Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The summer break is being used to carry out 207 projects around more than half the city’s schools, continuing to move towards the goal of all publicly run centres in the network achieving the same quality. Six major projects stand out, including the removal of asbestos at a school in Nou Barris.

Besides the renovation and improvements, the Fort Pienc neighbourhood in the district of L’Eixample will be getting a new school, with the construction of the Institut Angeleta Ferrer expected to be completed in January 2022. The centre will offer a prime teacher training and educational research facility, with a model seeking gender equity. The centre will be linked to the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, working towards teacher training and recycling and more.

Apart from the work to match facilities to new schooling needs, the four most important plans in terms of scope and investment are:

• Climate Plan. An ongoing programme is in place to transform playgrounds into more natural co-educational and community spaces, with work to be carried out in at least twelve school playgrounds every year. This summer it’s the turn of two schools in each of the districts of L’Eixample and Ciutat Vella, and one in each other district. The goal is to improve these spaces by adding trees and vegetation, creating more shade for climate shelters and adding play elements.
• Energy Transformation and Thermal Comfort Plan. The summer will also see work to condition 84 schools to the new regulations on energy consumption for buildings, in line with the fight against climate change and to make them greener. In addition, an energy savings plan is to be implemented at 68 schools in the coming months to make them more efficient and comfortable.
• Painting Progamme. Nineteen schools will be included in this programme in the summer, bringing the overall number to more than a hundred. The goal is to renew facilities by improving the quality of spaces and at the same time apply general criteria when it comes to repainting, plus specific criteria for schools opting to do so from now on.
• Kitchen and Dining-room Plan. We have invested in nine primary schools and three secondary schools to build, renovate or recondition spaces to offer school dinners. Based on population and vulnerability criteria, we have gauged the feasibility of offering this service in seventeen secondary schools. The plan comes within the context of the city’s role as the World Sustainable Food Capital this year.

The overall budget for the work is just over 32 million euros, of which 70% will come from the City Council and the rest from the Government of Catalonia.