Badalona

With 220.000 inhabitants, Badalona is the fourth most populated city in Catalonia, and the third one in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. Its proximity to Barcelona strongly influences the mobility patterns in the city, as their dependence with the capital is higher than in other isolated cities.

However, this proximity has also certain benefits as it allows Badalona to be part of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area’s integrated public transport system (train and bus) and offers the possibility to create pedestrian or bicycle networks at a regional level.

Despite being a dormitory-city in the outskirts of Barcelona, Badalona has a very important social and economic dynamism at a local level, stronger than in other cities of the metropolitan area. This means Badalona attracts mobility from its surrounding cities.

Several transport infrastructures cross the city, such as a railway line and two highways that divide the urban area in two. This greatly affects many of the internal dynamics of the city and has very negative externalities.

Badalona still has to face important challenges regarding urban mobility, as private cars are still too present in the everyday mobility of the inhabitants.

The Mediterranean climate, a coastline of more than 5 km (mainly occupied by beaches and leisure space) as well as the presence of a mountainous area nearby make Badalona an excellent city in which to live.