Simanaitis Says
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CARFREE (CAREFREE?) LOCALES PART 1
IT MAY SOUND HERETICAL FROM A CAR GUY, but I see nothing wrong with selected portions of cities and towns being carfree. And, indeed, they may well be carefree as well. This has long been a practice in many places around the world and, given environmental concerns, it is increasingly so. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits collected from various sources as well as from personal experience.
Superblocks. Bennett Kleinman describes in dailypassport how “How Barcelona’s ‘Supeblocks’ Are Transforming Urban Planning.” He writes, “Urban planning can be an immense challenge, especially when it comes to updating major cities with decades-old layouts. It’s often nearly impossible to repurpose gridlocked streets into a space that works better for local residents, and it definitely requires some out-of-the-box thinking to pull it off.”
“A superblock,” Kleinman says, “takes a portion of a neighborhood that already exists and is overwhelmed by car traffic at the expense of those who live there. The neighborhood is completely reformatted in an effort to cut down on traffic or eliminate it entirely. To accomplish this, many streets are converted into public areas full of parks, benches, and other utilities for use by members of the community.”
“The goal of superblocks,” he says, “is to encourage more pedestrian and bike traffic, plus additional interaction between neighbors, while also improving air quality and eliminating unwanted noise.”
An example of a Barcelona superblock. Image V_E/Shutterstock from dailypassport.
Barcelona’s superblocks evolved from the mid-1980s when the city’s Urban Ecology Agency was charged with lessening noise. Kleinman recounts that Salvador Rueda, the agency’s head, “quickly determined that increased noise levels were due to everyday traffic, and that it was impossible to achieve lower decibel levels unless cars were either partially or fully eradicated. He realized that the solution to a more pleasant life was creating car-free neighborhoods, and thus the concept of superblocks (superilles in the local Catalan language) was born.”
A Progressive Movement. In several stages (and not without initial resistance), several Barcelona superblocks were created. “In 2003,” Kleinman writes, “two more superblocks were added in the city’s Grácia neighborhood. This involved raising the street to be level with the sidewalk to create a sizable walking environment. The plan also drastically reduced speed limits and cut down on through traffic, all of which proved to be a massive success.”
Kleinman says, “The result of these superblocks was a 10% increase in foot traffic, 30% increase in bicycle traffic, and 26% decrease in vehicular traffic within the neighborhood. While Grácia has since gentrified as well, it remains popular among locals who highly value this car-free space.”
Future Plans. Kleinman describes, “As of 2024, the city has a new plan to install 503 superblocks by the year 2030. While the plan is still largely in its infancy, communities that have already converted to superblocks have seen a huge improvement in air quality, significant reduction in traffic, and a quieter way of life. Even busy thoroughfares like Avinguda Meridiana — one of the three major avenues cutting through Barcelona — are set to be converted to more pedestrian-friendly spaces.”
Another Barcelona superille. Image by Catrina Belova/Shutterstock from dailypassport.
Superblocks Around the World. Kleinman observes, “While the superilles of Barcelona are still the most popular and famous superblocks, other cities have taken notice and have either created or planned to adopt superblock-like concepts in the future. Places like Vienna, Austria; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Xi’an, China; and Quito, Ecuador, have all converted areas of the city into communal spaces that are beloved by residents.”
“In the United States, meanwhile,” Kleinman adds, “Los Angeles is considering testing out a pilot Park Block program. While there’s still some discussion as to where the Park Block will be developed, it’s likely to be built somewhere in the city’s Downtown, Boyle Heights, or Eagle Rock neighborhoods.”
Tomorrow in Part 2, we’ll see parts of Tokyo, Munich, Paris, and New York City get superblocked—at least some of the time. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024
Simanaitis Says 
May Gaia, the Great Spirit, God, Zeus, Minerva, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea bless ye, Monsignor Simanaitis, for the above long overdue observation.
City planners have long used 600 feet, the distance of two short city (Manhattan-sized) blocks; a pair of football fields end to end minus end zones, as the distance at which Americans automatically reach for their car keys.
Your most welcomed article above is f a r from heresy. This autoholic puts more miles on his old 10-speed bike than his stick shift Civic, and only overpopulation prevents rare joy/fettling rides in his 78-year-old stock engined dragon.
I recall in the late ’60s Mayor Lindsay closing Fifth Avenue to auto traffic and the result was a wondrous enjoyment of the City. Only fools drove into Manhattan then, when a buck and a quarter whisked us 28 minutes express, 32 minutes local, from our Cheeveresque village just up the lazy river into that cathedral of transportation, Grand Central Station, 20 cents got us subwayed pronto down to the Village sidewalk art show or up to our friends and paramour du jour at Columbia and Barnyar– pardon, Barnard. This was civilization.
Today, you’d be daft to drive into and in San Francisco, when you’ve BART to get you there, MUNI to whatever neighborhood you want, your feet or bike from there.
It’d take Keats or Browning to evoke the pull certain old automobiles have on many of us here gathered. But we will not subject them to the halting lockstep of concrete conveyor belt, and we’d rather not endure automobiles i.c., EV, or driverless, in our remaining cosmopolitan enclaves.
Not complicated for the likes o’ us. But can we get this into the minds of most urban ‘Muricans?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, may Oswald Cobblepot/Bratman/Orange Julius lose his tenuous control and be sentenced to 30 days contempt of court in my auld NYC.
Dennis, good thinking. Decades ago, Boulder, Colorado, turned its ex-main drag into the Pearl Street Mall. It’s attraction to tourists and local denizens alike made it a choice location for shops selling over-priced clothing, kitchen gadgets, “art,” and other future garage-sale inventory. Restaurants blossomed, too, mostly excellent. The city built and operates convenient parking garages.
Then greedy landlords raised rents, and eventually many tenants raised prices, went bust, or departed for less-green fields. Besides the cute jugglers and talented street musicians, homeless people were attracted to the handy restrooms and shady (in more ways than one) camping sites. The tourists and citizens see but don’t look at them, and the jail is so full that the cops and courts ignore “minor” infractions.
Things are evolving, and we hope it all shakes out.
Ooops, that should be “its attraction…”