Barcelona
Streetsblog Basics
Barcelona’s Superblocks: A “New Urban Model” to Reclaim Streets for People
In the U.S., the term “superblock” conjures up the excess of urban renewal and the breakdown of walkable street grids. But in Barcelona, a different type of superblock is making streets more hospitable and humane.
May 3, 2017
Get a Glimpse of Barcelona’s “Superblocks” in Action
Barcelona is making headway on its "superblocks," clusters of nine city blocks where car traffic is restricted and public space is expanded. This BBC video shows how a superblock functions: Most of the street space is reserved for walking and biking, while motor vehicles are limited to narrow, indirect rights-of-way.
February 13, 2017
Will Barcelona’s “Superblocks” Proposal Work Well for Transit?
Barcelona is making waves with plans to test a concept it's calling "superblocks." The idea is to create nine-block squares of "citizen spaces" -- about 400 meters on each side -- where cars would be limited. Unlike the widely derided superblocks of the urban renewal era, Barcelona's would be explicitly designed to preserve the street grid for walking and biking -- only motor vehicle through traffic would be discouraged.
May 20, 2016
European Parking Policies Leave New York Behind
Flashback to Europe, sixty years ago. Just emerging from the ruin of total war, the continent was in the midst of a nearly unprecedented reconstruction. Over the next decade, industry finally was able to turn toward consumer products, from stockings to refrigerators and, of course, the automobile. Italians owned only 342,000 cars in 1950, but ten years later that number had increased to two million, according to historian Tony Judt. In France, the number of cars tripled over the decade.
January 19, 2011
Theft and Vandalism Just Not a Problem For American Bike-Sharing
Even as bike-sharing spreads across the United States, it remains dogged by one persistent doubt. Critics, and even some boosters, fear that the bikes will be routinely stolen and vandalized. It's time to stop worrying about crime, however. In America's new bike-sharing systems, there have been essentially no such problems.
November 29, 2010
Biz Students See Ripe Market for Bike-Share in NYC
A Nextbike kiosk in Tubingen, Germany. Image: Eldersign via Flickr. With bike-share systems launching in three major American cities this year, the question naturally arises: Does New York have an appetite for bike-sharing? Patricia Bayley and Martin Mazza say yes. Students at Barcelona’s IESE, one of Europe’s top business schools, Bayley and Mazza intend to … Continued
February 10, 2010
Barcelona, 100 Years Ago: A Model for Streets Today?
This film, as featured on YouTube via Infrastructurist, shows the streets of Barcelona a century ago, taken from the front window of a tram going down the street. It's an amazing film. The central avenues of this Catalan city are so vital, so alive, a mix of every activity. Then the film compares the old streets to the same streets today. Quite a comparison.
April 3, 2009