Indicators for Sustainability in Barcelona (Spain)

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Reference Date: 26-07-98

Experience selected in the 1998 Dubai Award for Best Practice, and catalogued as BEST. ( Best Practices Database.)
País/Country: Spain

United Nations Region: Europe
Ecological region: coastal
Activity: city/town
Partnerships: Non-governmental organization (NGO). Other/Public, private and civil association. Local Authority.

Themes = Civic Engagement and Cultural Vitality: community participation. Urban and Regional Planning; localizing Agenda 21. Use of Information in Decision Making: indicators (including sectoral and performance).

Main contact:
Josep Antequera
Nuria Franco
C/ París, 150, 1. 2.
Barcelona
Catalunya
Spain
08036
Tel: +34 93 322 65 54
Fax: +34 93 322 65 54
E-mail: CAPS@pangea.org
http://www.globaldrome.org/FCBS/

Partner:
Centre for Analysis and Health Programmes (CAPS) (Non-governmental organization)
Monserrat Cervera
C/ París 150, 1. 2.
Barcelona
Catalunya
Spain
08036
Tel: +34 93 322 65 54
Fax: +34 93 322 65 54
E-mail: CAPS@PANGEA.ORG
Partner One Support Type: Administrative Support

Partner:
County Council (Province of Barcelona) (Local authority)
Vicent Sureda
C/ Urgel, 187
Barcelona
Cataluña
Spain
08036
Tel: +34 93 402 22 22
Fax: +34 93 402 22 22
E-mail: xarxa@diba.es
Partner Two Support Type: Financial Support

Nominating Organization:
Spanish National Committee
D. Marta García Nart
Paseo de la Castellana 67
Ministerio de Fomento
Madrid 28071
Spain
Tel: +34-91 597 75 72
Fax: +34-91 597 86 04
E-mail: mgnart@mfom.es

Financial Profile:
Till now, small subsidies have been received in the first few years (under Pesetas 500,000 per year) and a lot of voluntary work. As from this year, it is envisaged that it will have the finance for a sustainable structure with a minimum cost of Pesetas 2 million/year.

S U M M A R Y

This initiative arose through the Barcelona Civic Platform for Energy Saving, from the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations in May 1995, based on other models carried out in other cities (Seattle, Leicester,...).

Previously, some analyses had been made of the urban metabolism for Barcelona, but with the list of indicators proposed by the FCBS the dynamics of a city towards processes for sustainability may be
measured objectively and in a socially intelligible way, as well as being an experiment for peoples' participation (over 150) from
different social groups (environmentalists, feminists, health groups, neighbourhood associations, businessmen, trade unions,
architects,...), working on a common programme.

From this view of the city various initiatives and projects may arise so that Barcelona may speed up its process towards urban sustainability.

Project for civil participation within the framework of urban sustainability through the design of a group of indicators of an
environmental, economic and social nature.

Key Dates

N A R R A T I V E

1. Motives and start
The Sustainable Barcelona Civic Forum was set up as a response to a social need that was generated within the Federation of Neighbourhood Associations at the behest of a civic platform,
called Barcelona Energy Saving in 1995.

The possibility of providing a response given the lack of any specific action by the Authorities in charge of developing Local Agendas 21, made a group of people, on an individual bases, meet at a now veteran NGO called CAPS (Centre for Analysis and Health Programmes) to develop a system for indicators of sustainability, inspired by the civic proposal in the city of Seattle.

The relationships between the NGOs adhering to sustainable awareness policies, were and are ones for opening up ideas and complementing their ideas. We thought that qualitative isolation of
the ecologist movement, which was split into tiny fractions, could be overcome in the form of a joint search for indictors agree upon for sustainability that would also be acceptable to the organisations and especially those belonging to citizens who were aware and interested in these subjects.

The contacts with the authorities were, before our legalisation, almost personal and casual. Since our first participation as a Forum in Sabadell in (October, 1996) till our participation this month of April at the Centre for Contemporary Culture, there is quite story to be told in another context and in greater detail.

At the beginning of the organisation the split between the authorities, institutions and associations was obvious, with very little gain made on the road to sustainability and joint work.
Since there were still environmental problems to be solved (waste, water, power,..) and in the context of an economy that was slowly recovering (post-92).

We also faced the clarification of the concept of sustainability, since when people gathered together from different fields, the attributes were not clear. This was solved by adopting models
from other countries (agenda 21 from U.K., University of Louvain, work by the Professor Samboloni of Florence,...) given the lack of other local models. At that time the Forum was initially
constituted into three working groups for selecting the indicators (Environmental, Economic and Social ones). At the same time, advances were being made in local institutions for the promotion
of sustainability (translation into Catalan of the document for implementing Local Agenda 21 projects "ICLEI" by the "Regidoria de Ciutat Sostenible de Barcelona" and the start of the programmes for Municipal Environmental Audits from the Provincial Council of Barcelona).

2. Priorities
The priorities pose d by the groups were the achievement of simple, comprehensible, integrating and measurable indicators that would move to action, based on sustainable and overall criteria
such as those developed in the Aalborg Charter.
The novelty of the experience and the nature of political independence of the practice attracted a great deal of interest from private individuals and groups who joined the process, with a meeting for the presentation of the first set of indicators in January '97 (Barcelona Civic Centre), which was attended by over one hundred people.

3. Objetives and strategies
The specific objectives of the practice were the achievement of a system of indicators that would reflect as widely as possible the dynamics of the city towards sustainability in the environmental,
economic and social contexts.

To do so, 10 principals were chosen, each one of which contained several groups of indicators, developing in total 65 indicators for describing the city's sustainability.

Principles:

1. The resources must be used efficiently, without exceeding the rate of renewal for renewable resources, by progressively replacing those which were not renewable. (Power consumption, water consumption and waste production: 11i).
   

2. The functioning of the city should not endanger people's health, nor should it exceed the environment's load capacity. (Atmospheric pollution, waste water, sound pollution and toxic waste: 7i).
   

3. Biodiversity should be assessed and protected. (Uses of land and biological diversity: 3i).
   
   
4. The economy should be diversified and the dependence on the outside world should be curtailed, providing that it was possible to satisfy needs with local resources. (The city's external dependence, economic vulnerability 2i).
   

5. Everyone should have access to basic commodities and services, housing, health, education and safety. (Housing, health, education, culture and real and perceived safety 16i).
   

6. The city should preserve the mixture of functions, promoting proximity and living in neighbourhoods so that access to urban services should not be made at the expense of the environment.
   (Population, quality of public spaces, public transport investment on public spending, multi-functionality, housing satisfaction,
   identity, child socialisation, citizen participation, 13i).
   

7. The balance in the way of life of male and female citizens should tend to increase. (inequality in life, balance in income 3i).
   

8. Everyone should have access to a paid job, with a stable salary and contract. (employment and precariousness of employment 2i).
   

9. Social work and leisure time should be spread out in a fair manner amongst all people, women and men alike. (time for others and for one's self 2i).
   

10. The establishment of an overall alliance shall be promoted with other cities and towns, so as to preserve the common, natural systems of the Earth, such as climatic change and the ozone layer and to eliminate poverty. (greenhouse effect, destruction of the ozone layer and ecological debt and co-operation, 6i).

4. Process
In order to make the selection of indicators ten working groups were formed which, held meetings on a voluntary basis and decided on the indicators to be chosen and the methodology for measuring them (sources, justification, measurements, evolution, ...).

The voluntary nature of the practice meant that the groups had different dynamics for functioning, with some cases that required support from the whole of the Forum to complete their selection.

In October, 1997, we became legal as an Association and as prior preparation of the mood for the exhibition on the Sustainable City at the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre, we organised three debates on Sustainability, Participation and Regional Planning, with finance from the Provincial Council of Barcelona.

5. Results achieved

The results achieved at the resent are wide ranging:
The indicators selected and presently we are in the development phase for them. In May 98, we intend to have one third already finished. We are invited to attend different acts and workshops for describing the indicators (Sabadell, El Prat, Rosa Sensat, Navarcles, Vitoria, Bajo Cinca, Madrid, Sustainable City Exhibition at the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre).

We have representatives from the Forum on the Catalan Committee for Local Agenda 21 and on the Council for the Environment and Sustainability of the City Council of Barcelona.

This year an agreement is to be signed with the Provincial Council of Barcelona to generate a methodology for developing indicators for the Network of Cities and Towns towards the Sustainability of Catalonia.

The Province of Barcelona, wit activities such as the city's environmental policies, the intentions for sustainability in the Metropolitan Waste Disposal Plan, Network of Cities and Towns towards Sustainability and the outlook or the acts in the year 2004, is all helping to make sustainability a banner for giving priority, in social development and organisation, to which the Sustainable Barcelona Civic Forum has made a humble but
valuable contribution.

6. Sustainability

The sustainability of the Forum till now has been based on voluntary work and the generosity of its members and to small contributions both financial and of logistics from the authorities (Provincial Council) and organisations (CAPS).

At the present time, in order to carry out the task of developing the indicators we are planning to create a small financed structure that will take care of doing the work and settle the organise by carrying out services, courses, the search for sponsors, publications,.... financed by public and private subsidies, contributions from the members and partners, and the commercialisation of the information produced and the services performed.

7. Lessons assimilated

The most important thing in practice has been the reality of the joint work and the integrated way different people from different social and cultural backgrounds have worked together totally on a non-paid basis and as voluntary workers.

Another good lesson has been the specific application and the possibility of measuring the concept of sustainability applied to a city like Barcelona.

And another lesson is that with volunteer workers it is not sufficient, since progress is very slow and in order to perform works that are important you need a structure and finance.

8. Transfer

The battery of indicators from the Barcelona Civic Forum, totally in the framework of the criteria for Local Agenda 21 projects and the inspiration of Habitat II, Aalborg, Lisbon, New York,... and
in accordance with other works performed in Agenda 21 projects in other countries, has all served to inspire the choices for indicators and proposals in different fields with a wide scope (ecological audits for municipal districts in the province and
systems for measuring the sustainability of public authorities).

The aim today for the Sustainable Barcelona Civic Forum is that of becoming a permanent observatory for the city's sustainability which, together with other initiatives and associations will generate criteria and actions so that the present model
for development will respect the environment, people and future generations.

9. References

Rodriguez Villasante, Tomás (1996) Spanish contribution to the Agenda for Habitat II, Istanbul '96, Methodologies for participation.
Indicators for Sustainability in Badalona.

Indicators for Sustainability in Manresa.

Indicators for Sustainability in Sant Feliu del Llobregat.

Indicators for Sustainability in the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Indicators for Sustainability and models for participation in the Network for Cities and Towns towards Sustainability in Catalonia, Provincial Council of Barcelona.