Besòs - Barcelona

Besòs is a n ara of Barcelona located in the north-eastern part of Barcelona. The Besòs Area is 10 neighbourhoods in 3 districts; Ciutat Meridiana, Vallbona, Torre Baró, Roquetes and Trinitat Nova (District of Nou Barris); Trinitat Vella, Baró de Viver and Bon Pastor (District of Sant Andreu) and Verneda-La Pau and Besòs-Maresme (District of Sant Martí). The Eix Besos name (meaning ax Besos) is taken from the river Besòs, a natural line dividing Barcelona from its neighbouring municipalities Santa Coloma, Santa Adrià, Montcada and Badalona. With 114,014 inhabitants (7.12% of the city of Barcelona) in an area covering 924.20 ha (9.05% of the City of Barcelona) (Ayuntamiento Barcelona 2017) the river Besòs has been growing as an informal settlement from the fifties onward, attracting newcomers from the countryside and southern Spain. The mostly residential area is characterised by micro-ownership and private sector rented housing.

This area is characterised by:

Lower income rate.
High level of unemployment.
High rates of school failure and school dropout.
Attractiveness to vulnerable population due to low cost housing. It is also the area of the city with one of the highest occupancy rates per house/flat.
Higher number of immigrants in the area (29%) in comparison to the Barcelona average (22.2%).

Tesserae works experts are currently involved in two EU projects in the area. Laura Colini is providing expertise for the UIA B-Mincome project testing minimum income innovative solutions. Lorenzo Tripod is Lead Expert for the URBACT Implementation Network Urbinclusion

First B-MINCOME Project Journal by Laura Colini.

Second B-MINCOME Project Journal by Laura Colini