Transformative urbanism and talking to everyone despite differences. This is Xavier Trias’ recipe for “stitching” a Barcelona that sees it divided and all the neighborhoods. Junts’ candidate for mayor yesterday revealed some of his proposals at the Barcelona Tribuna forum, organized by the Barcelona Economic Society of Friends of the Country, the Managers’ Association and La Vanguardia.
The former mayor of the Catalan capital focused part of the speech on urban modernization, with which he wants to promote change and “expand and update the Cerdà plan in the 21st century”, so that there are “changes in the physiognomy and in the way to live”, as happened in the past with the Cerdà plan or with the Olympic Games. It also envisages “recovering neighborhoods as a place of life and relationships” by renovating their squares and main streets.
Trias, who was presented by the lawyer and former political leader Miquel Roca, a friend of his, advocated for a “transformative urbanism” in the face of the “tacticism and temporary and improvised solutions” that he attributes to Ada Colau and Jaume Collboni. So, he detailed proposals for three major areas, the Collserola area, the coast and Besòs, and for Eixample and the area in between.
As for the first strip, Trias wants to finish the Carretera de les Aigües and cover the Dalt roundabout, “a very ambitious and necessary project that has been cornered these eight years”. “Barcelona needs to bring the nature and greenery of Collserola closer to the city in order to breathe more fresh air and have spaces for leisure and sports, to sew the city and its neighborhoods together,” he said.
In relation to the coast, he put several actions on the table and pointed out that, despite the fact that the city opened to the sea with the Olympic Games, the coastal front was not completely closed and some neighborhoods were not integrated, such as the Marina del Prat Vermell. “It can’t be a corner of the city”, he remarked. “To sew the city together is to connect the Marina del Prat Vermell with the Paral·lel, reducing traffic and making a great promenade that connects the city”, he pointed out. He also promised a large coastal park, between the Mar Bella and the Forum.
Regarding Eixample, the candidate stated that “there is an attempt to eliminate the Cerdà plan”. “The Eixample is in danger due to the improvisation and imposition of the municipal government”, remarked Trias, who believes that it is appropriate to “recover” the interior of the islands and the inner-city parks.
Regarding the recent actions of the City Council, such as that of Consell de Cent, Trias considers that now “there are first and second class streets, the opposite of what Cerdà wanted”. This, the ex-mayor believes, will cause “hypergentrification in the streets that have won the lottery of being only for pedestrians” and “a programmed collapse” of the streets that have not had “luck with the lottery”. Another of his bets is for Gran Via to be more “friendly” and for the sidewalk to be widened, as was already done during his mandate with Diagonal, and for this model to be extended in this artery to Verdaguer
With regard to the properties occupied in Bonanova, the candidate assured that, if he is mayor, he will “comply with the law” and wanted to differentiate the cases of El Kubo and La Ruïna de Can Vies. “They prepare them for me”, he said jokingly about the possibility of the eviction sentence coming out shortly after he becomes leader of the Consistory.
On the other hand, Trias said that a person who receives 3,000 euros may not make it to the end of the month due to the increase in the mortgage or gas. His team clarified what he meant by a family unit.
