To set up 15 urban economic promotion hubs in at least 10 towns and cities in Catalonia

The Executive Committee of the Government of Catalonia approved Act 15/2020, of 22 December, on the urban economic promotion hubs (UEPHs). The UEPHs constitute a tool to boost areas of economic concentration (in commercial, industrial or service terms). Their goal is to lay the foundations for a new management model based on public/private cooperation. The implementation of the first UEPHs will need to rely on impetus from the public sector to ensure they act as a benchmark and, thus, can be replicated and firmly established throughout Catalonia. In this respect, it is necessary to select 10 Catalan towns and cities where the implementation of the first 15 UEPHs can be fostered. Aside from the aspects outlined in the aforesaid act, the practical implementation must meet the following requirements: sustainability (specific conditions of the hubs based on sustainable urban development), professionalism (management team and skills centred on the management of commercial hubs and adaptation of commerce to new technologies) and digitalisation (plan for adaptation of the hubs based on a multi-channel network, knowledge management, data analysis and identification of consumer behaviour). This measure seeks to raise additional funds from the private sector to reinvest them into improving urban development and economic revitalisation throughout Catalonia, and to ensure that small- and medium-sized traders set up at urban shopping areas are more competitive by providing them with management tools to operate on a level footing with their competitors in shopping centres. Lastly, the formation of an office to combine all the UEPHs that are set up in Catalonia is proposed with two aims: to act as a setting for training and knowledge for managers of the UEPHs in all their operational areas; and, to serve as a forum for the sharing of information and the development of a shared, open data management model.