Sketches from Spain

Originally published in the December 2024 Streetsmart newsletter (v. 47)

​In November I traveled to Spain to learn about a few people-centered transportation innovations. I began in Barcelona to visit the Superblocks, 9-block areas where the internal streets have been pedestrianized (think woonerf) to create more public gathering spaces in a city with a park deficit. Drivers can get through the spaces but it is clear that they are being "accommodated" rather than the primary user - flipping the script used in most American cities where pedestrians are "accommodated."

​I had the good fortune of meeting with Dr. Jordi Honey-Rosés to learn about one of Barcelona's early Superblocks (photos below). This one was created through tactical urbanism, although it soon will be made permanent and will look more like the other Superblock I visited, described in the next section. Because it was a pilot project that used intentionally less permanent materials, you get a sense of how the street used to function - the transformation of the intersection from a car space to people space. And especially a kids' space.

Dr. Honey-Rosés introduced me to Xavier Matilla, Barcelona's former Chief Architect and the person responsible for the development of the Superblocks. We met at the newest Superblock (photos below) to learn how Xaiver and the City created these pedestrianized spaces. This Superblock felt as though it had been built like this from the beginning; indeed, it appeared as the most obvious way to design streets in a city where the car mode share is only 20%.

Superblocks prioritize people walking and gathering through significant traffic calming features, straight-line crossings at intersections (this relates to the chamfered corners of the blocks), and an abundance of street furniture, including picnic tables. Asphalt intersections have given way to park spaces. The new green spaces and planters are partially fed by the surface runoff and provide shade and cooling for an increasingly hot city. Air quality has improved with the reduction in traffic (which has largely "evaporated" by shifting to transit mostly and a little to cycling). Children have greater freedom to move around the city.

In Seville, I met with Manuel Calvo from Estudio MC to learn about the rapid implementation and growth of Seville's bicycle network. One of the fascinating things I learned is how the network was built quickly but also incrementally. In some places, the City first created wider sidewalks to place a bicycle path. Subsequently, those sidewalks were designated only for pedestrians and the bicycle path was moved over to the roadway. This was a great strategy for not only getting dedicated bicycle lanes but also to expand space for pedestrians. The first image below on the left shows the bicyclist at the transition point from the roadway bike lane to the original bike lane on the expanded sidewalk (there is a grade change). The second image shows the expanded sidewalk where the bicycle path once was (to the right of the trees) and now just serves as a wider sidewalk for pedestrians.