Barcelona: city indicators and international benchmarking Àngels Santigosa Research Department Economy, Business and Employment Area Barcelona City Council IRBC Conference, Munich, 5-7 November 2014
Barcelona: city indicators and
international benchmarking
Àngels Santigosa
Research Department
Economy, Business and Employment Area
Barcelona City Council
IRBC Conference, Munich, 5-7 November 2014
Introduction
1. Barcelona has a long tradition of working on city indicators.
The municipal Statistics Department is more than 100 years
old.
2. From the economic and competitiveness perspectives,
current lines of analysis include:
a) Measuring and monitoring the Strategic City Map
implementation.
b) Updating and analyzing city indicators about economic
activity, business, labour market, innovation, talent... See
the Barcelona Datasheet as a relevant example.
c) City benchmarkíng, in order to compare Barcelona´s
performance to that of other cities of the world: the
Barcelona Observatory.
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The Barcelona Observatory an exemple of cooperation
between the public and private sectors
Promoters:
• The Barcelona City Council, through its Economy, Business and
Employment Area
• The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce through the Cabinet for
Economic Studies
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• Objectives:
• Transfer of information, knowledge and experience about
the city
• To promote the image of Barcelona in the world
• Attracting headquarters and major international events.
The Barcelona Observatory: main characteristics
• Provides up to date information on the most relevant aspects of the
city of Barcelona from a comparative perspective, based on
international prestigious sources (universities, consultancy firms,
institutions…)
• Offers references which may be used as a basis for decision making by
economic agents interested in carrying out or setting up business in
Barcelona
• It allows a periodical comparison of the position of Barcelona in terms
of other cities for each of the indicators analysed
• It is prepared using a set of indicators (29), preferably defined at a city
level
• The data are obtained for a sample which can include up to 60 cities
from around the world
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Indicators grouped into six thematic areas
1. A city for business
2. Knowledge society
3. Tourism
4. Sustainability and quality of life
5. Prices and costs
6. Labour market and training
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1. A city for business (I)
European cities with best prospects for 2014/2015
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
1. A city for business (II)
Main cities in the world receiving foreign investment projects in 2013
Source: Global Cities Investment Monitor 2014, KPMG.
1. A city for business (III)
Entrepreneurial activity in countries across the world in 2013
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
1. A city for business (IV)
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
Main cities in the world hosting international meetings in 2013
Barcelona among the world’s top cities for scientific production in 2013
2. Knowledge society
According to Max Planck Society, three Catalan research institutes ranked among the top 20 institutions for scientific
excellence in the fields of physics and astronomy, among which the Institute of Photonic Sciences ranked first.
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
3. Tourism (I)
Barcelona has one of the top 10 major airports ranking in Europe
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
3. Tourism (II)
The Port of Barcelona, leader in Europe and fourth world port in terms of cruise
passengers
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
Smart and sustainable cities in 2013
4. Sustainability and quality of life (I)
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
Barcelona, amongst the top world cities in terms of quality of life
4. Sustainability and quality of life (II)
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
5. Prices and costs
Cost of living in the world’s cities in 2013 Salaries in the world’s cities in 2012
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
Cost of living and salaries in the world’s cities
6. Labour market and training
Source: Observatori de Barcelona 2014 Report.
Barcelona is the only city with two business schools in the European top ten
Challenges for the future…
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New territorial realities: the megarregion Smart Cities: the city, urban lab for
innovation and quality of life improvement
Final comments
• In a world where urban areas are the main drivers of global
economic growth, city benchmarking is a necessary part of
urban indicators analysis.
• New territorial realities (megarregions), economic sectors
(Mobile) and concepts (business friendly cities, Smart Cities…)
demand new indicators and analysis tools.
• There is a wide range of statistics and data that allow
homogeneous comparisons among European cities.
• In the last years the availability of data comparing world cities
has increased, but there is still much work to be done.
• International prestigious institutions (such as the OECD) and
city networks (as IRBC) could make a great contribution to
improve this situation.
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