Ciutat Vella in the mirror

Facades of the street Carrer d’en Botella in the Raval neighbourhood. © Ajuntament de Barcelona / Laura Guerrero

Federico García Lorca once said that the essence of “great, eternal and incorruptible” Barcelona was found in Ciutat Vella. Specifically, on La Rambla, which he described as having “a Gothic side where you can hear Roman fountains and 15th-century lutes, and another side, chaotic, cruel, incredible, where the accordions of sailors from all over the world could be heard, and there was a nocturnal flurry of painted lips and laughter at dawn”. Today, that Lorca-esque vision has shifted, but the contradictions persist.

Ciutat Vella is both the district that contains the majority of Barcelona’s hotels and cultural attractions and the one with the lowest per capita income and life expectancy. It is the heart of the city but, far too often, it also contains its margins. For every municipal government, Ciutat Vella has been a tough puzzle to solve – and this holds true for the current administration. The government led by Jaume Collboni has made it a priority this term to drive a comprehensive transformation of the district. To this end, a specific tool has been created: the Pact for Ciutat Vella. Headed by Ivan Pera, the Pact’s commissioner, this body aims to foster dialogue among the district’s various stakeholders and develop a roadmap to transform Barcelona’s central neighbourhoods over the next decade.

At its core, the goal is for Ciutat Vella to take a hard look at itself in the mirror – not only to recognise its flaws but, more importantly, to embrace its opportunities. “We need to harness our strengths to act as a lever for change to address the district’s challenges”, explains Pera. The Pact was officially unveiled on 10 July, but it had already been months in the making. “During the first year, we engaged with more than 170 organisations. By the end of the second year, we aim to have a roadmap on the table”, says the commissioner. The objective is to outline a strategic action plan by 2025, with a long-term vision extending to 2035.

The presentation event of the Pact for Ciutat Vella, held in the Conservatori del Liceu auditorium last July. © Ajuntament de Barcelona / Ceci Fimia The presentation event of the Pact for Ciutat Vella, held in the Conservatori del Liceu auditorium last July. © Ajuntament de Barcelona / Ceci Fimia

The first step will be a joint diagnosis of the district. Between now and the summer of 2025, a series of workshops, working sessions and meetings will be held to define the main challenges and how to address them. These efforts will focus on four key pillars: people – covering areas such as health, education, housing and culture; public space – with discussions on safety, cleanliness, mobility and urban planning; economy – addressing critical issues like commerce, tourism and unemployment; and community bonding – aimed at restoring district pride and social cohesion.

Some key figures will guide this diagnosis. According to the 2024 District Observatory, Ciutat Vella is home to 106,500 people, with over 47,000 living in the Raval neighbourhood, one of Europe’s most densely populated areas. Life expectancy in the district remains the lowest in Barcelona (82.4 years), as does per capita household disposable income (€15,157, far below the city average of €21,264). While the district has the city’s lowest ageing index, more than 1,070 residents aged 85 or older live alone in Ciutat Vella. Compounding these challenges, 80.3% of the district’s housing stock predates 1960, compared to just 36.6% across the city.

Walking through the district completes the picture, with drug dependency and homelessness standing out as the most visible social problems on the streets. These issues contribute to another notable finding from the District Observatory: in 2023, 10,590 residents across Ciutat Vella’s four neighbourhoods received assistance from social service centres. This constitutes 11.1% of all social service interventions in Barcelona, a disproportionately high figure given that Ciutat Vella accounts for just 6.4% of the city’s population.

Between tourism and insecurity

Unlike other cities where the most vulnerable populations are concentrated on the outskirts, in Barcelona, they are situated in the city centre. This makes Ciutat Vella a district of stark contrasts. It is one of the city’s primary tourism hotspots. Nearly one in three hotels in Barcelona is located in these neighbourhoods, which host a substantial share of the tourists visiting the Catalan capital.

