Barcelona has long been recognized for its innovative approach to managing public facilities, where local grassroots organizations, rather than the government, take the lead. This **community-led model** ensures that neighbourhood centres, cultural hubs, and sports venues are tailored to the needs of local residents, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging.

Currently, 64 public facilities in Barcelona operate under this model, including neighbourhood centres (casals de barri), youth centres, civic spaces, sports facilities, and cultural centres like the LGTBI Center and La Central del Circ. These **spaces are crucial** for **social interaction**, offering educational and recreational programs that strengthen community bonds. However, the rigid classification of public facilities in urban planning often fails to adapt to social dynamics, limiting their accessibility and impact on community life. Instead of being designed to meet the specific needs of each neighbourhood, legal frameworks often replicate existing models from surrounding areas, leading to a lack of flexibility and innovation in urban planning.

Despite its success, this model faces significant challenges due to a lack of legal protection. Although recognised by the Barcelona Municipal Charter, it lacks a clear framework at Catalan, Spanish or European level. This **regulatory gap** creates uncertainty when contracts come up for renewal, forcing community organisations to navigate complex bureaucratic processes and compete with larger, better-funded entities. In addition, the distribution of public facilities is often based on administrative criteria rather than actual neighbourhood needs, leading to inequalities and under-utilisation.

Moreover, broader **urban changes** such as rising rents, gentrification, and mass tourism are **reshaping neighbourhoods**, displacing long-time residents, and **weakening the social fabric**. 

The situation is critical, with spaces like La Violeta (Gràcia) and Casa Orlandai (Sarrià) facing the threat of losing their community-led status due to public bidding processes. To preserve the vibrancy and inclusivity of Barcelona’s neighbourhoods, it is essential to rethink the management and planning of public facilities. Ensuring that these spaces remain community-led and integrated into the urban fabric will be key to strengthening social cohesion. Now is the time to act to **protect these vital community spaces**.

[FAVB (Federació d'Associacions Veïnals de Barcelona)](https://favb.cat/), the **challenge provider**, is the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona. It is a grassroots organization that brings together various neighborhood associations across Barcelona to advocate for residents' rights and urban improvements. FAVB plays a crucial role in citizen participation, urban development, and social movements in Barcelona, acting as a bridge between local authorities and the people.

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Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Empowering Neighbourhoods: Keeping Barcelona’s Community Spaces Alive

How can we rethink public facilities in Barcelona to ensure they remain locally driven spaces of connection, belonging, and inclusion?

Resilient communities

Critical and innovative thinking

Inter-personal skills

Global citizenship

Society is made and designed for people who have a ‘normotypical’ development, i.e. for those who do things in a similar way to most of the population.  

People with disabilities have many difficulties (architectural barriers, accessibility, communication, access to work...) to be able to participate in this social life and to develop their autonomy within the society in which they live.

This situation is aggravated when it comes to children with disabilities and even more so with those who have multiple disabilities and/or minority ailments. They are not only excluded from social life, but even more so, from access to play and from developing their autonomy and skills in their natural environment (home, school, park).  

The fact that they have different abilities from the rest of the population not only excludes them from society but also condemns them to depend on another person who has to do everything for them. Today's society is highly computerised, with infinite technological resources, where everything or almost everything can be controlled from mobile devices, tablets or computers. **But what about people who, because of their disability, cannot access or interact with these devices that control everything?**

In this challenge, we work together with [Nexe Fundació](https://nexefundacio.org/), an organization that has been dedicated for 40 years to improving the quality of life of children with multiple disabilities and their families, as well as defending their rights.

Creating an inclusive environment for children with multiple disabilities

How can we ensure accessibility and participation for children with multiple disabilities so that, based on their abilities, they can control their natural environment and develop their autonomy?

Entrepreneurship, technology and innovation

Intra-personal skills

**The Content** of this Micro-module is organized in 3 packages: 

- **Package 1 : Philosophy and Law**

Conceptual introduction to the ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated without paying attention to gender, age, race, and class differences and sexual difference as regards relations among subjects and among bodies, and, thereby, becoming what might be understood as rigid, immaterial, and disaffected knowledge. The impact of producing and disseminating knowledge in these terms will be made clear by analyzing the so-called neutrality of the Law and its effects in gender equality policy making.

- **Package 2 : Psychology and Literature**

(1) Applied critical consideration of epistemic violence, that is, of how gender differences have an effect on subjects and bodies and how they have an effect in their well being depending on the role that gender is given in Psi Disciplines.

