Reorganisation of municipal management
The Barcelona City Council’s coastal management model in 2018 was based solely on the operational management of beaches. This model was not based on an integrated and cross-cutting approach covering the entire coastline in all its aspects. Moreover, there was a fragmentation that made it difficult to pinpoint management responsibilities and liaisons.
Therefore, a unit or a collegiate body was needed for the establishment of higher-level guidelines covering all aspects of coastal management and monitoring. It was also necessary to reorganise the operational management of the beaches in order to respond to the current needs of the area.
What are we doing?
In 2018 the Strategic Office of the Coastal Area was created, under the Municipal Manager’s Office and by mayoral decree, in order to develop the municipal reference in coastal issues and the nexus and link of projects and actions along the coast. The first step in the reorganisation of coastal management was the creation of the Coastal Governance Committee, in 2019, as a decision-making body for the entire Barcelona coastline. The remit of this committee is the entire seafront of the city: ports, beaches and bathing areas, seafront promenades and sea districts, as well as the river areas bordering the city of Barcelona.
The second step was the creation of the Beaches Department within the municipal company Barcelona Cicle de l’Aigua. The department is currently divided into two services: the strategic coordination of beaches and the operational management of beaches with the mission of planning and managing Barcelona’s beaches in an integrated way, combining the preservation and regeneration of the coastal ecosystem and the environmental services offered by the beaches with meeting the needs and expectations of users and guaranteeing quality facilities and services.
