This is what Roca City will be like, the new eco-neighbourhood with thousands of homes next to Barcelona

The project will cover around 32 hectares and combine housing, employment and sustainability in the same setting. Nearly half of the new homes will be officially protected housing and, of those, at least half will be for rent, with the aim of making housing more accessible, especially for young people.

In addition to the homes, the development will retain industrial activity and include a new Roca corporate headquarters, offices, shops and spaces devoted to innovation and training. Overall, around 60% of the buildable floor area will be reserved for economic uses, seeking to create employment and consolidate the area as a new business hub in the metropolitan environment.

One of the most prominent elements will be a large linear park of more than seven hectares, connecting Gavà and Viladecans and replacing the factory’s historic enclosed site with a space open to the public. The project also provides for new pedestrian and cycling routes, road improvements, a new bridge over the railway tracks and the recovery of industrial buildings with heritage value for public use.

The scheme aims to reduce environmental impact through energy-efficiency solutions, water-reuse systems, renewable-energy generation and construction techniques with a smaller carbon footprint. The design is committed to an urban model in which sustainable mobility and green spaces play a leading role from the outset.

Final approval of the planning represents a decisive step for a project that will transform a historic industrial site into a new neighbourhood integrated with the two cities. The combination of affordable housing, economic activity and public spaces seeks to make Roca City one of the leading urban developments in the Barcelona metropolitan area over the coming decade.