Super-Blocks in Barcelona. The City that we want
Xavier Matilla

Key Takeaways

• • 2030 Eixample Vision: A systemic network of green axes and new public squares aims to add 30 ha of productive space, 3 ha of greenery, and continuous tree canopies.
  • A three‑tier street network: prioritizing walking, cycling, and public transit on primary axes, while interior superblock streets are reclaimed for pedestrians, greenery, and community uses.
  • Co‑design combined top‑down planning with bottom‑up engagement—using digital platforms (Decidim), workshops with disability groups, schools, and local stakeholders to iteratively refine designs.

Summary

1. 1. Superblock concept:
      
      • Reorganizes traffic to limit car access within certain street grids (superilles).
      • Prioritizes walking, cycling, and transit on key corridors.
      • Frees up interior streets for green space, play, and community uses.
      • Introduces hierarchical street design: every third street retains transit function; others serve social/environmental roles.
      • Process and Strategy
        • Co-design: collaborations with schools, disability groups, and residents helped tailor designs.
        • Barcelona’s open-source platform (Decidim) fosters participatory democracy and design accountability.
        • Early pilots (2016–2019) in Poblenou and Sant Antoni validated that tactical, low‑cost street interventions can catalyze wider systemic change.
        • The model has been upscaled into a city-wide strategy to reshape urban infrastructure through low-cost, high-impact interventions.
   2. Barcelona leveraged its compact, high‑density fabric and Olympic‑era public space gains to tackle over‑tourism, housing pressures, and climate adaptation through a three‑pronged strategy:
      • Proximity & Mixed‑Use Intensification: Expanded public/cooperative housing (from 5k to 20k units), evenly distributed libraries (e.g., Gabriel García Márquez Library), and retrofitted industrial zones (22@) to embed affordable living and services city‑wide.
      • Greening & Environmental Health: Transformed rooftops and streets to address traffic‑driven pollution, and addressed a deficit of 6 m² green/person (vs. 10–15 m² standard), using street trees and pocket parks to heal the “city of streets.”
      • Superblock Mobility Shift: Reorganized 60 % of street space away from cars into a hierarchical network. Every third street remains a transit spine; the remaining grid interior becomes pedestrian‑first zones with greenery, play areas, and social tables.
   3. Beyond traffic corridors, streets were reframed as environmental, social, and climate‑adaptive infrastructure—incorporating subsoil regeneration, continuous tree canopies, permeable surfaces, and social amenities.
   4. The ‘Let’s Protect Schools’ initiative used schools as a decentralized entry point to reimagine 200+ public spaces across the city.  218 school‑adjacent plots were retrofitted, reclaiming 35,000 m² of asphalt, adding street furniture, chanfres (corner widenings), and 12 speed cameras to enhance safety, social space, and learning opportunities.
   5. Quantifiable Benefits: Over four years, the city
      • Transformed ~5 km of streets and 4 major junctions into “half‑squares” (intersection redesigned into a semi-public square).
      • Planted 400+ trees, boosting shade coverage from 60 % to 80 %.
      • Achieved 2–5 °C pavement temperature reductions.
      • Reclaimed 36 ha of productive space, 15 ha of greenery, and 1.6 ha of permeable pavement.
      • Saw social activities jump from <5 to 30+ in Sant Antoni.
   6. Cooperative models (e.g., La Borda by Lacol) offer not just affordability, but communal living and shared infrastructure, embedding social proximity in architecture.

How can Cities apply these learnings?

1. 1. Treat every street as potential green, social, and hydrological infrastructure, not merely a traffic channel.
   2. Reclaim intersections and excess road space for localized public spaces.
   3. Designate primary corridors for transit and cycling and restrict through‑traffic on interior grids to prioritize pedestrians and local activity.
   4. Centrally located tree lines form continuous shade, critical in heat‑vulnerable cities.
   5. Use low-cost, visible pilots such as temporary plazas, car restrictions, etc., to build public buy-in.
   6. Focus on initial implementation in underserved or polluted neighbourhoods.

Interesting resources

1. 1. Decidim Platform: Barcelona’s open‑source tool for participatory governance and project transparency. https://decidim.org/ 
   2. 22@ District Redevelopment. https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/case-study-22-barcelona-innovation-district/27601/ 
   3. “Let’s Protect Schools” Initiative: Framework for school‑centric public space improvements.
   4. Government Measure Barcelona Superblock For Urban Renewal In Barcelona And Its Neighbourhoods. https://bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/jspui/bitstream/11703/126250/1/Llibret_SUPERILLA_MdG_A4_ANG_web.pdf
   5. Open Streets Program (2019–). https://www.barcelona.cat/obrimcarrers/en

Ideas for further reading

1. 1. Let’s Protect Schools: Evaluation of the Peaceful Environments of the City of Barcelona’s 2021 Let’s Protect Schools Program. https://portalrecerca.uab.cat/en/publications/protegim-les-escoles-avaluaci%C3%B3-dels-entorns-pacificats-del-progra 
   2. NACTO’s Urban Street Design Guide. https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/ 
   3. Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature into Urban Design and Planning – Book by Timothy Beatley. https://landscaper.ir/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Biophilic-Cities.pdf