NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

ASSOCIACIONS DE VEÏNS I VEÏNES

You and the people who live in your neighbourhood or local area can form neighbourhood associations (associacions de veïns), within which co-existence and participation can flourish. It is therefore important for all residents to be involved in neighbourhood organisations, in order to aid social cohesion and as an expression of their citizenship.

The purposes of neighbourhood associations are as follows:

  • To protect the general interests of local residents, who are the users of cultural, sports, urban development, education, health, housing, social, economic, consumption-related and other services, and the people at whom those services are aimed; and to promote the most appropriate work in that respect.

  • To support local residents and to provide them with information on all matters of general interest to them.

  • To promote citizen participation among association members and all local residents.

  • To represent their neighbourhood before the civil service.

  • To make sure that citizens' rights are observed and to demand that the authorities respect those rights, which include:

  • receiving direct information on matters of common interest.

  • proposing measures related to the civil service.

  • involvement in all the areas in which the civil service works, in order to protect citizens' general interests.

  • using public facilities for the purposes of the work of neighbourhood associations.

  • exercising the right of popular initiative.

  • monitoring the authorities and protecting rights of management and co-management.

  • receiving financial aid from budgets.

  • being listened to, when consulted, in relation to the development of general regulations on matters that directly affect users.

  • To compile and act as a channel for local residents' requests and complaints before the civil service and companies (electricity, gas and water companies, construction companies, etc.).

  • To promote solidarity, equality and co-existence among local residents, to stimulate activities that encourage public-spiritedness and, in certain cases, to act as a mediator between residents.

Neighbourhood associations also organise sociocultural activities (annual festivals, courses, lectures and workshops), offer legal advice on matters affecting residents (residents' associations, gas, water and electricity supplies, etc.) and take part in informative and participatory processes related to the civil service's urban development and social projects.

For further information, see the website of the Confederation of Neighbourhood Associations of Catalonia (Confederació d'associacions de veïns de Catalunya) at
http://www.confavc.org/