Uses of Time

Presentation

Time is a political issue that we must understand as a right of all citizens. 
Time is an essential element when we talk about equality, sustainability, health and efficiency. 

Barcelona is a pioneering city in the implementation of time policies that aim to promote actions that make the different uses of time in daily life compatible: work, personal, family, social, rest and care for others.

The right to time is a citizen's right, and since 2004, Barcelona has been actively contributing to give value to the time of people, institutions, companies and organizations.

This web page indicates what actions are being taken with respect to time policies, giving special relevance to the NUST Network companies and the City Council's commitment to the Barcelona Declaration and the Time Agreement.

It also provides details of the time policy actions promoted by the Barcelona City Council, as well as the actions promoted by entities and companies interested in promoting actions to guarantee well-being and healthier, more sustainable, efficient and egalitarian uses of time.

What are time policies

Time policies are key instruments for guaranteeing the right to time. The uses of time constitute their main design and implementation criteria, taking into account their impact on well-being, while guaranteeing their recognition in order to move towards a more sustainable, healthy, egalitarian and efficient society.

Why should time policies be promoted?

• The right to time is distributed unequally among citizens, which is directly related to gender and socioeconomic conditions. For this reason, equity must be adopted as a fundamental element of the actions that must be promoted to advance towards cities where time is more equal. Time policies are a key tool to address the main socio-economic challenges of cities.
• The use of time and the social organization of teimop directly affect the use of people's health through the disruption of their circadian rhythms, generating cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mental health problems.
• The organization of time can positively affect sustainability and energy use. The sustainable city is a key axis of time policies. A sustainable city is enriched by appropriate uses of time.
• Healthier schedules increase productivity, efficiency, motivation and learning capacity.

Some innovative policies in the area of time promoted by the Barcelona City Council are the open school playgrounds, municipal babysitting services, projects and services to support caregivers, the promotion of responsible work-life balance through public procurement, sustainable mobility policies and digital participation in the Decidim Barcelona platform, as well as the recognition of companies in the city that promote actions to improve the lives of working people.

In this section you can consult the municipal actions in terms of time.

Municipal objectives 

In order to move towards more sustainable, egalitarian, healthy and efficient uses of time, the Barcelona City Council aims to:

• Promote time policies to promote the right to time as a right of citizenship in Barcelona.
• Promote the uses of time as a key factor in the design and implementation of the City Council's public policies. 
• Actively participate in local, regional, metropolitan and international networks to exchange best practices and lessons learned in time policies.
• To give support and recognition to companies and entities in the city that work to promote healthier uses of time.
• Promote research and studies to obtain data on citizens' use of time in order to develop lines of improvement.
• Carry out activities and events to make time policies visible and generate spaces for dialogue and exchange among institutions, organizations and citizens in the field.
• Create communication campaigns to raise awareness of the need and importance of promoting weather policies in the city.