The Barcelona Citizen Commitment to Sustainability. A sustainable

The Barcelona Citizen Commitment to Sustainability.
A sustainable city vision beyond a “sustainable destination” approach.
7th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations
Barcelona, 3 October 2013
Toni Pujol, Barcelona City Council – Urban Habitat
Contents
• 
Introduction: to be a “sustainable destination” cities first need
to be “sustainable cities”
• 
The Barcelona Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012-22
• 
Win-win strategy : + sustainable city = + (tourist) attractive city
• 
Final remarks
Introduction: To be a “sustainable destination” cities first need
to be “sustainable cities”
§ 
Tourism is not something isolated. A growing number of cities have on their
agendas the goal of becoming “more sustainable” or greener cities.
§ 
If they can be labelled as “sustainable cities”, then we will be also able to label
them as a “sustainable” destinations”.
Source: ECO-Metropole. Wonderful Copenhagen
Introduction: to be a “sustainable destination” cities first need to
be “sustainable cities”
§ 
As in other cities, in Barcelona we have our own model, with its policies and
goals. Tourism should participate and be integrated in the city dynamics,
and even positively influence them.
§ 
The environmental impacts of tourism should be integrated with the policies
and actions that the city implements “taking responsibility” for the
environmental impacts of the whole “city metabolism”.
§ 
Examples in BCN: accessibility plans, sustainable mobility policies or the
commercial selective waste collection system for everyone.
The Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012-2022
10 Goals
5
The Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012-2022.
§ 
20 years after Rio 1992 Local Agenda 21-> Rio+20
§ 
After 1st Commitment (2002-12) with +800 signatory organisations we took
time for evaluation and visioning, locally & globally.
§ 
New realities, new wording: resiliency, self-sufficiency, climate change
adaptation, overcoming economic crisis, productive cities.
The Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012-2022
City Council’s programmes & policies
+
Organisations’ and companies’
action plans
+
Schools Agenda 21 Programme
+
Citizens’ action
=
Barcelona Sustainability Action
The Citizen Commitment to Sustainability 2012-2022.
The network
800
§ 
Growing number of signatory organisations: +800
from 1st Commitment phase (2002-12).
Since 2012 +270 organizations have renewed
commitment for 2012-22.
700
600
500
298
400
300
134
206
233
100
69
2001
155
2002
195
212
232
241
2003
2004
2005
2006
Entidades, empresas e instituciones
§ 
353
254
104
200
0
175
326
260
297
323
347
2007
2008
2009
2010
Centros educativos
Wide range of actors: civic and citizen organisations,
schools, professional associates, companies, public
institutions, environmental organisations, political
organisations, trade unions, universities…
Signatory organisations related to tourism:
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
Green and biodiversity Green and biodiversity
From urban green areas to
the renaturalisation of the city
§  In the past 30 years, the green area of the city
has increased by 150%, making green spaces
closer to citizens.
§  153,000 street trees with more than 150 different
species.
§  Despite being a compact city, Barcelona takes
care of its biodiversity and has more than 100
species of vertebrates, of which 55 birds, 8
reptiles, 7 mammals, and 2 amphibians are
protected.
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
Green and biodiversity §  Visit the Parks and Gardens of Barcelona. Among them
§  historic
Visita als
Parcs
i Jardins
Barcelona.
Entre
ells parcs
parks
such
as thede
Laberint
d’Horta
or modern
ones
històrics
com
el
Laberint
d’Horta
i
parcs
moderns
com
such as Parc del Centre del Poble Nou by Jean Nouvel.el
del Centre
delproposes
Poble Nou de Jean Nouvel.
§  Parc
Barcelona
Tourism
§  Rutes
Turisme
de Barcelona
proposa
unes
temàtiques
de parcs
de Barcelona.
Rutes temàtiques de parcs de Barcelona.
§  Visit the Park Information Centre and walk around the
§  Parc
Visites
al Centre
del Parc i itineraris a peu pel
Natural
de lad’Informació
Serra de Collserola
Natural
de la Serra
de Collserola
§  Parc
Barcelona
Tourism
proposes
the Collserola Scenic Tour
§ 
Turisme
de
Barcelona
proposa
el Collserola
Scenic Tour
§  Itinerari botànic pels jardins temàtics
de Montjuïc
§ 
botànicthe
pelsgreen
jardins
temàtics App
de Montjuïc
§  Itinerari
Routes around
Barcelona:
Rutesbcnverda
§ 
Rutes
per
la
Barcelona
Verda:
App
Rutesbcnverda
§  Visit the Jardí Botànic, the
§  Visita al Jardí Botànic, el
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, the
Museu
Ciènciesor
Naturals
de Barcelona,
Zoo de Barcelona,
Zoo de de
Barcelona,
the Aquàrium
Barcelona
§  Aquàrium
146 iconic Barcelona
and protected trees listed at the
§  Catàleg
146 arbres
emblemàtics
i protegits
d’Arbres
d’interès
local dealBarcelona.
