SUPERBLOCKS IN BARCELONA

Imagine a city that looks after its inhabitants and allows them to build relationships and care for each other. A city that is socially just, where the physical environment does not put people in boxes and reflects the needs and experiences of different social groups. Where participatory policymaking makes room for a diversity of voices and stories. Urban areas that acknowledge the interconnectedness of life and of the natural and urban environments. This is what many feminist scholars and practitioners have been calling for since the second half for the twentieth century. Today, this call could not be more relevant: The pandemic and the climate crisis are urging us to put life at the centre of urban planning – And of all decision making.

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Even though we clearly have a long way ahead, it seems like feminist urbanism principles are slowly finding their way into planners’ hearts and urban planning decisions. An example of this is Barcelona, where city mayor Ada Colau and Second Deputy Mayor Janet Sanz just announced a 10-year urban plan to reclaim the city’s streets from cars, create new public spaces and green areas, and cut down pollution: the Barcelona Superblock. The idea is to pacify twenty-one streets and create the same number of public squares in these intersections. The already-in-place Sant Antoni superblock was presented by city officials as a successful case and the model that will be reproduced throughout the city centre. 

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Ecosystemic urbanism – the urban theory behind superblocks – comes from a worldview fundamentally different to feminist critical thought. Yet, in practice, superblocks have positively contributed to pressing social and environmental problems. They provided comfortable public spaces during lockdown. Superblocks also reduced urban heat wave effects and cut sound and air pollution improving the health of locals. Furthermore, this urban model is redistributing public space while emphasising relationships, proximity, and everyday networks. Indeed, a stroll down Borrell Street, at any time of the day, is testament to how the Barcelona superblock model ‘fills streets with life’. This all sounds very feminist to me.

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Yet, to date there have been no qualitative studies analysing how the transformations that come with superblocks affect the everyday lives of all social groups from an intersectional gender perspective. To shine a light on some of these issues, my thesis research asks How does the Sant Antoni Superblock support the everyday mobility of local wxmen? The answer to this question will be produced by a group of local women and myself, through a co-creation process. I look forward to reporting back on my findings over the coming months, as I explore the reality of this increasingly popular urban strategy! 

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