7.6. Step up comprehensive pest control (cockroaches, tiger mosquitoes, etc.) with minimum use of insecticides and biocides (2020).
• 7.7. Consolidate the control programmes for arboviruses and other diseases transmeses per vectors i els protocols de control de mosquits (ASPB) (continuadament).
• 7.8. Find solutions to the problem of mosquito reproduction in scuppers and reservoir roofs (2020).
• 7.9 Produce a catalogue of tree species that will prioritise them according to their capacity for resisting certain extreme climate conditions (heat and little water) while providing ecosystem services (thermal regulation, shelter and food, pollutant capture, etc.), after carrying out the corresponding studies specified in the Tree Master Plan (2025).
• 7.10. Decide which zones (with high temperatures, a large exposed population, intense use of public spaces and the presence of groundwater) need more thermoregulatory vegetation, those where it is not necessary and where xerophile vegetation (which is adapted to dry environments and needs little water) is already sufficient. Priority needs to be given to native or well-adapted species in the parks, preferably evergreens, and ensuring they are incorporated into plans for public spaces, mainly near benches and rest areas (2025).
• 7.11 Improve our knowledge of the effects of climate change on natural systems (phenology, allergies, pests, etc.) (2025).
• 7.12 Create ephemeral or seasonal gardens (10 a year, one per district) (2025).
• 7.13 Create a network of urban nature reserves with a high pedagogical value designed to preserve wildlife vulnerable to climate change, among other things, and which at least includes Parc dels Tres Turons, the Montjuïc cliff and the Besòs riverbank (2030).
• 7.14 Reclaim the Rec Comtal canal (2030).

Closing the water cycle and optimising the use of groundwater, promoting the use of rain and regenerated water and facilitating water infi ltration into the subsoil.

Actions:

• 8.1 Foster water saving on a municipal level in irrigating parks and gardens, fountains, street cleaning and municipal buildings (ongoing).
• 8.2 Incorporate up-to-date climate projections in future editions of the Drought Protocol (2018).
• 8.3 Increase soil permeability by defining a sustainable urban drainage strategy for Barcelona that offers design recommendations in a manual, maintenance protocols (with professional training to ensure it is done correctly) and recommendations on how to monitor and evaluate its effectiveness using monitors and sensors (2020).
• 8.4 Use drainage paving, by means of innovative public procurement (2020).
• 8.5 Run publicity campaigns to encourage water- saving on a domestic level and, in 2018, link that to the Water Memorial celebrations (ongoing).
• 8.6 Envisage watering trees and increasing that whenever necessary for the desired evapotranspiration and cooling services (optimally by remote control, depending on the water balance) (2020).
• 8.7 Ensure compliance with the protocol for emptying water into naturalised ponds, in the event of a drought, to preserve and protect amphibians and water plants (ongoing).
• 8.8 Assess and continually monitor the quality of drinking water and groundwater to see it is affected in periods of drought or heavy rain (2020).
• 8.9 Have a Barcelona water supply plan in place (2020).
• 8.10. Draw up a base map of the city’s subsoil to find out the present degree of occupancy and impermeability and create reserve spaces for infiltration (2025).
• 8.11. Promote the use of grey water in new housing developments and renovations or for industrial purposes, and study its inclusion in future versions of the Municipal Urban Environment By- law (2025).
• 8.12. Study the energy impact of supplying water (the desalination plant, regenerated water plants, etc. (2025).
• 8.13. Study the feasibility of producing regenerated water at the Besòs waste water treatment plant (EDAR) to feed the Besòs aquifer, to maintain the river’s ecological flows and feed the purification plant (2025).
• 8.14. Exploit the Besòs aquifer resource as potable water and build a purification plant (2030).
• 8.15. Utilise regenerated water from the River Llobregat for the industrial uses of the Zona Franca Consortium and for recharging the aquifer (2030).
• 8.16. Build recharging pools at high points in the city and generate a flow retention and lamination effect, and install rainwater capture systems in Collserola so it can be reused. Evaluate their exploitation cost (2030).
• 8.17. Utilise pumped groundwater from underground facilities (the metro, car parks) to infiltrate the aquifer (2030).
• 8.18. Prevent saline intrusion by using regenerated water and surplus groundwater (2030).

Fostering the installation of solar power generating systems in public areas by means of new structures or transforming existing urban structures.

Actions:

• 9.1. Set up a municipal energy marketing company at the service of everyone (2018).
• 9.2. Deploy the municipal energy operator which will drive renewable energy production in the city and facilitate its installation in public and private spaces (2020).
• 9.3. Facilitate the integration of power generation structures into public spaces by adapting the existing regulatory framework (2020).
• 9.4. Create programmes to foster employment around local and renewable power generation (ongoing).
• 9.5. Evaluate incorporating this generation in other parts of the public space, such as pavements, road surfaces, etc. (2025).

