"I WANT AN AMBITIOUS, DYNAMIC, AND LIVABLE BARCELONA"

Barcelona is a city with a unique energy: creative, open, and capable of attracting talent from everywhere. In this conversation, Ramon Agenjo shares his memories of the city and the vision he wants to promote at the helm of Barcelona Global. We talk about housing, bureaucracy, and competitiveness, but also about culture and sports, with a common thread: making Barcelona a more livable city without giving up on ambition.

What is your first memory of Barcelona? What has been preserved… and what has been lost?

My first memory is of a very neighborhood-based Barcelona: the local shops, the school, the square, the neighbors, and a street full of conversation. That energy is still there and is part of our identity. What we have lost, at times, is balance: there is more pressure on public space, more noise, and a sense of constant rush. The challenge is to recover a sense of calm without giving up ambition.

If you only had a few hours to show Barcelona to someone, where would you take them?

I would have them walk, because Barcelona is best understood on foot. I would start in the historic center to explain its Mediterranean and cosmopolitan character; then go up to a viewpoint to see the city as an urban project; and finish in a neighborhood with local life, a market, shops, and restaurants. And, if there’s time, a conversation with someone who is an entrepreneur, so they can see the Barcelona that is coming.

What are you most proud of today, and what concerns you when you look ahead to the next ten years?

I am proud of Barcelona’s ability to attract talent, create culture, and combine creativity with science and business. I am concerned that housing and inequality may end up pushing out the people who make the city what it is: young people, families, and essential professionals.

If you could activate just one measure to improve everyday life, what would it be?

A major housing pact with regulatory changes: more supply, greater speed, and stronger public–private collaboration. It’s not just about building; it’s about rehabilitating, bringing empty housing onto the market, making renting easier, and providing legal certainty. If we solve housing, we unlock talent, social cohesion, and competitiveness.

Since you took on the presidency, what has been the most difficult decision, and what do you hope to achieve by the end of your term?

The hardest part is prioritizing, choosing where we can have the greatest impact. By the end of my term, I want Barcelona Global to be even more useful than it already is, with projects that have made a real impact on the city. And I want us to be recognized as an effective bridge between civil society, business, universities, and public administrations.

Two barriers that stop the arrival and retention of talent, and how to unlock them.

Housing and bureaucracy. They are the main bottlenecks when competing with other capitals, and they affect everyone, both locals and newcomers. When it comes to bureaucracy, we need clear timelines for anyone who wants to take risks for their city..

Which sectors should we invest in over the next three years, and which kind of growth should we avoid?

We need to focus on innovation with impact: health and biomedicine, for example, Barcelona is a benchmark in clinical trials and advanced therapies, and we have a very strong ecosystem. Also in deep tech, the digital economy, advanced industry, energy, and the climate transition. Barcelona can be excellent wherever there is knowledge, transfer, and collaboration. What we should avoid is growth based on intensive models that put pressure on the city without raising productivity. Growth must be compatible with being a livable city.

Culture and sport, how do they impact the city?

Culture and sport are part of Barcelona’s DNA, but the key is their legacy, the value of what they leave behind: creating programs that boost the creative economy, talent, and international visibility, and events that leave infrastructure, connections, and opportunities for the local fabric.

How would you like Barcelona to be talked about?

I would like Barcelona to be spoken of as an open, ambitious city, full of energy and livable, capable of competing globally without losing its cohesion or its values. My wish is that progress be felt in everyday life, in housing, in opportunities for young people, and in a shared sense of pride in the city.