NYC-Barcelona Partnership

Housing Preservation & Development


NYC-Barcelona Partnership


NYC-Barcelona Partnership

Barcelona delegation makes second visit to NYC in February 2020

Since 2018, the City of New York and the City of Barcelona have forged a partnership to tackle shared housing challenges. In 2018, the two cities jointly applied and were accepted to the European Union’s Inter-Urban Cooperation (IUC) program, which pairs European cities with cities in North America and Asia for knowledge exchanges. NYC and Barcelona chose to focus their IUC learning exchange on tackling shared housing challenges, with the partnership being led by HPD and the Barcelona Housing Department. The themes of this initial exchange were:

Community Land Trusts (CLTs)

Modular housing

Inclusionary housing

Tenant protections

Inclusive and comprehensive planning and housing design

Serving extremely low-income populations

Through the IUC, HPD and Barcelona hosted two learning exchanges in 2019, one in each city. These exchanges consisted of presentations about innovative projects each city was developing to address the thematic program areas, site visits, and meetings with government leaders and community stakeholders. HPD and Barcelona also attended and presented at various conferences across the US and Europe.

The IUC exchange proved fruitful for both cities. It provided an opportunity for staff to learn about alternative strategies for approaching similar housing challenges and to reflect critically upon their agency’s work; unlocked opportunities to participate in conferences and speaking engagements across two continents; and facilitated relationships with international and national partners working on the same issues.

Recognizing the benefits of this partnership, HPD and Barcelona have decided to continue the learning exchange even after the formal end of IUC programming. In 2022, the two cities are jointly hosting a series of webinars on topics of shared interest. These webinars include presentations from NYC, Barcelona, and other North American and European cities, and discussions on lessons learned that can be applied in other cities. Below are links to the presentations and recordings from past webinars, as well as information about upcoming webinars.

Collaborative Housing and CLTs

February 14, 2022 (NYC, Barcelona, and Brussels)

Presentations:

HPD CLT Initiatives

Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP)

Modular Housing

March 22, 2022 (NYC, Barcelona, and Amsterdam)

Modular Housing webinar recording

Presentations:

Innovation in Housing Construction and Renovation in Barcelona

Modular Housing in Amsterdam

Modular in NYC

Rent Stabilization

April 26, 2022 (NYC, Barcelona, and Paris)

Rent Stabilization webinar recording

Presentations:

Rethinking Rent Control in Spain

Rent Regulation in Paris

Rent Regulation in NYC

Supportive Housing and Housing with Services

May 24, 2022 (NYC, Barcelona, and Denver/Los Angeles)

Supportive Housing and Housing with Services webinar recording

Presentations:

Supportive and Senior Housing in NYC

Supportive Housing in Los Angeles

Supportive Housing in Denver

Supportive Housing in a Large City Conext (NYC DSS)

Sustainable Retrofits

June 21, 2022 (NYC, Barcelona, and Boston)

Sustainable Retrofits webinar recording

Presentations:

Sustainable Retrofits in NYC

Barcelona Urban Regeneration

Decarbonizing Boston's Existing Affordable Housing