#super blocks

Superblocks don’t aim to eliminate cars; they just make them less important. The space is designed primarily for pedestrians; vehicles are secondary. Why? Because city streets are terrible for residents’ health, and the chief culprit is often cars.

Air pollution, much of which comes from vehicle exhaust, contributes to numerous conditions, including asthma, heart disease, lung cancer and strokes. The noise is bad for us, too. Additionally, most streets lack any kind of nature. This has a significant impact on depression and anxiety, and can make “heat islands” worse in warm months.

Good urban design can help. “At the end of the day, what kind of city do you want?” asks Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, who studies the health impacts of superblocks and is the director of multiple programs at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. “Do you want to have a city for cars? Or do you want to have a city for people? I believe cities are there for people.”

Taking space away from cars — even just a little bit — can be a hard sell. But if we care about the well-being of our communities, our children, and the planet, we can’t stick with the status quo. Pilot programs, collaboration with local business and community organizations, and policy incentives can go a long way in convincing a skeptical group. Even using AI-generated images to show a street’s transformation can improve support. And it doesn’t have to just be up to politicians like Soto-Martinez. In Los Angeles, the clear benefits of healthier streets are driving public action, too. In March, a citizen-sponsored ballot measure that requires the city to add hundreds of miles of bike and bus lanes passed with 65.5 percent in favor.