Almost half of the Catalan population resides in medium-sized cities, which possess a proven capacity to structure the territory and drive its development. This reality was the central theme of the conference held at La Llotja in Lleida, where the urgent need for more public investment in key areas such as housing, mobility, and industrial activity was highlighted.
“"These populations are irreplaceable communication nodes. The goal should not be to grow in size, but to be better connected with the territory as a whole and offer better services."
During one of the four round tables, the mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, highlighted his city's role in “structuring the integration of the territory from Igualada to Barbastro” and predicted that Lleida will be “the first city in the state to emerge from the residential tension situation”. He also stressed the municipality's capacity to increase industrial land and advocated for intermodality in mobility.
Other mayors shared their views. Lluc Salellas, mayor of Girona, suggested that medium-sized cities can play an important commercial and cultural role, asking regional and state administrations to complement municipal action on housing. Meanwhile, the mayor of Tàrrega, Alba Pijuan, regretted that, despite its central location, connections with Barcelona and other municipalities “are not as they should be” and called for improved county and inter-county mobility. Finally, the mayor of Cunit, Jaume Casañas, criticized the territorial imbalance, where 50% of the population lives in only 4.9% of the territory, and requested changes to the public transport model.
