RT Journal Article
T1 Mobility infrastructures in cities and climate change: An analysis through the superblocks in Barcelona
A1 López Pardo, Iván
A1 Ortega, Jordi
A1 Pardo Buendía, Mercedes
AB Cities are key actors in the fight against climate change since they are major sources ofgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while at the same time they experience the negative impact ofthis phenomenon. Mitigating and adapting to climate change requires fundamental changes inurbanism and city automobile tra c. Superblocks, a grid of blocks and basic roads forming apolygon, approximately 400 by 400 m, are one of the instruments for such changes. These type ofcity Superblocks represent a new model of mobility that restructures the typical urban roadnetwork, 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 involvedemolishing 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 climatechange with very positive results. The paper analyzes the concept of the Superblock and its relationwith climate change in cities. Along these lines, it analyzes the pioneer experience of Barcelona inthe development and implementation of the Superblocks, as a radical plan aimed at taking back thestreets from cars. The role of political power and institutional leadership has been key in societalacceptance and the achievement of tangible results. But there are also obstacles and drawbacks in thedevelopment of these types of Superblocks, such as the necessity to redesign the collective transportnetwork so that car tra c can truly be reduced in cities, the possible negative influence on tra cgoing in and out of the city, the lack of visible advantages if they are not implemented in the entirecity, the risk of gentrification in the areas with Superblocks, public opposition, and opposition fromcertain sectors of the business community.
PB MDPI
SN 2073-4433
YR 2020
FD 2020-04
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10016/34279
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10016/34279
LA eng
DS e-Archivo
RD 18 jul. 2024