La Boquería suffering from too many tourists
Stall owners at La Boquería market have asked the Ajuntament to limit the number of tourists that come through the market in groups. Every year, what is considered to be one of the best markets in Europe receives over 70 million visitors: the problem is that many of them are not clients. Although the market's bars and restaurants have benefited, the more traditional food stalls selling fish and meat consider that their habitual clients are being put off by the crowds of tourists. The market's management have suggested allowing tour groups of no more than 15 people in at a time.
La Modelo prison will close in 2016
The Generalitat has announced its plan to close down La Modelo, the prison located in the Eixample that currently houses 9,700 prisoners. Until then, the prison will continue its process of relocating inmates to other prisons.
25 new roadworks for the summer
The city will take advantage of the summer to carry out 25 roadwork projects. Som of these are complex and will cause considerable disruption to traffic: they are in addition to the 130 projects that are currently being carried out. Roads that will be affected include Av. Parallel, Av. Diagonal, Balmes, Pg. Sant Joan and Pl. de les Glòries.
Fight against petty crime
The Guardia Urbana is creating two more specialised groups of agents to combat petty crime in the city. One will work in the beach area of Sant Marti and the other in Sants-Montjuïc. This brings the total number of agents that form part of these groups, called Grupos de Delincuencia Urbana, to 60, most of which operate in Ciutat Vella. The number of petty crimes and robberies carried out in the city has fallen from 205,000 in 2010 to 175,000 in the last year.
Foreigners leaving Spain
Spain's population has fallen for the second year in a row, with 547,890 people leaving the country in 2013. Of these, 79,306 were Spaniards. The biggest exodus was among immigrant from Peru, followed by Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. Approximately half of those leaving were from European countries.