Green axis in Barcelona: The change for more quality of life!

Green axis in Barcelona: The change for more quality of life!

The city of Barcelona makes a name for itself with its innovative urban development concept "Superblocks". One of the latest redesign is the Carrer de Girona, which was redesigned at 750 meters and 16,244 square meters. The section extends between the boulevards Gran via and Avinguda de la Diagonal and is intended to invite citizens to rediscover the public space. The aim of the redesign is to create long green axes in the district that combine meaningful ways and public spaces. This creates new places at the intersections that invite you to linger and promote social interaction. The city not only upgraded this aesthetic, but also functionally. Vienna Schauen reports that the redesign act as a platform for leisure activities and encounters.

As is well known, Barcelona suffers from challenges such as air pollution and dense traffic. The introduction of the super blocks, Catalan "Superilles", has established itself in response to these problems. The first super blocks were launched in 2017, and 503 such zones are now planned. Pedestrians and cyclists have priority within these super blocks, while car traffic is heavily regulated. Drivers are only allowed to drive at 10 to 20 km/h. This not only increases the quality of life of the residents, but also made a small contribution to reducing air pollution by greening the streets with raised beds and flower. If you compare the green space per inhabitant in Barcelona with other cities, it becomes clear that there is a need for action here: With only 6.6 square meters per capita, Barcelona is in the shadow of London (27 m²) and Amsterdam (87.5 m²). Barcelona.de emphasizes that the design of super blocks not only promotes the well-being of the residents, but also drives local business.

Transformation of the city

However, the way to implement the super blocks is not without resistance. While business people and drivers initially expressed concerns, the residents enjoy great approval. In the super blocks, the number of local shops increased by a whopping 30 percent. This shows how the redesign of the district affects. An investigation by the Bcnecologia health institute suggests that the measures could also have positive health effects: the life expectancy of the residents could increase by almost 200 days and around 300 early deaths could be prevented every year. [Difu] (https://difu.de/publikation/2024/superblocks between traffic, and- Sachthaber-transformation-des-Opflichtlichtichtliche room) underlines how important a stable political will and a broad social consensus are for the successful implementation of such transformation processes.

One of the most important requirements emerged from the previous implementations of the super blocks is the need to redesign the public space. The previous streets are no longer only regarded as traffic routes, but as rooms for encounter and relaxation. This new establishment promotes active mobility and highlights the importance of green spaces for the quality of life in urban areas. The redesign of the Carrer de Girona also follows this principle by saving rainwater underground to improve biodiversity.

The future of urban design in Barcelona could thus serve as a model for other European cities. The question of whether and how concepts such as the super blocks are transferable to other places such as Vienna or Berlin is currently being examined in research projects such as tun tour blocks that deal with the cooperation between different stakeholders and the practical implementation steps. Interest in sustainable urban development concepts is growing, and numerous cities worldwide look forward to Barcelona's experiences and successes.