Cars dominate cities today. Barcelona has set out to change that

Salvador Rueda is gripped by a vision for Barcelona.

The superblock next to the newly renovated Sant Antoni
market is popular with parents and people who want to
chill out for a bit.

In his mind’s eye, he sees a city no longer dominated by automobiles. Most streets once devoted to cars have been transformed into walkable, mixed-use public spaces, what he calls “superblocks,” where pedestrians, cyclists, and citizens mix in safety. Each resident has access to their own superblock and can traverse the city to visit the others without the need for, or fear of, motorized private vehicles.

It is a utopian vision, nothing any existing major city has achieved, but Rueda may just live to see it come true, or at least some version of it.

After years working in city government, Rueda started the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona, a public research consortium, in 2000. He’s a noted expert in the field of urbanism, an author of books, and an in-demand speaker, but above all, his life has been a long and committed affair of the heart with his home city. He has been immersed in Barcelona urban planning for almost 40 years.

Read the Vox story by David Roberts - “Cars dominate cities today. Barcelona has set out to change that.”