Publication: Mobility infrastructures in cities and climate change: An analysis through the superblocks in Barcelona
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2020-04
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MDPI
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Abstract
Cities are key actors in the fight against climate change since they are major sources of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while at the same time they experience the negative impact of
this phenomenon. Mitigating and adapting to climate change requires fundamental changes in
urbanism and city automobile tra c. Superblocks, a grid of blocks and basic roads forming a
polygon, approximately 400 by 400 m, are one of the instruments for such changes. These type of
city Superblocks represent a new model of mobility that restructures the typical urban road
network, thereby substantially reducing automobile tra c, and accordingly GHG emissions,
while increasing green space in the city and improving the health and quality of life of its inhabitants.
Furthermore, the Superblocks do not require investment in hard infrastructures, nor do they involve
demolishing buildings or undertaking massive development; they are in fact very low-tech urbanism.
The city of Barcelona has been implementing Superblocks as one of the measures to combat climate
change with very positive results. The paper analyzes the concept of the Superblock and its relation
with climate change in cities. Along these lines, it analyzes the pioneer experience of Barcelona in
the development and implementation of the Superblocks, as a radical plan aimed at taking back the
streets from cars. The role of political power and institutional leadership has been key in societal
acceptance and the achievement of tangible results. But there are also obstacles and drawbacks in the
development of these types of Superblocks, such as the necessity to redesign the collective transport
network so that car tra c can truly be reduced in cities, the possible negative influence on tra c
going in and out of the city, the lack of visible advantages if they are not implemented in the entire
city, the risk of gentrification in the areas with Superblocks, public opposition, and opposition from
certain sectors of the business community.
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Keywords
Barcelona, Cities, Climate change, Superblocks, Urban mobility
Bibliographic citation
López, I., Ortega, J., & Pardo, M. (2020). Mobility Infrastructures in Cities and Climate Change: An Analysis Through the Superblocks in Barcelona. In Atmosphere (Vol. 11, Issue 4, p. 410)