(2) Applied critical deconstruction of gender stereotypes and of prejudices that symbolically limit the imaginary field of subjects and bodies and tie them to the immateriality of heteronormativity. 

- **Package 3: Anthropology and Pedagogy**

Attention will be payed to a specific challenge in order to (1) make clear how to take into account diversity, difference, and inequality by means of situating knowledge and of feminist methodologies and feminist data analysis and how to (2) validate and make epistemically relevant different kinds of agency by gendering it (including age, class, and race differences).

There are 3 assessment files, one for each package, that need to be completed in order to pass the course.

Gender as a cross-cutting tool for understanding, diagnosing, and solving challenges

SELF-PACED OPEN MOOC (7TH EDITION)

**The Content**of this Micro-module is organized in 3 packages: 

- **Package 1 : Philosophy and Law**

Conceptual introduction to the ways in which knowledge is produced and disseminated without paying attention to gender, age, race, and class differences and sexual difference as regards relations among subjects and among bodies, and, thereby, becoming what might be understood as rigid, immaterial, and disaffected knowledge. The impact of producing and disseminating knowledge in these terms will be made clear by analyzing the so-called neutrality of the Law and its effects in gender equality policy making.

- **Package 2 : Psychology and Literature**

(1) Applied critical consideration of epistemic violence, that is, of how gender differences have an effect on subjects and bodies and how they have an effect in their well being depending on the role that gender is given in Psi Disciplines.

(2) Applied critical deconstruction of gender stereotypes and of prejudices that symbolically limit the imaginary field of subjects and bodies and tie them to the immateriality of heteronormativity. 

- **Package 3: Anthropology and Pedagogy**

Attention will be payed to a specific challenge in order to (1) make clear how to take into account diversity, difference, and inequality by means of situating knowledge and of feminist methodologies and feminist data analysis and how to (2) validate and make epistemically relevant different kinds of agency by gendering it (including age, class, and race differences).

There are 3 **assessment**files, one for each package, that need to be completed in order to pass the course.

SELF-PACED OPEN MOOC (6TH EDITION)

Energy has become an increasingly important factor in recent years. We have transitioned from a world where energy was cheap and readily available to one where it is becoming more difficult to obtain. Furthermore, **energy consumption has dramatic consequences for the environment,** as its use leads to an increase in CO2 concentration and subsequently, **global warming**. Understanding this factor and being able to manage it quantitatively is becoming increasingly necessary for the next generation.

In this course, we will be studying**transportation and analyzing it in terms of energy**. We will learn how to **calculate the impact of our transportation systems**in terms of energy, and explore the best strategies to reduce their impact.

Energy in transportation

3rd Edition

Transport and Mobility

Media and information literacy

The increase in rental housing prices is a complex phenomenon influenced by a combination of economic, social, and legislative factors:  

Among the economic factors, we can identify a demand that exceeds the supply of housing due to the lack of policies that incentivize and promote the existence of an affordable rental housing stock, as well as the strong interest from investors in investing in the rental property market, which drives prices up. Both factors contribute to rising prices. Additionally, difficulties in obtaining mortgage loans to buy homes can increase the demand for rentals.  

Among the social factors, the high population concentration in cities also contributes, making prices higher in urban areas. In Spain, the prices in cities like Madrid and Barcelona stand out. Changes in family structure, with the increase in single-person households or nuclear families, also play a role. Furthermore, the rise in tourist rentals (such as through platforms like Airbnb) can reduce the supply of housing available for long-term rental, increasing prices.  

Among the legislative factors, regulations that set limitations on the rental price can reduce the incentive for owners to enter the rental market or invest in building maintenance, thus reducing supply. Tax regulations can also affect the rental price, in the event that tax rates are passed on to tenants.  

During this challenge we will try to find out what initiatives, proposals and measures could be taken by local governments to solve this problem in urban communities, starting with the Spanish city council of Terrassa as a pilot

Tackling the Housing Crisis: Strategies for Lowering Rent in urban communities.

How can Terrassa's City Council address high rental prices to ensure housing access and stability for residents?

This course will provide to students basic knowledge of Catalan and Spanish languages and their cultures. The main objective is to enables students to understand and use everyday expressions of very frequent use and simple sentences aimed at satisfying immediate needs. It will also introduce them to some key aspects of the Catalan and Spanish cultures.  

The linguistic and cultural background of students is used as the ground to build upon and to maximize their learning. They will work using a communicative and challenge-based learning methodology. 

