The Municipality of Barcelona concluded the technical assistance to the city of Saida that was undertaken in the frame of USUDS project.

As stated by the representatives of the Municipality of Barcelona: “Since the beginning, we identified a clear desire on the part of Saida to reform the fishing port of the city and improve its relationship with the city, particularly the old city. This will was rooted in the Strategic Plan generated by the USUDS project and the work done with the MedCities network. In addition it was also clear that for Saida this process should be open to participation at the city level, something that was learned during the process of strategic planning. The conclusion that was reached was that the best way for Barcelona to accompany Saida was to work on the initial reflections and on the proposal that the city of Saida would launch for the participation process. Before entering into a participation exercise for a project that was so ambitious and central to the city, the city of Saida had to be clear on what were the central issues of this reform, the limits of its feasibility and the different uses that the port should have in the future.

The work carried out in the past months between Barcelona and Saida in the project USUDS has allowed to generate, apart from a process of reflection on the relationship between the city and the Sea in the context of the Mediterranean, a concrete initial proposal that includes the technical limits of feasibility, the bases of the reform (public space and access to port-related spaces, remodelling of the adjacent streets, etc.) and an initial idea of future activities. In conclusion, and as a result of this work, we consider that we have empowered the municipality for the future participatory process, both with the public and the relevant stakeholders in the management of the port. On a second level, the technical services of the City of Saida worked with the technical services of the city of Barcelona, both of the City Council and the Politecnic University of Catalonia, which has allowed them to exchange knowledge and experiences at professional level as well as regarding the function of the municipality with regards to the management of the port.”

The results of this process of technical cooperation were presented on 6th of June to municipal representatives and the relevant stakeholders, with the participation of the two experts, Mr. Carles Casamor and Mrs. Sandra Bestraten, and with the presence of representatives of the International Cooperation Department of the Municipality of Barcelona. Further possibilities of technical cooperation between the two cities will be explored in the following months, in order to build on the experience of collaboration that was initiated through the USUDS project.