Barcelona to expand ‘superblocks’ to city centre district

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau has announced a major expansion of the city’s ‘superblocks’ initiative, as part of a 10-year plan to reduce the number of cars on the streets and cut pollution.

Introduced in 2016, the scheme transforms nine city blocks into so-called ‘superblocks’, where traffic is only allowed around the perimeter and priority is given to pedestrian areas, low-speed zones and recreational green spaces.

Twenty-one streets in the city’s central Eixample district will now become a ‘super-superblock’, according to the mayor.

Devised by 19th-century engineer Ildefons Cerdà, the initiative has become a blueprint for cities looking to cut pollution while improving livability.

“The Cerdà plan modernised Barcelona at the end of the 19th century and we are reviving that spirit of urban transformation to bring the Eixample into the 21st century,” Deputy Mayor Janet Sanz said.

The plan is estimated to cost €37.8 million (US$44.6 million) over the next 10 years, and is part of city’s aim to ensure every resident has a square and a green street within 200 metres of their home.

In August, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced it will provide €95 million (US$112.4 million) for 40 projects in Barcelona to support climate change mitigation and adaptation, including expanding the superblocks programme – with 25 percent earmarked for the scheme.

The city declared a climate emergency in January 2020 and introduced southern Europe’s largest low-emissions zone (LEZ) – covering 95 square kilometres – in a bid to fight air pollution.

Since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, Barcelona has also created 29 kilometres of cycle lanes – bringing the total to nearly 240 kilometres – and 12 kilomtres of pavement. In the same period, it eliminated 1,300 parking spaces.

There are currently six superblocks under development in Barcelona, and the municipality intends to eventually create over 500.

More than 300,000 vehicles pass through Eixample each day, a figure that is expected to drop sharply under the proposals.

Work on the district’s superblocks is set to commence in 2022, and will create:

• 21 new ‘green streets’, representing a total of 6.6 hectares of added greenery and biodiversity.
• 21 new squares at junctions between streets, with a surface area of 2,000 m², resulting in 3.9 hectares for people to walk, play and spend time in.
• 33.4 hectares of extra space for pedestrians, which is an overall surface area similar to that of the city’s Parc de la Ciutadella.