Núria Pérez Sans, City of Barcelona

Meet Núria Pérez Sans – Nominated by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area

Shaping sustainable mobility for a changing metropolis

Núria Pérez Sans, Head of the Mobility Department has been working at the Metropolis Institute in Barcelona for 20 years and stepped into a leadership role four years ago.

“We mainly develop applied research in urban studies and we try to transfer this knowledge into innovative public policies”, she said. 

Her department brings together 12 specialists from across the social sciences, making collaboration central to their approach.

“Mobility is explained by many factors – so we work with other departments on urban cohesion, sustainability, economic activity and governance”, she explained.

Supporting the mobility transition in Barcelona

Much of Núria’s work focuses on the ecological transition in mobility and the need to strengthen sustainable travel choices across the metropolitan region.

“We have good levels of walkability and a satisfactory public transport network but we need to extend the 15-minute city model beyond the centre and increase bus use and bicycle use”, she said.

Changing habits is another major challenge.

“Mobility is a habit. People often prefer to take their car, even when they have a good alternative, therefore awareness is very important”, she said. 

To support better decisions and more effective policies, her team continually analyses people’s behaviour and how the system performs.

“We conduct surveys, monitor policies and develop indicators that show what is working and where we can improve”, she said.

Expanding leadership through international collaboration

Núria heard about the Emerging Leaders program from a colleague and saw it as an opportunity to grow professionally.

“I want to improve my leadership skills, both in strategy and in managing the mobility team”, she said.

She is particularly motivated by the international dimension of the program.

“I think it’s important to learn from different cities and different experiences – we are all working on similar challenges and it will be useful to share approaches”, she said. 

She also sees the program as a chance to step forward confidently in her career.

“I want to keep improving and take the next step as a leader – it’s a way to get out of my comfort zone”, she said. 

Working with other mobility leaders across Europe, Núria aims to bring new knowledge back to her organisation and the wider metropolitan region. 

“We want to keep making mobility better for people – in Barcelona and everywhere”, she said.