Superblocks: How Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

Modern cities are designed for cars. But the city of Barcelona is testing out an urban design trick that can give cities back to pedestrians.

[edgaradriantorres]

I'm more surprised by the perfect squares

[fogel]

The Dutch have been doing this for awhile, you really need a good reason and big set of balls to try and drive through the center of Amsterdam

[alijafari]

You're not mentioning what an amazing effect this has on the mental health of the community. I used to live in Tehran where it's more efficient if you use public transport so people walk in the streets and when I moved to the US I was so depressed for not seeing humans around me outside

[seybertooth]

Somebody: "Let's prioritize human beings over cars"
Americans: "Communism!"

[KolorMeyellow]

Barcelona is by far the best city that I've enjoyed as a pedestrian. You dont even realise that you're walking kilometres from one place to another

[schnabeldoktor]

All cities in Europe that I have visited are filled with these pedestrian zones, mainly the old towns and medieval parts of the city, not only Barcelona. It makes exploring a city so much more pleasant than using a car!

[nuri]

Just to be precise:
- Superblocks have already started, but in Poblenou, another district. Example is the next one.
- Don’t use flamenco music to illustrate Barcelona. It is like using country music to illustrate New York. We love flamenco, but it is typical from the south of Spain.

[steffimaier]

Moved from Europe to Canada and I sadly admit that I have seen more of Japan than of Canada. Japan and Europe are very pedestrian friendly and both have great public transportation.

[guybowka]

Just came back from Barcelona and couldn't quite pin down exactly why the city really appealled to me - this design is engenious!

[octaviodigianni]

Can't speak for everyone but, living in Barcelona, from all my friends and acquaintances, I'd say about 70% of them do not own a car or if they do they don't use it in the city. Hopefully other cities can learn from good ideas like these!

[mintheman]

What we called “mixed use” planning here in the US, is what the rest of the world called how to build livable areas. Is it any wonder the most desirable and expensive areas in the US are usually the mixed use areas “grandfathered” in before zoning laws became so onerous after WWII? Completely separating residential and commercial zoning means you HAVE TO DRIVE just to get your groceries. No pop into local baker to get some bread, no walking to your favorite local restaurants for dinner. It lead to rise of the suburbs and urban sprawl. But now those suburban towns are going bankrupt because the expenses required to maintain those infrastructure and suburbs generate much less revenue per given area compared to cities. I suspect it also contributes to the feeling of isolation, alienation, and lack of community so prevalent in this country.

[marq]

Been in Barcelona not long ago and taking a car is a very bad decision. You enjoy walking and seeing people around, it’s such a great atmosphere. You don’t even realise how much you’ve walked once your back at home. I never noticed that Barcelona did this on purpose to reduce the gases realised to the air, it makes so much sense now! Taking the train or bus is also enjoyable, I just love Barcelona so much!

[jojo]

Flamenco in Barcelona = Country Music in New York.

[coulddooooo]

I was in Brussels on no-car day last year and it was a Utopia. People walking, cycling, skateboarding, roller blading down the wide streets. The city seemed more together and was far more peaceful. People need to have a little bit of vision that extends beyond driving a big car at 1mph through gridlocked city streets.

[cesarzuniga]

Americans discover walking, a new concept

[AchtungSatire]

Living in a superblock neighborhood and it's a great concept, increases the quality of living extremely! I really don't care about noisy humans, also in the evenings in front of bars and restaurants, but the traffic noises and the space occupied by cars are a dilemma we can fix and make our cities amazing for inhabitants and visitors :)

[cyndie]

"Street parking is replaced with underground parking"... I think that alone would help.

[sackratos]

Barcelonian here! Great vid, but the flamenco guitar track at the beginning kinda triggered me, that music is from the south of Spain, not from Barcelona! It's like playing Texan country in a video about NYC lol

[horses]

Love Barcelona, lived there for 3 months. It really does make more sense to walk places or take the train. It takes much longer if you take a car.

[Draghantini]

Jakartan and most Indonesian cities pedestrians who has no sidewalks at all be like: 👁️👄👁️