Collboni Adopts New York-Inspired Affordable Shopping Plan
Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni has announced plans to launch a network of affordable stores in the city, modelled on a proposal by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The first pilot store will open in the La Marina del Prat Vermell neighbourhood before the end of 2027, aimed at providing residents with access to basic goods at reduced prices. The announcement followed a bilateral meeting between Collboni and Mamdani on Saturday, ahead of the Urban 20 summit in New York, which brought together mayors from 34 G-20 cities to discuss urban challenges. Both leaders highlighted shared struggles over housing affordability, rising living costs, and climate resilience.
We are going to launch an experience similar to what Mamdani has promoted next year: the network of affordable stores. In the La Marina neighbourhood, we will open the first one before the end of 2027 to ensure affordable basic goods.
How the Scheme Will Work
Mamdani’s initiative in New York involves publicly backed supermarkets with private management, offering discounts of up to 30% on essential items. Five such stores are planned across New York’s boroughs between 2027 and 2029. Barcelona’s version will follow a similar model, focusing initially on La Marina as a test site. The project responds to growing pressure on working families due to inflation, high rents, and energy costs. In Barcelona, the City Council has already taken steps to regulate rental prices, restrict tourist apartments, and expand social housing through surface rights (a 75-year occupancy model on public land).
Shared Urban Challenges
Both mayors emphasized the need for international cooperation among progressive cities. Mamdani recently succeeded in freezing rents for nearly one million rent-controlled apartments in New York, a move affecting 40% of the city’s housing stock. He has also proposed a tax on absentee owners of luxury properties. Collboni noted that Barcelona has been a pioneer in housing rights in Spain, including laws enabling the expropriation of vacant homes for social use and preventing evictions of vulnerable households. The city aims to close 10,000 legal tourist apartments by 2028 under a regional decree, returning them to long-term residential use.
Working families around the world are squeezed by rents rising faster than wages, energy bills soaring every summer, and heatwaves that can turn an uncomfortable apartment into a dangerous one. New York is proud to co-chair the Urban 20 and to support mayors who don't leave these families alone, no matter where they were born.
Reported by elplural.com, Diari ARA, Ara Cat, El Periódico Barcelona, 20 Minutos Barcelona, VilaWeb Feed, betevé, 3CatInfo Barcelona, El País Barcelona, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life, naciodigital.cat.