Catàleg d’Arbres d’interès local de Barcelona.
§  Projecte el Falcó a Barcelona – Peregrine hawks at Sagrada
§  Família
Projecte el Falcó a Barcelona – Falcons a la Sagrada Família
§ 
Dofins Metropolitans
Metropolitans –d’albirament
de dofins
al the
§  Iniciativa
Initiative Dofins
Dolphin sighting
around
voltant
de l’àrea
metropolitana
Barcelona
metropolitan
area. de Barcelona.
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
Public Space and mobility Public Space and mobility
From streets made for
commuting to streets made
for living
§  85% of all trips within the city of Barcelona are
made in sustainable modes (walking, cycling and
public transport).
§  Barcelona is one of the cities in Spain with more
cyclist, counting more than 150,000 daily trips by
bicycle.
§  Thanks to more than 120,000 users of the public
bicycle system Bicing, Barcelona avoids the
emission of 9,000 tones of CO2 every year.
§  Barcelona works to bring basic services the
closest possible to citizens so that these can
always be reached on foot or by public transport.
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
Public Space and mobility §  One of the best urban public transport networks Xarxa de transport públic
§  Enjoy live music on the subway thanks to the initiative
Músics al Metro.
§  The Barcelona Bus Turístic is the official bus tourist service.
§  Wide range of bicycle rental (Association Bicitours Barcelona)
§  Barcelona has pioneering projects in sustainable mobility such as
Avancar Carsharing o Social Car
§  The Hotel Association of Barcelona and the City Council are
leading the Mobec Hotels: project: a network of electric bikes
located in different hotels in Barcelona.
§  Thematic walks, tours and guides on Barcelona's urban
landscape offer visitors the opportunity to discover the heritage
and history of the city.
§  Barcelona walks- Barcelona a peu: options for walking around the
city.
12
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
Environmental quality and health Environmental quality and
health
From standards to excellence
§  Barcelona has changed the trend of noise
increase through measures related to mobility,
noise prevention and control in eateries and the
entertainment sector , and with public
awareness.
§  Barcelona is implementing air quality measures
such as the promotion of cleaner vehicles (such
electrical ones), promoting more efficient energy
use or reducing the generation of waste.
§  In Barcelona there are more than 4.5 Km of
beaches with all facilities, allowing guests to
enjoy the Mediterranean throughout the year.
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
Environmental quality and health §  The Natural Park of Collserola Parc Natural de la Serra de Collserola is the green lung of
Barcelona.
§  Discover and enjoy many squares and quiet corners (
Places de Gràcia) that the city offers.
§  Barcelona ensures that everyone can enjoy the beaches with
the highest environmental quality - Barcelona beaches
§  The Eixample district has more than 40 interior blocks
reclaimed for public use, almost all of them are gardens.
§  Barcelona has a rich variety of
water areas and public ornamental fountains with an
outstanding cultural, social, historical and natural values.
§  Visitors can also help improving air quality by using public
transport or the Barcelona ecotaxis network.
14
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
People’s welfare People’s welfare From a welcoming city to a
cohesive society
§  Barcelona is a city leader in accessibility within
Europe and globally.
§  Barcelona has culture as a pillar for the
development of the city, as the capital of
Catalonia, with openness to all cultures that
enrich it.
§  Barcelona implements several programs and
strategies to understand and address the
coexistence in diversity.
§  Barcelona is one of the few cities in the world
that has a distributed network of local markets
meaning that all districts have a market nearby.
Win-win strategy: sustainable city = more tourist attractive city
People’s welfare §  Barcelona offers its accessibility to tourists and visitors Web of Turisme de Barcelona for people with disabilities
§  Municipal Markets website Xarxa de Mercats Municipals
§  Barcelona has many initiatives in favor cultural diversity: Festa
de la diversitat, Festes majors de barri, Festa de la Mercè
§  Barcelona promotes public spaces for interaction and enjoyment
of the community. For example the network of urban allotments Xarxa d’Horts Urbans de Barcelona , places to picnic, etc.
§  The Barcelona Sports program promotes major international
sporting events held in Barcelona. Also popular al local sports
events are organized all year around.
16
Final remarks
§ 
Safeguarding and improving the local urban “functioning” and the socioenvironmental quality of the city is crucial both for residents and visitors.
§ 
Cities like Barcelona should further incorporate the tourist activity considering its benefits and impacts- in all city strategies covering relevant
fields such as mobility, green spaces, waste management, culture, etc.
§ 
Some exceptional cases may need exceptional measures directed to an
appropriate management of tourism (f.ex. managing parking areas for buses
to Sagrada Família).
§ 
Further promotion and recognition is needed to “green” and make “more
sustainable” or “responsible” the whole the tourism sector.
§ 
The Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism should be further
assumed and implemented by all relevant actors.
Thank you for
your attention!
Toni Pujol
Urban Habitat - Barcelona City Council
www.bcn.cat