Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Catalan government, have launched a pilot project to automate parts of the review process for urban planning licences in Barcelona using BIM methodology and artificial intelligence. For property owners, architects, technical architects, developers and other applicants waiting for permits for works ranging from minor renovations to major construction projects, the immediate change is limited: licence applications still have to be filed under the current rules, but the authorities say the test is designed to speed up technical checks.

The pilot was announced on Friday 4 July by the Ajuntament, Barcelona City Council, through its press office. According to the council, the project is being developed jointly with the Generalitat and will apply BIM, short for Building Information Modelling, to digital project files so that artificial intelligence tools can help review whether proposals comply with planning rules.

The council described the scheme as a pilot to automate urban planning licences through BIM methodology and the use of artificial intelligence.

How the pilot is meant to work

BIM is a digital method for creating a detailed 3D model of a building and its technical information. In this pilot, Barcelona City Council says that model will be used so automated systems can read project data and support checks that are now carried out manually when a licence application is reviewed.

The official announcement does not set a public launch date for full deployment, a target for cutting waiting times, or a breakdown of which licence categories will be included first. It also does not say that the legal requirement to obtain a licence has changed.

  • The pilot was announced on 4 July 2026.
  • It is being developed jointly by Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat de Catalunya.
  • It focuses on urban planning licences for building works.
  • The technology named by the council is BIM combined with artificial intelligence.

What applicants in Barcelona need to know now

For now, residents and professionals should treat this as a back-office trial rather than a new public application system. The council has not announced a separate public channel for feedback on the pilot, nor has it published new filing instructions linked to this test.

Anyone preparing an application for works in Barcelona should continue using the Ajuntament's current urban planning procedures and service channels for permits and related paperwork. The council's announcement presents the scheme as part of its digital transformation work for planning services, but it does not state that current forms, deadlines or legal steps have been altered.

What has not been confirmed

The Ajuntament has not published figures in its announcement on the current average time needed to process licence applications in Barcelona, and it has not given a target date for the pilot to move beyond the testing stage. It has also not specified whether the first phase will cover only certain types of works applications.

The description of the project as pioneering is the council's own characterisation. The article published by the Ajuntament does not provide a direct comparison with other cities or confirm that no similar BIM-based permit automation is already operating elsewhere.

The concrete position on Friday is that Barcelona is testing automated support for technical reviews, with the Generalitat, rather than replacing the need to apply for a building licence.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat. Reported by Lorraine Delorenzo, europapress.es, La Vanguardia, Carla Stavraky, russpain.com, Tres Tristes Tigres, eurocities.eu, bsc.es.