The Generalitat, Catalonia’s regional government, has awarded €355 million to neighbourhood regeneration projects in 34 municipalities under its Pla de Barris i Vila, a grants programme for urban improvements. President Salvador Illa announced the successful projects on Thursday 12th November, saying the government expects them to benefit about 248,000 residents directly.

For residents, the selection means their councils will be able to pursue local regeneration projects with regional funding. Barcelona’s Ciutat Meridiana is among the areas selected, along with projects in neighbouring municipalities including Badalona, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Terrassa and Sabadell.

The €355 million is the Generalitat’s contribution to the second round of the programme. The selected councils will add funding of their own, taking the total planned investment to €582 million.

Barcelona-area projects among those selected

Twelve of the 33 projects are in the Barcelona area. There are more municipalities than projects across Catalonia because Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs submitted a joint proposal.

The selected places named in the announcement include:

  • Ciutat Meridiana, in Barcelona.
  • Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, which applied together.
  • Martorell, Canovelles, Terrassa and Sabadell.

The awards are for specific neighbourhood regeneration proposals, rather than a single project covering each municipality as a whole. Across Catalonia, the programme’s selected areas are those identified for particular attention, according to the Generalitat.

The other selected projects are spread across seven areas of Catalonia:

  • Central Catalonia: five projects.
  • Ponent and Penedès: four projects each.
  • Girona counties: three projects.
  • Camp de Tarragona and Terres de l’Ebre: two projects each.
  • Alt Pirineu i Aran: one project.

Funding increased from €200 million

The Generalitat initially planned to provide up to €200 million for the second round. Its executive council agreed on 20th October to raise that amount to €300 million, before a further €55 million was added more recently.

The final regional contribution is 77.5% higher than the original allocation. It is also 53% above the €232 million in Generalitat grants provided in the first round.

The increase allowed the number of municipalities receiving support to rise from 20 in the first round to 34 in the second, according to the government. The €582 million total for the new round includes both regional and municipal contributions; it is not the amount being provided by the Generalitat alone.

More than 100 municipalities applied

In total, 117 municipalities submitted proposals to the second round. Their projects had combined budgets of more than €1.6 billion, substantially above the amount available for the selected schemes.

Three groups of municipalities were eligible to apply:

  • Those that had not applied in the first round.
  • Those that had applied previously but were not selected.
  • Those that received first-round funding but submitted a project for a different neighbourhood.

The Generalitat’s territory, housing and ecological transition department received the applications. The third round of the programme is planned for the second half of 2027.

Sources: El Periódico, Nació Digital (ACN).