Overview
- Jordi Borja died in Barcelona at age 85 after choosing to end his life under Spain’s right to a dignified death, a decision reported to have taken place at Hospital Clínic on Friday, July 10, 2026.
- A public wake is scheduled at the Sancho de Ávila funeral home with visiting hours on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning and a farewell ceremony on Sunday, according to local reports.
- Borja helped design the Carta Municipal, the city’s ten-district decentralization and metropolitan cooperation structures while serving as deputy mayor and a leader in the early post‑Franco municipal government.
- He was a prolific scholar and teacher who studied at the Sorbonne, held posts at Catalan and international universities, advised strategic plans in Latin American cities, and led the Observatorio DESC from 2011 to 2016.
- City leaders, academics and progressive activists have issued statements of recognition and his 2025 Gold Medal for Civic Merit has framed the moment as a prompt to reassess Barcelona’s housing, tourism and participation policies.