An extraordinary PAM to respond to the pandemic and relaunch the city
The Covid-19 crisis has forced shock measures to tackle the resulting social and economic emergency. In a move to look forward and take on the challenges for the city in the coming years, the Municipal Action Programme (PAM) 2020-2023 has been developed as an extraordinary roadmap to review and update the priorities set out some months ago, and to focus all available resources on tackling the current exceptional situation.
The crisis has paralysed economic activity in the city, breaking with the dynamism anticipated at the beginning of the year. The existing climate and housing crises have become worse, with other weaknesses exposed such as the excessive reliance on tourism, the insufficiency of resources for healthcare systems and a care model sustained by women in precarious or casual labour conditions.
The PAM+ 2020-2023, validated today by the Government Commission, addresses these challenges and sets out the opportunities opened up thanks to favourable responses from European, Spanish and Catalan administrations which put Barcelona in a good position to tackle structural changes, the economic reactivation and the generation of quality stable jobs.
The PAM includes the 73 priority measures to tackle the crisis which came from the Barcelona Pact, with strategic action geared towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals in the UN’s 2030 Agenda.
Six main areas of action for the PAM+
- Recovery to make the economy stronger, more resilient and diverse.
- More support and social inclusion resources for the most vulnerable.
- Acceleration of the ecological transition against the climate crisis, boosting safe and sustainable mobility and the shift to a new energy model.
- Strengthening of education, culture, science and sports in the city.
- Neighbourhood approach for a safer and friendlier city with metropolitan vision, basically through the Neighbourhood Plan.
- Implementation of an open city, with a digital, transparent, cross-cutting and participatory administration.
Participatory process
In parallel to the public scrutiny period established by the Regulations on Citizen Participation, a preceptive participatory process was also under way but had to be interrupted because of the state of emergency. Even so, 13,512 people (7,137 women and 5,880 men) took part in person in one of the 204 meetings organised, or through the mobile points set up in 138 busy public places.
In addition, the City Council’s digital participation platform, decidim.barcelona, enabled citizens to back proposals or add new ones up until 22 May. Some 40,000 users registered and made 3,344 proposals, which were gathered and studied from a technical point of view to assess their inclusion in the programme.
Calendar for administrative process and monitoring
The pandemic interrupted the ordinary drafting and procedural process for the PAM, which had initially been approved and was awaiting definitive approval in 2020.
The PAM+ 2020-2023 will be taken before the district councils in December, as well as the City Board and the Social and Economic Board, for their mandatory opinion.
The Commission for Presidency, Citizen Rights, Participation, Safety and Prevention of 17 February 2021 should rule on the text, and if it has enough support it will be definitively approved by the Full Council meeting of 26 February 2021.
