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Barcelona plans more social housing at Tres Xemeneies with smaller homes
Housing in Barcelona is moving again in one of the areas with the greatest potential for change. The future neighbourhood beside Tres Xemeneies, in Besòs, could increase the number of social housing flats without expanding the land area, a measure intended to respond directly to market pressure and the shortage of affordable housing.
The proposal involves building smaller homes adapted to different profiles, which would make it possible to fit more households into the same planned space. The current plan includes 1,783 homes, 40% of them designated as officially protected housing, but it is now being studied how to increase that supply without changing the distribution or delaying the timetable. The key lies in adjusting the average size of the flats and diversifying them to respond better to today's reality: more people living alone, couples without children or families with different structures.
The idea has institutional and neighbourhood support, although it requires balancing density, quality of life and services to avoid overloading the area. If confirmed, the change would mark an important shift in how public housing is planned in the city, committing to making better use of every square metre without sacrificing accessibility or liveability.
If you are looking for housing in Barcelona or its metropolitan area, changes of this kind may translate into more real opportunities for access, especially if you fit profiles that until now had fewer options. It may also affect how neighbourhoods grow, with greater but better-planned density, which will affect prices, services and quality of life in the coming years.