The plan seeks to diversify the local economy to tackle the challenges of the present and the future, create quality jobs and business competitiveness and strengthen the city’s position. It takes into account principles such as the gender perspective, social and territorial cohesion, equal opportunities, social justice, prosperity, competitiveness, equity and environmental sustainability.

The overall investment through Barcelona Impulsa for the period from 2024 to 2027 is 890 million euros, with 215 million of that figure to be allocated in 2025.

Eleven cross-cutting policies

Ten strategic sectors have been identified (commerce and restaurants, health, the care economy, science and innovation, social and solidarity economy, visitor economy, digital and technology, creative industries, agri-food sector and the blue economy), which will be promoted through eleven cross-cutting policies for the different sectors and areas. These are:

• Promotion of quality employment for all: with actions such as the Crea Feia programme, comprehensive work contract programmes and the strategy based around the Barcelona Agreement for Quality Employment (ABOQ).
• Care: with the care innovation hub as a key driver, mainly structured around attracting and developing talent in the sector for professionalisation and a line of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Support for local commerce: with actions such as the promotion of the Christmas campaign, improvements to accessibility in shops, incentives to foster local commerce, revamps for municipal markets and more.
• Knowledge transfer: with actions such as the support programme for science infrastructures, Barcelona Deep Tech, and the programme for facilities, knowledge, research and innovation.
• Generation, development and loyalty of talent: with initiatives such as the programme for young emerging research, support for professional training, the promotion of women’s talent and blue talent, the social and solidarity economy strategy and more.
• Facilitating entrepreneurship and economic activity: outstanding initiatives include the “Impulsem el que fas” subsidies, incentives for innovative and highly qualified companies, entrepreneurship programmes for new economic sectors and more.
• Strategic autonomy: with actions such as the rollout of the Barcelona Innovation Coast, the new Barcelona Investment Fund, the Barcelona Investment Office and the technology sovereignty programme.
• Positioning of the city and global connection: with the plan to enlarge the airport, the promotion of the city as a global leader and initiatives such as the City and Science Biennial, the Hypatia European Science Prize, the candidacy for European Capital of Local Commerce and the city’s role as the World Capital of Architecture 2026, plus the new CDRA strategic plan and more.
• Digital transformation: this includes driving the digitalisation of the visitor economy and the digital transformation of municipal markets and Mercabarna, as well as the Pla STEAM.
• Green and business transition: with the creation of the Circular Hub and the Urban Tech Hub, improvements to the sustainability of tourist options, the promotion of the Green Commerce programme and more.
• Tourism management: with actions on planning and regulating accommodation, new taxation and the management of public space in areas with large volumes of visitors etc.

Urban transformation

The plan will transform up to 1.8 million square metres of land in the metropolitan area to address the main challenges and generate working opportunities, with eight areas of economic activity earmarked to become drivers for the city:

• Diagonal, Health – Research, transfer and life sciences. Notable projects include the new Hospital Clínic, which must allow for the transformation of 290,000 square metres in the area of Av. Diagonal, on the side nearest the Llobregat, for the construction of a health and science hub with facilities and community spaces. Barcelona will also be the home of the first centre for the Fraunhofer Society in the Spanish state, specialising in applied research. Another notable development in this sphere is the inauguration of the new European supercomputer MareNostrum 5 and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centre Nacional de Supercomputació (BSC-CNS).
• Sants-Montjuïc – Events, cooperatives and culture. This includes strategic projects such as the new Montjuïc, which will improve sports infrastructures and promote international events; the large Bloc4BCN facility fostering the social and solidarity economy and already home to 39 cooperatives, plus the enlargement of Fira Gran Via around the new pavilion, the Hall Zero, adding 60,000 square metres of exhibition space and increasing overall capacity by 25%.
• Centre – Reurbanisation, science and entrepreneurship. Includes the comprehensive renovation of two major arteries, La Rambla and Via Laietana, plus moving into the final stage of works in Glòries. The Ciutadella del Coneixement will become a centre for excellence in knowledge, research, innovation and dissemination.
• Coastal area – Blue economy and sustainability. Important points here include the future Barcelona Maritime Technology Park (PTMB), linked to training, research, technology transfer, entrepreneurship and innovation in the blue economy, with unique facilities in the Mediterranean, and Barcelona Mar de Ciència, a shared space for knowledge, education, awareness, dissemination and citizen participation relating to seas and oceans. The boost to the Port Olímpic, relaunched with the America’s Cup and turned into a driver for the blue economy, along with the project for the new Passeig de la Mar Bella, are strategic actions in this sphere.
• 22@ – Innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity. The 22@ area is strengthened with projects such as the Palo Alto BCN XRLAB, the research, innovation and entrepreneurship hub for the creative industries which is set to start operating in May, and the FoodLab, located on the site of La Escocesa. The City Council will be devoting the Shield hall to the promotion of food tech sector through Barcelona Activa and in collaboration with Mercabarna. For its part, the Àvila hall will become a new urban innovation and smart city hub with Barcelona Urban Tech. Work is also being carried out on a new hub for the care sector, to add vitality to and strengthen the city’s care ecosystem, centring on the spheres of ageing and dependence.
• Besòs – Green and circular creative industry. The Besòs area in Barcelona is set to become a hub for 4.0 industry and the circular economy, thanks to key projects such as the Circular Hub, at the Asunción hall in the neighbourhood of Bon Pastor, promoting sustainability and the circular economy; the Campus Diagonal-Besòs, driving education and research in advanced technologies, and the Tres Xemeneies audiovisuals hub, which will boost this creative industry and technology.
• Zona Franca – Industry 4.0, food and logistics. Different projects are under way to turn the area into the new 4.0 district, with the first incubator in the Spanish state devoted to this sector, DFactory, the tech hub that currently has more than 500 professionals in sectors such as 3D printing, AI, robotics, sensors, the Internet of Things, blockchain, data management and virtual and augmented reality. The urban development of the area of La Marina del Prat Vermell will enable 28,000 local people to live here and between 8,000 and 11,000 people to work here. The enlargement of Mercabarna is another key project in this area.
• La Sagrera – New centrality and urban development. The final large area of urban development in Barcelona, with more than a million square metres of space available, half of which will be used for economic activity, will be a new gateway to the city and give Barcelona a new centrality.