The Barcelona barometer is a municipal survey published twice a year, in July and December, and showing the main concerns and patterns of opinion among the city’s population. The results published in December bring the number of surveys published to a hundred since the City Council started to gather opinions and evaluations from the public.

The results from the second barometer for 2023 can be found in the municipal documentary repository BCN ROC.

Image of the city

Of those surveyed, 44.8% rated the evolution of the city in the past year as good or very good, compared to 52.7% of negative responses and 2.5% undefined responses (didn’t know or didn’t reply).

As for future perspectives, people were optimistic: 55.6% think the situation will improve. In contrast, three in ten people see the evolution of the city as negative.

Main concerns among people

Security is the issue that worries people in Barcelona the most: one in four people surveyed identified it as the most serious problem for the city. The list of issues that worry people the most continues with access to housing (11.7%), cleaning (9.7%) and tourism (6.3%).

Municipal management

Of those surveyed, 45.1% rated the City Council positively, representing an increase of ten per cent compared to last year, the highest figure since June 2020. In addition, 14.9% rated municipal management as normal or standard.

As for negative opinions, these account for 31.9% of the total, while 8.2% of people surveyed did not express their position.

Ratings for political leaders

People in Barcelona scored the heads of political formations as follows:

• Ernest Maragall: 5.3
• Xavier Trias: 5.2
• Jaume Collboni: 5.1
• Ada Colau: 4.3
• Daniel Sierra: 3.2
• Gonzalo de Oro-Pulido: 2.0

Voting intentions

According to the data collected, if elections were held now the forecast for the results would be:

• PSC-PSOE: 13.5%
• Barcelona en Comú / ECP – Sumar: 11.5%
• Trias per Barcelona / Junts: 7.5%
• ERC: 8.2%
• CUP: 2.5%
• PP: 2.5%
• VOX: 0.8%

Other voting options account for 1.5% between them, with 1.7% of those surveyed stating they would cast blank or void votes. Abstentions would stand at 13%, while 28.9% declared they would not have a clear voting preference.

State of the economy

The survey includes a section on both the current economic situation in the city and perspectives for the future. Some 40.1% of those surveyed considered the current situation as good or very good, compared to 42.2% who made a negative assessment.

The majority of those surveyed were positive about the future: 48.6% think the situation will get better, while 27.8% think it will get worse.

Cleaning and maintenance of public space

Of those surveyed, 38.6% are familiar with the Pla Endreça, the municipal strategy for the comprehensive maintenance of the city, launched at the end of July to improve cleaning and coexistence. Regarding some of the specific measures in the plan, the barometer offers three notable indicators:

• 93% of those surveyed were in favour of strengthening municipal cleaning and maintenance services.
• 86% made a positive assessment of stronger fines for anti-social behaviour.
• 84% agree with stepping up the presence of the City Police to guarantee coexistence.