Overview
- The Dec. 3 sweep by more than 600 volunteers identified 1,982 people sleeping in public space, 198 more than the city’s November figure of 1,784.
- Arrels says the total is a minimum because teams could not enter closed parks or fully cover Montjuïc, and it excludes winter emergency beds and people in settlements, including 97 minors.
- Sants‑Montjuïc recorded 489 people—a 134% increase—overtaking Ciutat Vella, with large rises also in Eixample (389) and Sant Martí (335).
- Volunteers observed new group encampments in tents and a shift toward peripheral and industrial zones such as Montjuïc, Zona Franca, Bon Pastor and Horta, which hinders access to services.
- Following the findings, opposition groups sought an extraordinary city council session to debate a €60 million plan with a low‑threshold center and Housing First expansion, while Arrels presses for approval of Catalonia’s long‑pending homelessness law.