BARCELONA
THE SIMULTANEOUS RISE OF URBAN DENSITY AND FALL OF GREENERY WHICH LEAD TO THE EXPERIMENTAL CONCEPT OF SUPERBLOCKS.
Size 101 Sq.Km Green Density 6.6 Sq.m/ inhabitant Global Ranking 20 Population 5.6 M Density 36000
Originally, each of Cerdà’s blocks was to have buildings on just two sides (sometimes three), occupying less than 50 percent of the total area, with the bulk of the interior space devoted to gardens and green space. The goal was to combine the advantages of rural living (green space, fresh air and food, community) with the advantages of urban living (commerce, culture, free flow of goods and ideas).But slowly the block overgrew the green spaces.The interiors of the blocks, which became somewhat gloomy and closed off, were often turned over to parking or shopping, or simply neglected.
The superblocks idea was first outlined in 1987, after noise mapping revealed that levels were too high, and the first superblock was tested in 2003 in Gràcia. Super Blocks characteristics: GRADUAL INTERVENTIONS that will repurpose existing infrastructure, starting with traffic management through to changing road signs and bus routes.
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EVOLUTION OF URBAN BLOCK
The urban morphology of the blocks were experimented to get sustainable blocks. It was aimed to generate an urban tissue that exhibited high density ratios while simultaneously increasing green space areas and promoting greater COURTYARD relationships.
EVOLUTION OF SUPERBLOCK
SMALLER THAN NEIGHBOURHOODS, but bigger than actual blocks. REDUCE CAR USE BY 21% over the next two years and increase mobility by foot, bike and public transport. CYCLING LANES ORTHOGONAL BUS NETWORK that has already been put in place, whereby buses only navigate a series of main thoroughfares. TACTICAL URBANISM through a gradual trial and error method of sorts, with initial measures such as changing road signs.
Th o u g h i t h a d become crowded, l o u d , a n d p ave d over, it remained one of the most indemand and expensive areas of t h e c i t y. Ce r d a ’ s model proved ADAPTABLE AND RESILIENT. When faced with excessive pollution and noise levels, the city had to come up with a new mobility plan to reduce traffic and creating what they called “citizen spaces”. The plan was based around the idea of S U P E R I L L E S (Superblocks) – m i n i neighbourhoods around which traffic would flow, and in which spaces would be repurposed to “FILL OUR CITY WITH LIFE”, as its tagline says.
The most ambitious goal of the project is to free up to 60% of the traffic area for public space and green infrastructure, create multifunctional ‘citizen spaces’ and tackle the urban heat island effect.
SUPERBLOCK
The concept of SuperBlocks is actually quite simple and low cost. Where a street block normally exists out of one building block (about 600 inhabitants) a SuperBlock will exist out of nine blocks of houses where roads within the SuperBlocks will be transformed and will only be used by pedestrians, bikes and destination traf fic. Each SuperBlock will cover an area of about 400×400 meters with around 5000 – 6000 inhabitants per SuperBlock.
INFERENCES Urban Density in the Block is directly proportional to the affordability of the housing, but it ends up being inversely proportional to the green spaces in the block. To mitigate this dwindling green spaces and impact of pollution caused by cars, an experimental redesign was researched. This led to the implementation of smart strategies through tactical urbanism Prototypical Sustainable Urban Block Models in the form of Superblocks were introduced with 35.8% increase in green spaces. Addition of improved Pedestrian Pathways and Cycling Tracks will help in reducing traffic by up to 82% and encourage inhabitants to use sustainable transportation. These help in bringing the community closer with safer blocks and improves mental health of the inhabitants.
Sustainable Urban Block
GOALS OF A SUPERBLOCK Improve the H A B I TA B I L I T Y o f public space Increase pacified space with P E D E S T R I A N priority. Moving towards more SUSTAINABLE mobility Promote CITIZEN participation and co-responsibility
Vineetha, Esther | 19171NB003,002 | M. Arch ED, JBRAC