Why Superblocks Are a Good Idea

Lately, the Catalan term

("Superblocks" in Spanish). The first rehearsal was held in El Born in Barcelona almost 30 years ago, followed by another two in Gracia, Sant Antoni and Poblenou, which the media have taken up a lot of attention due to neighborhood protests and their excessive politicization. Its operation is easy to understand. It is about grouping several blocks in a larger urban area, so that the inner streets are dedicated mainly to people instead of cars, diverting traffic passing by the edges. In this way, a good part of the interior road can be used to generate green areas or spaces for community activities. In short: streets more dedicated to residents.

But any change, especially those that take place in urban areas, brings with it resistance derived from the adaptation needs that it entails. If it is also about introducing restrictions on a sacrosanct contemporary icon such as the car, these become Numantine. And this in what has happened with the superblocks. The reasons are varied, but almost all revolve around three axes: parking problems by residents and accumulation of traffic on the streets that border the area; gentrification with rising rents; and, difficulties for the businesses that remain in the interior. All these problems are real, but, as Salvador Rueda, father of the idea, says, they come from the fact that until now the tests that have been carried out have turned these performances into singular and isolated events. Problems that,they will probably disappear when their use is generalized to most of the city.

Things get even more muddled when the pros and cons are raised like flags by certain political groups. But if you try a rational and less visceral analysis, it is probably easier to make the right decision. The problem is that the current city, heir to the attempt to solve the unhealthy conditions created by the Industrial Revolution, does not seem organized in a way that responds to the needs of the present moment. It is true that the answer given then, based on the separation of functions and organized according to access times to work and equipment instead of distances, worked. However, today's cities are not only unsustainable from a planetary perspective, but also for their inhabitants.

By disproportionately scaling up, the only way for them to work is by letting your organization rely on individual transportation. What has brought with it a sedentary lifestyle, pollution (acoustic, aerial, visual ...), lack of proximity green areas and almost total absence of coexistence spaces ... Dismantling this system and replacing it with a more rational one is very complicated. Not only because of vested interests, especially economic ones, that put many sectors against any change, but because of their own inertias and customs that are already deeply rooted. In addition, in urban planning it is difficult to carry out tests, since they directly affect people's lives and almost always require large budgets. That is why the so-called “tactical urbanism” is opening up, which proposes reversible and cheap processes.

Today's cities are not only unsustainable from a planetary perspective, but also for their inhabitants

In the current urban planning panorama, there are not many ideas that address these problems, especially when they affect the consolidated city. However, the superblock proposal presents a series of qualities that make it very attractive. The first is that it can be done, in many cases, reversibly and at a very low cost. But it also makes it possible to greatly improve some of the problems mentioned. Of course, it needs complementary measures at other and more complicated levels such as introducing complexity (functional, social and economic) or designing a collective transport system adapted to the new situation. Difficulties in passing traffic will make it decrease in general, with the consequent improvement in noise and air pollution.

By freeing up land dedicated to individual transport, it is possible to introduce more local greenery into the city, which has been shown to be essential to achieve a healthier city. This has already happened, for example, in the Poblenou superblock in Barcelona, ​​where the 10,000 m² have grown to more than 18,000 m². But the benefits go much further: public space is freed up that can be dedicated to other activities related to socialization and coexistence; from group yoga exercises to ping-pong tables, through playgrounds or petanque courts. The space previously occupied by cars is gradually being populated by other activities, which also include night bottles and noisy terraces, inconveniences that also need to be regulated to minimize their effects.

For all this, in 2018 it was awarded a mention in the European Prize for Urban Public Space: it is an excellent proposal for all the reasons explained and for many more. I would recommend to anyone who has the possibility to visit any of the superblocks that are already in operation in the city of Barcelona, ​​walk quietly through its streets with more elements of nature than cars and, instead of traffic noise preventing you from maintaining a conversation with your companion, engage in a lively chat. And if you feel like it, later on you can sit on a bench to read a book outside or have a beer on a terrace, while your children are enjoying the children's play area. Then, cross the street that delimits it and enter the traditional space of the city, surrounded by cars,almost no greener than a few trees in line, with people running, noise, no space or tranquility for almost nothing. Then you will understand why superblocks are a good idea.

José Fariña Tojo

is professor of Urbanism and Spatial Planning and Emeritus Professor at the UPM.