Optimising the urban network to encourage a change of city model that produces more spaces for pedestrians and fewer for private motor vehicles.

Actions:

• 10.1 Improve public transport accessibility and frequency (ongoing).
• 10.2 Promote cycling: develop infrastructure (cycle lane network), encourage different forms of cycling (own/shared bike, mechanical or electric) (ongoing).
• 10.3 Improve modal interchanges between bikes and public transport (ongoing).
• 10.4 Provide grants and subsidies for going to work by bike: Promote a pilot test, help businesses to buy bikes and evaluate the possibility of economically compensating workers for the kilometres travelled to work (annually).
• 10.5 Electrify and diversify municipal vehicle fleets (ongoing).
• 10.6 Promote plug-in electric or hybrid motorbikes (ongoing).
• 10.7 Promote electric and mechanical bike fleets (ongoing).
• 10.8 Strengthen and create new infrastructure linked with electric vehicle penetration in the city: increase the number of charging points in municipal car parks, pilot tests for charging points for urban goods distribution, taxis, etc. (ongoing).
• 10.9 Regulate parking and budget to oversee the promotion of electric vehicles in the city (ongoing)..
• 10.10 Introduce and consolidate services associated with promoting electric vehicles: electric taxis, sharing the last mile with an electric vehicle, etc. (ongoing).
• 10.11 Make the low emission zone permanent (ongoing).
• 10.12 Improve goods distribution and promote last mile distribution by bike, electric motorbike, etc., through microplatforms (ongoing).
• 10.13 Consolidate the Poblenou superblock, create new ones in the city (Horta - old quarter, Eixample - Sant Antoni, Sants-Hostafrancs, Les Corts - La Maternitat i Sant Ramón) and study others (2020).
• 10.14 Implement the Barcelona City Council Mobility Plan (2020).
• 10.15 Urge companies to draw up sustainable mobility plans (2025).
• 10.16 Diversify fuels and electric vehicles in vehicle fleets (2025).
• 10.17 Potenciar una flota de taxis 100% de baixes emissions. D’acord amb la mesura presa per l’AMB, a partir del 2019 no s’atorgaran llicències de taxi als vehicles dièsel (2025).
• 10.18 Connectar els tramvies (2025).
• 10.19 Renew the bus and coach fleet with less polluting technologies, and give priority to zero- emission vehicles. In line with the C40 - Fossil Fuel Free Cities agreement, only electric buses will be purchased from 2025 on (2025). A fossil fuel free zone also needs to be set up in line with the C40 commitment (2030).
• 10.20 Create park & ride zones in collaboration with other authorities (2030).
• 10.21 Extend the superblock concept to the whole city (2030).
• 10.22 Increase the number of bus lanes in the city and complete the roll-out of the orthogonal bus network (2030).

Maintaining and making the most of the environmental services offered by the sea and the coastline to combat climate change. Ensuring the functional integrity of the coastline.

Actions:

• 11.1 Analyse the social perception of the effects of climate change on the coast (expanding the beach user survey) with the aim of prioritising and redesigning the beach awareness and communication actions (2018).
• 11.2 Carry out further studies on the vulnerability of beaches to erosion and sea flooding (2019).
• 11.3 Define the strategy for protecting and the specific use of each beach in line with the study results (2020).
• 11.4 Establish sediment conservation measures: beach regeneration, change the grain size of the sediment brought in, analyse other coast protection options (2020).
• 11.5 Redefine existing coastal uses to adapt them to future uses and to beach availability, and introduce sustainability into all the activities that take place there (2020).
• 11.6 Naturalise the Barcelona coast so the land spaces can eventually become a green corridor and the coastal sea might improve its physical, chemical and biological quality and its biodiversity (2020).
• 11.7 Promote sustainable use of the sea, by fostering environmentally friendly marine activities through the coastal sea schools, publicise Barcelona’s reef park, etc. (2020).
• 11.8 Increase public knowledge of the sea, promote its heritage value and popular science (the CSIC’s public area of experimental research, the Beach Centre’s educational programme, etc.) (2020).
• 11.9 Apply adaptation and resilience increasing measures that are suited to the Barcelona coast (2030).
• 11.10 Increase marine biodiversity by installing artificial reefs (2030).
• 11.11 Study the effects of climate change on the sea temperature and their implications for water quality, marine biodiversity, fishing and so on (2030).
• 11.12 Reduce discharges into the receiving environment during periods of heavy rain and ensure that any water discharged into the natural environment is of sufficient quality (2030).
• 11.13 Foster the protection and expansion of the current marine carbon sinks (mainly the Garraf and Maresme meadow woods) between the towns on the Barcelona coast, and encourage collaborative networking (2030).
• 11.14 Re-plan the model for coastal area uses, that is consistent with a continuous improvement policy for environmental practices and preventing coastal pollution, with the ultimate aim of maintaining the quality, biodiversity, productivity and dynamism of our sea (2030).