Public space is a place where citizens meet and interact, a place where conflicts can often occur. Promoting innovative urban improvements that foster social and respectful behaviour between people can help improve coexistence in certain aspects. This was the premise for the creation of “The Proactive City” subsidies, which offer financial and technical support for the implementation of projects linked to urban innovation and building coexistence. This year’s call will see BIT Habitat fund seven projects through a sum of nearly half a million euros (480,000 euros).

Out of the 56 projects put forward, the jury chose seven that will now become a reality with prototypes to be located at various points in the city, with improvements linked to the reduction of noise pollution, the relationship between generational communities, the use of resources and assets, the promotion of neighbourliness, housing improvements and the climate emergency.

This year’s seven winning projects are:

• Soundlights, by Bitlab and Pompeu Fabra University, addressing the problem of noise pollution.
• Memòries sintètiques BCN, by Domestic Data Streamers, reconstructing undocumented visual data from elderly people and creating a new meeting space between people of different ages.
• Compartiment,by Bax & Company, ApocapocBCN Nest City Lab and Tech Barcelona, proposing the implementation of a system to share products between people, linked to a digital platform.
• Tània, by IS Global, Lichen Innovación Social and Keacoustics, addressing noise pollution in places where noise is an issue from activity at night on restaurant terraces.
• Safareig, by Societat Orgànica, Lacol, SEBA and Batec, which will create a toolbox to be shared between people to improve communal spaces in housing.
• S.O.S Sounds off silence, by Bossbrothers Sensibilització 3.0, which also seeks to cut noise generated at night.
• Climate Trust Barcelona, by Aquí, Straddle3 and CLTH, proposing an urban regeneration method that promotes the joint production of climate shelters.

The projects were presented yesterday, Friday, as part of Barcelona Innova Week, the annual event highlighting innovation initiatives developed and implemented in the city. Since it was introduced in 2020, BIT Habitat has backed 29 projects through its subsidy call “The Proactive City”.