Andorra la Vella Councils Convene on Civic Behaviour and Public Space Coexistence

Representatives from Andorra la Vella's children's, youth and elderly councils met with local officials on Thursday at the Congress Centre for the second Participatory Councils session, centring on civic behaviour, incivility and improving coexistence in public spaces.

The gathering involved 62 participants from the three councils and the municipality, who formed eight intergenerational working groups to address daily challenges such as overcrowded bar terraces and summer squares, public transport tensions, shared areas for pedestrians, scooter users and vehicles, nighttime noise, and dog waste on streets.

Social, Youth and Public Space councillor Maria Nazzaro highlighted how the discussions revealed age-based differences in views—for instance, on noise tolerance—while generating consensus around dialogue, empathy and collective responsibility. Participants often emphasised "putting oneself in others' shoes" to ease urban life. Nazzaro stressed prioritising awareness over penalties, describing fines as a final measure. "We must avoid them if possible and seek alternatives first," she noted.

Proposed actions included ramped-up awareness drives, better signage, direct outreach to offenders and more neighbour-to-neighbour talks. Nazzaro indicated many ideas are practical, though some face jurisdictional hurdles.

Jan Boix of the Children's Council and Escola Janer outlined a group scenario of sidewalk gridlock with a pram, scooter rider, elderly person using a cane and a badly parked motorbike. They suggested a "civic licence" with points lost for bad behaviour, triggering fines at zero.

Cleo Barco from the Youth Council and British School tackled noise in lively evening squares, advocating time restrictions: noise permitted from 8pm to 11pm, followed by fines or police calls to safeguard sleep.

Antonio Serrano of the Elderly Council targeted dog mess in public zones, recommending stepped-up campaigns, public call-outs to violators, direct interventions and additional CCTV. He described the format as valuable for blending generations and officials to refine ideas through exchange.