The plan will be applied in the city’s ten districts and has a budget of 70 million euros to bolster current services, resolve incidents identified, step up cleaning and improve the state of streets, parks and squares.

The main measures over the next six months will be:

• Cleaning in areas with intensive use.
• Thorough cleaning with pressure hoses at problematic points due to bad smells, urine beneath and around waste containers.
• Cleaning and maintenance in areas around schools.
• Activation of community maintenance boards in districts, along with night-time routes to improve street lighting and the sensation of light, reduce dark spots, increase lighting of pavements and move towards LED technology.
• Execution of a special plan for infestations.
• Action on drains and sewerage in Poblenou.
• Boost to information channels to appeal for respect and civil behaviour and co-responsibility in the care of public space.
• Comprehensive cleaning and updated maintenance at different points around the city. This involves:

• • Cleaning graffiti
  • Removal of stickers
  • Litter bin maintenance
  • Cleaning of marks from chewing gum
  • Thorough cleaning of pavements
  • Repainting of waste container locations
  • Cleaning of the outside of waste containers
  • Cleaning beneath litter bins
  • Removal of weeds
  • Cleaning with water spray
  • Renewal of elements of urban furniture
  • Resurfacing of 24,774 square metres
  • Work on signage

Work will be carried out in the following locations:

• Ciutat Vella: Pou de la Figuera and environs
• Eixample: area around Mercat de Sant Antoni and the streets of Manso and Parlament
• Sants-Montjuïc: Plaça Santa Madrona
• Les Corts: area around Mercat de les Corts
• Sarrià – Sant Gervasi: Plaça de Sant Vicenç de Sarrià
• Gràcia: Riera de Sant Miquel and adjacent streets
• Horta-Guinardó: Plaça Pastrana
• Nou Barris: Plaça Roja and surrounding area
• Sant Andreu: Plaça de la Trinitat
• Sant Martí: Rambla del Poblenou, where it converges with Carrer Doctor Trueta

Caring for Barcelona between us all

In addition, the Cuidem Barcelona plan improves communication channels for the public so that people can notify the City Council quickly and easily of any incidents via the website barcelona.cat/incidencies-espai-public, the ‘Barcelona a la butxaca’ app https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/apps/es/barcelona-la-butxaca and the freephone number  900 226 226.

In terms of measures to improve the state of public space in the city in the medium term, as from the spring of 2022 these will be:

• Stronger maintenance of greenery, watering, planting of trees and bushes in empty tree beds, specific maintenance for dog areas, vertical gardens, green drainage spaces and other natural spaces in the city.
• Intermittent taking on of 70 gardeners and the resolution of the recruitment process to take on gardening assistants and staff to manage greenery.
• Increased budget for teams to look after public space.
• Repainting and comprehensive renewal of signage on the ground in the city.
• Renewal of paving, benches and other urban elements.
• Ongoing maintenance and improvement of sewerage in Barceloneta and Poblenou.
• Improvement and renovation of artistic heritage.

New cleaning contract just around the corner

The Cuidem Barcelona plan will be accompanied by the new cleaning and waste collection contract to be implemented in March 2022. This should improve service in each city neighbourhood, increase the percentage of recycling, make the vehicle fleet electric and cut noise, increase transparency and introduce a new model of governance for the service. The eight-year contract is extendable by a further two and will be the largest contract the city has, accounting for 10% of the municipal budget (300 million euros a year). It will also create 400 new jobs and introduce new machinery to provide a response which matches the needs of each neighbourhood. The new service will initially be rolled out in the districts of Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Gràcia, Sant Andreu and Sant Martí

Finally, to be able to monitor each and every measure set out in the plan and to identify new needs, the City Maintenance Coordination Committee has been created. This body is headed by the municipal manager of Urban Ecology Jordi Campillo, and is made up of the Manager’s Office for Urban Ecology, the Manager’s Office for Environment and Urban Services, the Manager’s Office for Mobility and Infrastructures, the Manager’s Office for Territorial Coordination and Proximity, the managers’ offices for the city’s ten districts, the Barcelona Public Health Agency and the City Police.