Superblocks are often mentioned in the context of Barcelona, and while a good idea in theory, in practice a lot of locals are against it.
It would be fantastic if the whole city was implemented using superblocks, but the reality of it is that the areas where superblocks have been planned go up in price, pushing out low earning locals and bringing in foreigners who can afford it.
This might have been ok for a while in areas like Poblenou which were extremely underdeveloped 20 years ago (mostly industrial buildings) but even the new incarnation of superblocks (green axes) which are mostly about pedestrianization of streets and squares always results in rent increases.
There's no good solution, I would like to see a modern city built with pedestrians in mind from the get-go though.
The idea that we should purposefully keep places worse to live in so the rents stay cheaper is… what it is I guess. I can empathize but I can’t accept it. Improve everything.
It would be fantastic if the whole city was implemented using superblocks, but the reality of it is that the areas where superblocks have been planned go up in price, pushing out low earning locals and bringing in foreigners who can afford it.
This might have been ok for a while in areas like Poblenou which were extremely underdeveloped 20 years ago (mostly industrial buildings) but even the new incarnation of superblocks (green axes) which are mostly about pedestrianization of streets and squares always results in rent increases.
There's no good solution, I would like to see a modern city built with pedestrians in mind from the get-go though.