Commons Collaborative Economies: Policies, Technologies and City for the People” is promoted by the Department of Alternative Economies and Proximity of Barcelona Activa and BarCola (node on collaborative economy and commons production in Barcelona), as well as the P2Pvalue European project — locally by Dimmons (Digital Commons Research at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Open University of Catalonia, and Institute of Govern and Public Policies of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (IGOPnet.cc @ UAB).

1) It established the association Network of Municipalities for the Social and Solidarity Economy. A total of 31 municipalities in Catalonia have founded the first municipal alliance to promote new ways of producing and consuming that are democratic, supportive and sustainable, with the aim of making a transition towards an economic model more resistant to the effects of large economic crises. Barcelona, which is one of the driving forces behind the alliance, has hosted the formal act of constitution of the association.

2)    There was an intent in 2014 of having a regional law for the Social and Solidary Economy.

3) In the Plan, they spoke about the economic crisis: In this context, the current crisis is not understood as an eventuality but as a logical consequence of the same prevailing economic model; a systemic crisis. In the face of this crisis, it is essential to experience consolidating new ways of understanding the economy and business. The isolidary social economy can renew them and make them more democratic, supportive and sustainable.

http://www.eldiario.es/catalunyaplural/opinions/AltresEconomies_6_493860645.html

Plan http://eldigital.barcelona.cat/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/plaAltresEconomies.pdf

Contact person : Alvaro Porro

Contact : Eloi Badia Casas,
Regidor de Presidència, Regidor d’Aigua i Energia, Regidor del Districte de Gràcia, ebadia@bcn.cat

Barcelona wants to lead a transition to technological sovereignty, a sovereignty technology, government and citizens, enabling decide on priorities and act on the use of technology in the city, which allows to decide on how to develop our city, allowing recover the knowledge of city management with technological tools – knowledge that far too often has been in the hands of a few companies – and finally a sovereignty that allows to leave this knowledge as a legacy for the city itself. In addition, this technological sovereignty, promoted open standards, it should be a tool for the common good, to generate new economy and also facilitate knowledge sharing between different cities.

Digital infrastructure in the city: enhance the regulation of the WIFI provision and enlarge the municipal cover of WIFI. Also, they going to collaborate with organizations and social innovation projects to build a common, open and free telecommunications’ network in order to ensure the connectivity to all the citizens. Therefore, the government is going to collaborate with NGOs to reduce the digital gap among the inhabitants with digital inclusion programs.

Through the project DECODE Barcelona have a distributed infrastructure for open management identification data of citizens on the internet that will allow the Citizenship authorized third party access to this information granular and flexible. This infrastructure, which is based on blockchain technology will be built with the active participation of social entrepreneurs, hackers and creators.

In this context, Barcelona promotes and launches under the umbrella of the European project EU (http://digitalsocial.eu/ca) to create a virtual network that groups and appraise existing collaborative innovation projects in the city that use digital technology to address the social challenges. DSI4BCN will foster digital innovations for the social good, helping communities share data, collaborate to solve societal problems and scale their initiatives focusing on open and distributed technologies that preserve people’s privacy and new sustainable business models.

Strengthening and development of the network and Fab Labs (Ateneus de Fabricació Digital): Municipal public spaces open to everyone where can learn and experience the world of digital manufacturing scale personal, qualified and equipped with latest technology generation with an open and collaborative philosophy. Is strengthen networking and links with educational programs and digital empowerment in schools and consolidate and export the digital manufacturing lab model as the centre of industrial development beyond social use of the Fab Labs.

Creation and use of platforms of participation: Developing a platform and infrastructure to serve as a portal for both participation processes promoted by the City Council (PAM, development of rules and regulations, etc.) and for processes led by citizens (popular initiatives, development Community etc.). e.g. Decidim.barcelona. In addition, the possibility of the organizations in the city can run their own participatory processes.

The text of the agreement, approved by the Capitoline Council, provides for the launch of a partnership between Roma Capitale and Barcelona, and a mutual support both at community and international level for the realization of common projects on the main issues of digital innovation

Roma Capitale and Barcelona, for digital innovation. https://www.comune.roma.it/pcr/it/newsview.page?contentId=NEW1367628

Contact :

Gerardo Pisarello Prados, Primer teniente de alcaldía, Dirección del Área de Trabajo, Economía y Planificación Estratégica. gpisarellop@bcn.cat

Francesca Bria, Comisionada de Tecnología e Innovación Digital. fbria@bcn.cat

The implementation of the GMI among households in situations of poverty should also prompt a comparative analysis concerning the costs of policies aimed at fighting poverty, with the ultimate goal of developing more efficient welfare services. It is a new solution adapted to the new poverty related phenomena occurring in the city.

·       It was presented to UIA-Initiative (EU) the by Ajuntament de Barcelona; The Young Foundation – Think Thank; IVALUA. Catalan Institute of Public Policy Evaluation- Research Center; Autonomous University of Barcelona. IGOP. Institute of Governance and Public Policies – University; UPC. Polytechnic University of Catalonia – University; NOVA. Center for Social Innovation – NGO.
The municipal GMI system will provide families with security, freedom and greater responsibility as a lever in overcoming poverty. The new strategy is based on new core elements:

a)     Testing several types of GMI;

b)    Combine GMI with integrated one-stop-shop public and private active policies and

c)     Strengthening inhabitant and community’s initiative.

This innovative ecosystem in the fight against poverty includes also a set of services made available to persons receiving the income; a better understanding of poverty, based on the life stories of those affected; a social currency to cover a part of the GMI, and new forms of co-creation, interrelation between services, community involvement and public-private cooperation.

In 2017, the B-Mincome experiment will started. 1,000 randomly selected households in the Besos district — one of Barcelona’s most economically disadvantaged areas — will receive cash subsidies of an amount sufficient to ensure that their earnings exceed the poverty line. At the time of this writing, the City Council of Barcelona is still finalizing the design of the study. However, the city plans to test several types of GMI schemes, and it plans to investigate them in conjunction with improvements in public services.

Contact : Bru Lain Escadell bgrafic@gmail.com

1) Mediation to rent market: The municipality acts as a mediator between the owners with empty houses and people that need lodge, offering certain benefits and subventions. On the owner side, they are offering: a) subventions to the inclusion in the “Rent Housing Stock” to houses (1.500 € if the house is empty, and until 6.000 € to cancel debts to cases in legal processes); b) Subventions to rehabilitee the house (100% of the expenses until to 15.000€ and in a exchange of a 5 years’ contract); c) Subventions to pay local taxes (IBI); d) Multi-risk insurance during the contract period, e) Follow up of contract obligations and free legal and technical advice f) Guarantee of support for rent unpaid (until 6 months since the contract starts). On the lodger side, they are offering: a) Ensure a reduce rent price (Social Rent) regarding the incomes (lower than market price); b) Elaboration and sign of the contract, c) legal and technical advice, c) The amount of the contract expenses and the first rent month.

2) Empty houses program: It is estimated that Barcelona has between 4% to 11% of empty houses in the whole city. A sanction for owners that have an empty house for more than 6 months are being implemented. The tax payment is from 600€ for the inspection and legal expenses but it will charge 200€ more with every new infringement.

The budget for this plan is around 2.973,2 M€. The Municipality of Barcelona is the major contributor and it is included the support from other private and public actors. Also, the Generalitat of Cataluña contributes to the “Housing Consortium of Barcelona” (entity constituted by the regional government and the Municipality).

Many of the initiatives of the plan were from the previous governmental period, such as the “Plan 100 x 1000” that address the housing access problems through the construction of new buildings with public protection.

In May 2017, it was launched a Syndicate from the people who rent (Sindicat de llogaters de l’Estat) for the defence of them.

Approved by the Plenari del Ajuntament di Barcelona (Municipal Council of Barcelona, maximum authority body of the city).

Cataluña Regional Law Nº 24/2015, July, 29th about Urgent measures to address the housing emergency and the energetic poverty. Many articles were cancelled by the Constitutional Court of Spain related with the eviction issue.

The plan was also based in a regional previous law of Cataluña about the right to the house. (Nº 18/2007) and the government claims that without the Law Nº 24/2015, this is the legal framework to refer to.

Contact : Josep Maria Montaner Martorell,Concejal de Vivienda, Concejal del Distrito de Sant Martí ; jmontanerm@bcn.cat