This course is not intended for students who have lived in Catalonia, even for a short period. It focuses on discovering the basics and essence of the culture. Therefore, if you have lived there, we do not recommend enrolling

Exploring Catalonia: An introduction to its language and culture

Language learning

As part of international migrations, according to UNHCR, in 2022, disasters caused a record 32.6 million displacements. Remarkably, 98% of these were triggered by climate-related hazards as documented by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. 

In fact, 84% of refugees and asylum seekers in 2022 fled from countries highly vulnerable to climate change, marking a 61% increase compared to 2010. Most people forced to flee their homes move within their own countries, but international migrations are increasingly common. 

Currently, the right to asylum due to the effects of climate change is not yet recognized, unlike protection for those escaping war conflicts, as defined during the 1951 Geneva Convention.  This lack of recognition, coupled with the complex and multi-causal nature of migration reasons, makes it challenging to assess how much climate change is influencing new international migration trends and its role as a decisive factor. 

With this challenge, we aim to demonstrate/quantify the existence of forced displacements due to climate change, to provide consistency and contribute to the debate surrounding climate change migration.

Climate change and migratory movements.

How could we identify to what extent the effects of climate change are causing new migratory processes at an international level?

Energy and sustainability

**Develop Sustainable Nanotechnology Solutions with a Global Team**

This course challenges you to co-create innovative, eco-friendly products using nanotechnology tools. Working in international and multidisciplinary teams, you’ll tackle real-world challenges with guidance from expert teachers. Your mission: to design a green product that contributes to solving society’s most pressing issues.

**Why Nanotechnology?**

Nanotechnology plays a pivotal role in sustainable development, offering solutions for **clean water, air, soil, and energy**—key pillars of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. By integrating advanced technology with a multidisciplinary approach, this course equips you with the skills to address global challenges collaboratively.

**What You’ll Do:**

- **Focus on four key areas:** Develop sustainable products targeting **water** purification, remediation, and reuse; **air** purification; **soil**remediation; and **energy** solutions.
- **Apply what you learn:** Use life cycle analysis and recyclability principles to design impactful solutions.
- **Collaborate globally:** Work in an international team to solve problems and learn to navigate cultural and time-zone differences.

**Skills You’ll Gain:**

Through a challenge-based learning approach, you’ll master teamwork, time management, and product development. You’ll also learn to apply academic knowledge to real-world problems, ensuring your solutions are both innovative and actionable.

Join this Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course and be part of a global effort to create a sustainable future through nanotechnology! For more information, contact Arturo Susarrey Arce (a.susarreyarce@utwente.nl).

University of Twente

Sustainable Nanotechnology

Help co-create sustainable solutions using nanotechnology tools.

Circular economy

This micro-module is a collaboration between 6 ECIU universities: UAB (Spain), KTU (Lithuania), UiS (Norway), UniTn (Italy), INSA (France), and UT (the Netherlands). This means you get to gain knowledge from experts of all these different universities! This is therefore a unique opportunity that offers multiple perspectives and an intercultural experience.

### **Why learning about interculturality matters**

Interculturality is a crucial skill in today’s globalized world, enabling effective communication and collaboration across cultural boundaries. It fosters empathy, helps navigate differences with respect, and is essential for addressing global challenges like climate change and migration. In academic and professional settings, intercultural competence is highly valued, supporting teamwork in diverse and international contexts. Personally, it enriches your worldview, enhances self-awareness, and opens you to new perspectives. By embracing interculturality, you contribute to a more inclusive and collaborative global society.

### **What you'll learn**

This online micro-module is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of interculturality through a structured blend of expert-led lectures and interactive discussions. The course is divided into three thematic blocks, each building on the previous one to create a cohesive learning experience:

**Block 1: Understanding cultural differences**  

You’ll start by exploring foundational theories of culture, learning what defines and distinguishes cultures around the world. This block highlights the importance of cultural diversity in today’s globalized world, helping you develop an awareness of how cultural differences shape interactions and perceptions.

**Block 2: Global perspectives**  

In this section, you’ll examine the effects of migration, media representation, and the concept of global Englishes. These topics will give you a broader perspective on how cultural narratives evolve and influence societies across the globe. You’ll gain insights into how these factors contribute to both challenges and opportunities in intercultural communication.

**Block 3: Practical intercultural skills**  

The final block focuses on practical workshops to equip you with effective communication techniques for interacting across cultures. You’ll learn how to navigate cultural nuances in professional and personal settings, ensuring your interactions are respectful, clear, and impactful.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a deeper understanding of cultural theories, a global perspective on societal changes, and the practical tools to engage effectively in intercultural settings. This combination of theoretical and hands-on learning prepares you to adapt in diverse environments and address the complexities of global communication

Member university

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Member university

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Learning opportunities of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona