Barcelona has approved a city pact against unwanted loneliness promoted by the municipal government of Jaume Collboni's PSC and supported by Junts per Barcelona, Barcelona en Comú, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, and Partit Popular. The agreement also incorporates social entities, companies, and citizens, with a deployment horizon until 2030.
The plan starts from a figure that broadens the focus beyond the elderly. Municipal data from 2025 indicate that 23.8% of residents over 16 years of age feel lonely, with 17.8% experiencing it sometimes and 5.9% suffering from it often.
Collboni placed loneliness in the elderly and adolescents on the same level
Jaume Collboni defended that the problem affects very different profiles in the city and illustrated it with two age extremes. The mayor of Barcelona maintained that the lack of ties cannot be read solely as a matter linked to aging.
"The lady who lives alone and receives no visits is as serious as the teenager who has no one to talk to" - Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, Barcelona City Council
The pact is born with cross-party support in the municipal plenary and with the initial incorporation of about twenty organizations. Among them are PIMEC, Sant Joan de Déu, the Official College of Psychology, the Consortium of Education, Grup Focus, and the Barcelona Public Health Agency.
In addition to the general diagnosis, the agreement orders actions in very specific areas of daily life. The text proposes promoting intergenerational interaction and volunteering as tools to reduce isolation.
The pact included social networks, work, and urban space
One of the lines of work focuses on children's digital well-being. The objective is to guarantee safe use of social networks and prevent minors from turning them into a refuge in situations of isolation.
It will also enter the company. The City Council will prepare a guide for small and medium-sized enterprises with recommendations for addressing unwanted loneliness in the workplace.
Collboni linked part of the response to the city's design and defended very concrete interventions in public space.
"Something as simple as putting benches where they are needed breaks that feeling of isolation" - Jaume Collboni, mayor of Barcelona, Barcelona City Council
The municipal proposal thus combines social, educational, labor, and urban measures within the same strategy. The agreement will start with about twenty adhering entities and maintains its implementation schedule until 2030.