Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Barcelona

Paris is lowering speed limits on most streets to 19 miles per hour by the end of August — but they're not the only European city showing up for vulnerable road users. Image: Joe Shlabotnik, CC

European Infra. Approach Highlights U.S. Shortcomings

By Streetsblog | Aug 9, 2021 | No Comments

As the U.S. plods towards an underwhelming federal infrastructure deal that will funnel billions into building new roads for drivers, Europe makes strides towards saving its most vulnerable road users and the climate.

The entrance to a Barcelona superblock, or "superilla" in Catalan. Source: Creative Commons

Could COVID-19 Finally be the Superblock’s U.S. Moment?

By Kea Wilson | Nov 13, 2020 | No Comments

Barcelona has announced it will permanently expand its famous "superblock" program — and some experts hope that U.S. cities could be next.

Activists want San Francisco to consider car free zones in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin where a spate of pedestrian injuries and deaths have occurred this year.

Car-Free Zones Eyed in SF, Elsewhere

By Aaron Short | Sep 18, 2019 | 1 Comment

A string of pedestrian injuries and deaths in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district has spurred city leaders to demand a ban on cars in some densely populated neighborhoods — the latest in a nascent and long-overdue move by activists nationwide to get reckless drivers off at least a tiny handful of city streets. San Francisco Supervisor […]

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Barcelona’s Superblocks: Change the Grid, Change Your Neighborhood

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. | Aug 8, 2018 | No Comments

Without dangerous, noisy car traffic overrunning the streets, superblocks are full of life.

Barcelona's "superblocks," which restrict car access and expand public space, are beginning to take shape in Barcelona. Image: Barcelona Urban Mobility Plan

Get a Glimpse of Barcelona’s “Superblocks” in Action

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 13, 2017 | 19 Comments

Barcelona is making headway on its "superblocks," clusters of nine city blocks where car traffic is restricted and public space is expanded. This BBC video shows how a superblock functions: Most of the street space is reserved for walking and biking, while motor vehicles are limited to narrow, indirect rights-of-way.

Will Barcelona’s “Superblocks” Proposal Work Well for Transit?

By Angie Schmitt | May 20, 2016 | 19 Comments

Barcelona is making waves with plans to test a concept it’s calling “superblocks.” The idea is to create nine-block squares of “citizen spaces” — about 400 meters on each side — where cars would be limited. Unlike the widely derided superblocks of the urban renewal era, Barcelona’s would be explicitly designed to preserve the street grid for walking and biking — only motor vehicle […]