​The pedestrian-only zones that we observe seem to work quite well, both from a livability and business perspective. Visitors and locals are attracted to car-free spaces and studies have suggested that in some countries pedestrian zones generate the highest retail rents per square foot.  Barcelona has a severe urban heat island effect, due to both cars and the prevalence of concrete and pavement and is by some estimates the noisiest city in Europe and one of the noisiest in the world. A leader in the efforts to combat these problems is Salvador Rueda. Mr. Rueda is probably most well known for being the father of the superblocks plan. The basic idea of a superblock is simple. An area of three-by-three blocks transforms from a car-oriented space to a shared-use space, where bicyclists, pedestrians, and those who just want to grab a seat have equal rights to an area that cars do. Jacob Blythe spoke with Mr. Rueda in his office at the Urban Ecology Agency of Barcelona. ​Music credit to Lee Rosevere at ​https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/

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Putting the Pedestrian First with Salvador Rueda

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Putting the Pedestrian First with Salvador Rueda