In the middle of a heat wave, with record temperatures, the people of Barcelona who do not have their homes minimally cooled, who are not few, are looking more than ever for cool places to calm the heat, public areas, beyond commercial establishments, beaches and summer pools, that give them air, that allow them not to sweat the fat drop for at least a while. Libraries, civic centers, neighborhood and senior centers, sports facilities, shady parks, schoolyards… are the desired spaces. But these scorching days many are closed.
Barcelona City Council considers these places climate refuges. This summer the city has a network made up of 227 venues of this type. Although many citizens do not know it, despite being signposted. Only 20.5% of the people who responded to a survey on this initiative last year said they were aware of them (extrapolating this figure to around 300,000) and 7.4% (equivalent to more than 100,000) stated that they used them.
The problem is that in August they are considerably reduced – many are closed this month for holidays – until many days with only a hundred, more or less half of the total, active. Thus, they are insufficient in many neighborhoods to withstand these last days of unbearable heat. In any case, say municipal sources, between 97% and 75% of the population have one less than a ten-minute walk from their home. And the idea is to expand them – in 2020 there were only 63 – so that there is always a minimum acceptable offer.
The mercury is so out of control that this Wednesday the daytime alert phase of the City Council’s Heat Plan had to be activated and the emergency is maintained due to torrid nights. This involves, among other measures, the distribution of caps and water canteens to homeless and vulnerable people.
“The air conditioning at home has broken down and until they fix it I come here,” explained Andrés González, a 29-year-old resident of Esquerra de l’Eixample, on his first day at the Agustí Centelles library, very close to his home. At five in the afternoon and with 36ºC outside, all the tables were full, so he left his computer in his backpack and sat in an armchair to fiddle with his mobile. Upstairs none of the bright red sofas were free. There were people sitting reading books, magazines, with their electronic devices, headphones and even taking a nap peacefully.
Libraries are surely the preferred public space to shelter from extreme heat. Only twelve of the forty that the city has are open throughout the month of August and one of them is precisely the Agustí Centelles. “We are always a refuge, all year round, because we have air conditioning, heating, Wi-Fi, toilets, spaces to sit, books, magazines… and all without having to spend a single euro and without asking for anything to enter,” he said. its director, Walter Llorach, who confirmed an increase in attendance these days of extreme heat. “Years ago – he recalled – people went to El Corte Inglés to enjoy a cool place, now there are other options, like ours”.
The climate refuge seal has not modified anything in this facility, which is among the most frequented in its category, having already recovered the levels of use prior to the pandemic. “They have only given us glasses for those who ask for them, but since we don’t have fountains, and that we have asked for them, they are of little use or not unless they are filled with the taps in the sinks,” lamented the person in charge. But the hydration is not lacking. There are many users who bring their bottles.
Some parks are also climate refuges. La Pegaso, in Sant Andreu, is one of the few in this district that is of a certain size and has somewhat wooded areas with shadows where the air was a bit windy at noon. “It’s not bad, but it seems incredible to me that they call it that with as many dry plants as there are,” lamented Teresa Maria Abós, a 64-year-old early retiree, while she soaked her feet in the canal that runs through this green area. She lives near her and went to cool off with her dog Chloe hers. There she met Marina Avilés, 25, also a resident of that area, who came with her Kahlo dog. Both animals became friends by splashing around. The first criticized the fact that in Barcelona there are not large green spaces with clean bathing areas – “in this water I have seen everything”, he pointed out -, as in Vienna, and the second recalled that here we have the beaches in the middle of the city, but these days In order not to burn up and find a place, you have to go at six in the morning…
Schoolyards are another option that alleviates a bit. From half past five in the afternoon until half past eight, the one at the Aigües school in Horta-Guinardó, right on the border with Gràcia, becomes an island of freshness. The older children play on the sports court and the younger ones in the children’s area. “It’s a very nice place, we’ve been here before,” said Javier López. His 9-year-old daughter Joanna agreed. For the occasion she brought the scooter, a book and a basketball. The afternoon goes a long way. If it’s not too hot, of course.
