#superblocks

In America, we can’t even agree on the idea that cities are for people. We still decry bike lanes as a "war on cars," even in our allegedly progressive West Coast cities. So from where I’m sitting, the Barcelona plan is pretty fantastic: 186 miles of new bike lanes, a revamped bus system with better access and more frequency, more green space, and on and on.

But the coolest idea in it is "superblocks" (superilles in Catalan), a concept developed by Salvador Rueda, director of the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona. (Cities of the Future has a great interview with Rueda and a history of the superblocks concept — highly recommended. The Guardian also has nice piece.)

The idea is pretty simple. Take nine square blocks of city. (It doesn’t have to be nine, but that’s the ideal.) Rather than all traffic being permitted on all the streets between and among those blocks, cordon off a perimeter and keep through traffic, freight, and city buses on that.

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.

On vous a déjà parlé des superblocks. Aujourd'hui , on va bous expliquer quelques conséquences de cette stratégie de réduction du nombre de véhicules dans un quartier. #moinsdevoitures #meilleuresanté

Temps de lecture : 15 minutes (avec la vidéo)mots-clés : Barcelona, superblocks, urban planning, santé, qualité de vie Chers lecteurs, En juin 2019, nous avions commencé à vous parler des superblocks de Barcelone (Avez-vous déjà entendu parler des superblocks de Barcelone ?). Il avait fait un carton plein de lecture avec plus de 550 lectures en 2021 et sur moins de 6 mois. Cet article propose…

une étude montre l'impact direct et indirect de la création des superblocks à Barcelone.

c Temps de lecture : 1 minutemots-clés : Barcelona, superblocks, urban planning, santé, qualité de vie Chers lecteurs, En juin 2019, nous avions commencé à vous parler des superblocks de Barcelone (Avez-vous déjà entendu parler des superblocks de Barcelone ?). Il avait fait un carton plein de lecture avec plus de 550 lectures en 2021 et sur moins de 6 mois. Cet article propose une…