Barcelona could be the first Spanish city to have a ‘mayor’ or ‘mayor’ of the night, as they already exist in the United States and in increasingly large European cities. The PSC contemplated in its program electoral to incorporate this figure into the municipal government and is taking initial steps in this regard, although it is not clear whether or not it will receive that name. The city council made clear this Monday at the IX International Nightlife Congress being held in the city its determination to fit nightlife so that their economic and social activity does not clash with neighborhood rest and to “lead” a better model of coexistence. On Wednesday, after the congress, a meeting is planned at the town hall with the former mayor of the night of NY Ariel Palitz to learn more about his experience.
The turn that the council has taken to “dialogue“with leisure and trying to integrate it instead of eradicating it (as happened during the municipal government of the Comuns) was already evident in the opening speech of the Deputy mayor of Prevention, Security, Coexistence and Internal Regime, Albert Batlle. “Leisure is a great asset of Barcelona” but it can become the opposite if there is not good “management”, he cried, trying to balance interests and advocating for the “co-responsibility” of all the actors of the night and for ordinances that minimize their side effects. He assured that they have already been established “complicities” with the operators (as examples, the Maritime Front and its security, and the plan for the Gulf Triangle) but there is still a lot of work ahead.
And it is here where the role of the new figure (since August) of the Commissioner for Coexistence of Barcelona City Council, Montserrat Surroca, as a first step towards that nocturnal coexistence that has been so questioned in recent years. Surroca later participated in one of the round tables of the congress, where he stated that Barcelona wanted to “lead” the policies in this regard. Currently he is working on modifying the city’s coexistence ordinance, which is already obsolete and even ignores an issue as fundamental as noise.
The commissioner assured that they conceive the coexistence “from dialogue and consensus with the sector”, to guarantee leisure within the framework of rights and obligations –“we cannot do it alone”– and with now a change of focus, under the umbrella of the Department of Security. The review of the ordinance, its sections and procedures will be a first step, he points out. With that frame that governs what can and cannot be done, and what is punishable in the city in terms of civility, towards the end of 2024, the city council will analyze the implementation of a mediating figure specific to the night scene, which may or may not be called ‘mayor of the night’. The government team wants to know the experiences of other cities and that is why will gather with Palitz, says Surroca. Batlle, and the representative of the Fecasarm employers’ association and Spain Nightlife, Joaquim Boadas, will also attend the event.
In another round table, the former New York nighttime mayor herself encouraged Spanish cities to promote this figure, which she sees as essential in the face of the nocturnal hyperactivity experienced by large metropolises. Also Jose Luis Benítez, president of the International Nightlife Association and vice president of Spain Nightlife (organizer), and various participants in the congress have insisted on that same idea to improve management.
Common standards and technological improvements
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During the first day of the congress international (tomorrow it will be limited to the national level), the different speakers from a dozen countries have addressed issues of regulation (demanding a common base regulation for leisure venues throughout the territory that avoids comparative grievances), innovation technological (applications that improve the connectivity of night owls; programs that allow ‘photographing’ the level of indoor and outdoor noise, as Audiotec has presented). Also from sustainability (measures against noise pollution) and security (from the venues to the anti-sexual assault programs in which many Barcelona venues have focused) and has even analyzed the role of women at night, at a table that included female representatives of local police forces, among others.
The congress has managed to add many representatives of local administrations. As the general director of Commerce of the Generalitat, Jordi Torradeswhich has highlighted the social function of leisure for young people, the thousands of jobs it generates and its economic impact on the GDP, emphasizing that “the leisure model is a sample of the model of society that we want to have “, aligned with transmitting values of “safety, innovation and sustainability”.