This dynamic has a direct impact on residents, who not only contend with overcrowding of certain streets but also witness a significant transformation in their commercial landscape. The proliferation – now somewhat contained – of souvenir shops, 24-hour supermarkets, cannabis stores and mobile phone case shops illustrates this shift. Housing remains one of the most contentious areas in this clash of interests. As both a tourist hub and a vulnerable district, Ciutat Vella continues to register some of the highest eviction rates in the city.

The issue of perceptions warrants a separate discussion. In 2023, residents of Ciutat Vella rated their satisfaction with living in their neighbourhoods at 6.41 out of 10, the lowest score among the city’s ten districts. When asked about the most serious problems, residents of the Raval, Gòtic, Barceloneta, and Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera districts all highlighted insecurity as the biggest concern.

The statistics back up this perception: in 2023, Ciutat Vella was the district with the highest number of crimes, recording 451 offences per 1,000 residents, the vast majority of which were thefts. However, it’s important to take into account that it is also the most visited district by tourists, so the crime rate per resident doesn’t reflect the sheer volume of people passing through it each day.

Uncertainty about the process

Given the long list of challenges, the work required by the Pact for Ciutat Vella is vast. Moreover, it is set in one of the city’s most diverse districts. Foreigners make up over half of the population (52.3%), the highest percentage in Barcelona. In the 2023 municipal elections, it was also the district with the lowest voter turnout, at just 47.2%. Ivan Pera acknowledges that there is much work to be done but rejects the idea that Ciutat Vella is a lost cause. He laments how the district has been “stigmatised”. “It has been stigmatised to the point that it feels as though the city centre has moved up, towards Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia, leaving what’s below as a territory full of tourists and problems”, he criticises.

In response, he believes the Pact for Ciutat Vella represents an opportunity to transform the district decisively over the next decade. However, he acknowledges that residents cannot afford to wait that long for solutions. That’s why he advocates a two-pronged approach: on one hand, the City Council’s day-to-day work – with €225 million allocated for investments in Ciutat Vella during the current mandate, alongside ongoing projects like the Pla Endreça [Urban Renewal Plan], the renovation of La Rambla and Via Laietana, investments in Barceloneta, and the creation of a new Plan of Uses; and on the other, the long-term initiatives that the Pact will introduce.

The “table of unlikely alliances”

The challenge of the Pact is to drive a significant transformation in the district that, unlike previous plans – such as the one that led to the creation of MACBA and the CCCB in the 1980s, or the one that eventually resulted in the new Rambla del Raval – doesn’t just focus on surface-level urban projects but goes deeper. First, it will be necessary to bring together the district’s stakeholders who will be involved in the Pact. Pera highlights the importance of having them work together in a shared space, citing the example of residents and restaurant owners coming together to discuss issues such as street noise limits. He refers, using philosopher Francesc Torralba’s words, to creating a “table of unlikely alliances” where diverse groups can find common ground.

So far, local organisations have approached the project with caution. Pau Bosch, president of Amics de la Rambla, welcomes the creation of this forum, as “Ciutat Vella is a district with many problems,” though he wishes progress could be faster. Óscar Esteban, president of Tot Raval, also hopes the Pact will give the district a boost but warns against relying solely on “security-driven” solutions. He calls for a strengthening of social services and further investment in existing programmes. Enric Canet from the Casal dels Infants del Raval agrees, stressing that the most important priority is to “keep people in the district” and ensure they can live “with dignity”. Other organisations, such as the Xarxa Veïnal del Raval, the Associació de Veïns i Veïnes del Barri Gòtic, and the Antiga Massana collective, have raised concerns that the participation of local entities might be “merely symbolic, without any real influence”.

After a year of preparation, the Pact is now entering its critical phase. It has an Advisory Council made up of 22 figures closely linked to the district – from former councillors to representatives of local organisations, institutions and the neighbourhood movement – as well as members of the City Council. It will ensure that the measures for Ciutat Vella’s transformation are properly executed.

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