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In general terms, what is described above is the traditional model for caring for elderly people in their own homes. However, in recent years, Barcelona City Council has carried out innovative practices in this field, which illustrate a way of caring for people that is more consistent with the current situation. The common denominator of these practices is the idea of proximity. It is based on the hypothesis that in order to coordinate social care programmes and services in a more suitable way, it is necessary to take territorial scale into account. Spatial proximity would be essential in economic and ecological terms, from the perspective of democratic governance, management and service quality, and at a social‐community level.

It may be that the idea of proximity has arisen more from the perspective of urban planning than from social policies, linked to a redefinition of public space and mobility in order to make cities more habitable. In the case of Barcelona, in recent years the proposed redefining of the city based on new ways of grouping the traditional blocks of buildings has emerged and started to be implemented. These are known as ‘mobility superblocks’ (Ajuntament de Barcelona 2016; Mueller et al. 2020; Rueda‐Palenzuela 2019): territorial areas that are smaller than neighbourhoods. This strategy aims to traffic‐calm streets, reduce noise and atmospheric pollution (mainly associated with motorized traffic), improve road safety, increase the number of green areas and public squares, and adapt urban furniture. These interventions are meant to achieve physical environments (sets of city blocks and/or green areas) that prioritize pedestrians, facilitate local residents interactions, and involve greater enjoyment of public space. This proposal from Ecosystemic Urbanism has popularized the concept of ‘superblocks’, mainly relating them to mobility and the ecological transformation of cities. However, the same concept has been very stimulating in the field of social policies. There is a description below of two lines of action that aim to create or adapt services, and which consider the target population's local environment to be of the utmost importance.