Barcelona is preparing to launch its first affordable-commerce pilot in La Marina next year, using municipally owned ground-floor premises to improve access to reasonably priced, quality food where essential shops are scarce. For residents of the neighbourhood, the scheme is intended to add a public option for basic groceries and create training and job-placement opportunities in food retail.

The plan was announced by Mayor Jaume Collboni after his 19 September meeting in New York with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, during Collboni's institutional visit for the U20 summit, a network of major cities linked to the G20 process. According to the Barcelona City Council statement, the two cities will share experience on housing, essential services and making city life more affordable.

"Large cities have to address the major challenges of housing and the right to remain in the city," Collboni said, referring to public policies intended to protect access to housing for working families and middle-income households.

Public premises for food shops in areas with gaps

Barcelona City Council said the planned network would operate in municipally owned street-level units. It is designed for areas undergoing change or with too few traditional food shops, and would complement rather than compete with private businesses.

The council intends for third-sector organisations, meaning non-profit social-purpose bodies, to manage the premises. The first pilot is being developed through the Singular Plan of La Marina, within the third edition of the city’s Neighbourhood Plan.

  • It is scheduled to begin next year in La Marina.
  • It will combine affordable food provision with neighbourhood retail.
  • Training and job placement will cover fruit and vegetable sales, fishmongering, butchery, delicatessen work, shelf-stocking and customer service.

Housing regulation and school cooling also discussed

Collboni said Barcelona had shared its experience of rent-price regulation and its plan to end tourist-apartment licences in 2028. The council presented both measures as part of its approach to keeping housing accessible to residents.

Mamdani also expressed interest in Barcelona’s Climate School Plan, the council said. The programme is installing air conditioning in public primary schools, funded through the city’s tourist tax.

Barcelona has municipal markets in every neighbourhood, Collboni said, but newer and particularly vulnerable areas can still lack access to some essential consumer goods. The La Marina pilot is intended to address that local shortfall when it begins next year.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat.