Barcelona Digital City

In the attached document we present the results of the “2015-2019 Report: Barcelona, Digital City. Technology at the Service of the People”, which explains how, in the last four years, the “Barcelona, Digital City“ plan has turned technology into a driving force that is making us a more democratic, sustainable, feminist and fair city.

The Commisionate for Technology and Digital Innovation, created by Barcelona City Council during the past term of office, was the result of our firm belief in the importance of data and technology for transforming the city; from providing improved and more affordable public services to making the municipal government more open, agile, efficient and participative, as well as fostering innovation.

Ethical and responsible management through technology enables us to decide how to develop our city, determine priorities and reach a social pact for dealing with data as one of the city's common infrastructures.

The “Barcelona, Digital City” plan, promoted by this Commisionate, has defined a digital and technological strategy as a key factor for achieving public policies that are geared towards better covering people’s needs, as well as reinforcing citizens' skills and the capacities of the innovative economic sector to reinvent a smart city at the service of its people.

This has taken Barcelona beyond the concept of smart city, making it a more open, fairer, circular, democratic city, which is a benchmark for technological policies, with clear leadership from the public sector and city residents.

To resolve the challenges facing the city and its residents

This report includes the specific actions of this plan, which have made it possible to resolve the challenges facing the city and its residents, based on a more democratic use of technology, promoting technological and digital innovation for a more open government, as a tool for developing a more plural, collaborative economy, which fosters social and environmental transformation and favours the empowerment of citizens.

The plan has three main cornerstones: the first is the digital transformation of the city and the City Council itself, leading to an open, collaborative and transparent government, with projects that include the creation of ethical digital standards, the new Municipal Data Office and the DECODE project.

The second is digital innovation and the revitalisation of the innovation ecosystem, furthering its social, sustainable impact and using the city as a laboratory, with projects such as 5G Barcelona, Make in BCN and the ilab in Ca l’Alier.

The third is the digital empowerment of citizens, which fosters collective intelligence to enhance democracy and digital rights, with projects that include Decidim Barcelona, the City Coalition for Digital Rights, the empowerment of women in technology and digital training and inclusion, with projects such as STEAM Barcelona.

The broader aim - based on a firm belief in the power of democratic and sovereign cities - is to guarantee that the digital revolution serves the many and not just the few. Barcelona has begun a great journey and there is no turning back!