Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

Barcelona City Council and the “la Caixa” Foundation have today presented the seven projects that have obtained the highest scores and will therefore receive grants from the extraordinary call for proposals 2022. The call is aimed at funding research and innovation projects and is endowed with €1 million (of which €600,000 is provided by Barcelona City Council and the other €400,000 by the “la Caixa” Foundation), and is the result of a collaboration agreement between the two institutions signed within the framework of the Barcelona Science Plan 2020-2023.

The seven subsidised projects were presented today at a ceremony attended by the Deputy Mayor for Culture, Education, Science and Community, Jordi Martí, and the director of the Area of Relations with Research and Health Institutions of the “la Caixa” Foundation, Ignacio López. The seven projects were chosen from 59 applicants and focus on one of the two themes proposed for this call: ageing and quality of life, on the one hand, and mobility and respect for the protection of the environment, on the other.

The research teams have eighteen months to develop their projects. Four of these projects are led by a university and three by a research centre. As regards the people involved in the funded projects, 71% of the team’s principal investigator is a woman. In terms of the composition of the other members of the teams of male and female researchers in the participating projects, 64% are men.

Barcelona City Council and the “la Caixa” Foundation are working to continue this collaboration with future calls for research grants. In this case, the next call, 2023-2024, is expected to be launched soon and will be endowed with two million euros, to continue promoting research projects that can make contributions to strategic issues for the city, such as ageing and improving quality of life, and mobility and environmental protection.

The projects

BWater – Water for human consumption in Barcelona: assessment of sustainability and health impact

• Objective: to evaluate and compare the health, environmental and socio-economic impacts associated with different drinking water options in the city of Barcelona, including tap water, bottled mineral water and tap water treated with domestic equipment (activated carbon).
• Leading entity: Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
• In collaboration with: Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) and Spanish Water Technology Platform.
• Amount subsidised: €149,924.05.

AMBIENTAMENT – Exploring the effect of the environment on mental health in neighbourhoods

• Objective: To explore the effects of temperature and air pollution on the mental health of the population of Barcelona and its metropolitan area, and to understand the mental burden derived from the environment, health, and its differential impacts by neighbourhood, taking into account axes of social inequalities such as gender, age, place of birth and socioeconomic level.
• Leading entity: University Institute for Primary Health Care Research Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol).
• In collaboration with: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) i Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (BCNUEJ de l’ICTA-UAB).
• Amount subsidised: €149,390.23.

BCNMob – Pilot study on improving mobility and universal accessibility for visually impaired people in the city of Barcelona

• Objective: to carry out a pilot study to analyse and measure the improvement in mobility and universal accessibility for the visually impaired that can be achieved in the city of Barcelona through the use of 5G technology in combination with other technologies such as artificial vision and extended reality.
• Leading entity: Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
• In collaboration with: Biel Glasses SL and Punt de Vista Foundation.
• Amount subsidised: €149,955.

DEPCURABCN – The situation of functionally dependent elderly people and carers in Barcelona

• Objective: to analyse the living conditions and characteristics of people in SDF in Barcelona and the people in charge of care (management and care), with the aim of assessing their needs, differentiating their profiles, as well as the different care strategies they develop.
• Leading entity: University of Barcelona.
• In collaboration with: Health and Ageing Foundation of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
• Amount subsidised: €133,394.24.

StopALD – Early detection and intervention programme on excessive alcohol consumption in young people

• Objective: to identify patients with advanced ALD during the asymptomatic phases of the disease, as well as to identify factors related to the lack of early detection in order to improve and implement interventions to address both the lack of early detection of ALD and excessive alcohol consumption among young people before ALD occurs.
• Leading entity: Vall d’Hebron University Hospital.
• In collaboration with: University Institute for Research in Primary Health Care Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
• Amount subsidised: €149,270.

BCN-CA-ENV – Effects of atmospheric pollution in the Barcelona area on tissue ageing

• Objective: To understand how exposure to atmospheric pollution in the Barcelona area contributes to tissue ageing and increased risk of age-related diseases such as cancer.
• Lead entity: University of Barcelona.
• In collaboration with: Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies – CSIC and August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS).
• Amount subsidised: €95,080.

cleanBCNhealthy – Reducing pollution can improve the cardiovascular health of citizens

• Objective: to evaluate the role of air pollution in triggering arrhythmias with detrimental effects on cardiovascular health, and to assess the impact of the implementation of the low emission zone (LEZ) in the city of Barcelona in reducing the promotion of arrhythmia.
• Lead entity: Vall d’Hebron University Hospital Research Institute (VHIR).
• In collaboration with: Sant Pau Hospital, Clínic Hospital and Centre for Biomedical Research in Cardiovascular Diseases Network of the Carlos III Health Institute.
• Amount subsidised: €142,302.