Around the world, cities are struggling with seemingly old problems that have recently reached new heights. The sheer amount of cars is overwhelming the streets with excessive pollution and noise so intense that citizens often pay the price in stress levels, delays, and, more importantly, health issues. Traffic is literally killing us, according to several studies.
The Barcelona Project
Barcelona is one such city. Beautiful though it may be, with its colorful streets and pristine buildings, research indicates that its air pollution alone causes 3,500 premature deaths every year in its metropolitan area alone. And similar figures, if not worse, could be inferred from a number of other comparable cities.
But Barcelona is paving the way for a solution that could work for many others—saving millions of lives in the process. The city is looking to implement a new mobility plan that involves the creation of what is known as a “super-block”: turning whole groups of blocks previously accessible to cars into pedestrian-exclusive, car-free zones.
A recent study, carried out by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, estimates that 667 premature deaths could be prevented every year if the city managed to create all planned 503 superblocks. That’s a colossal enterprise with a major payoff.
The paper’s lead author, Natalie Mueller, explains that “what this study shows is that urban planning and transport interventions like the superblocks have significant implications for public health.” She added that we should radically change our habits if we’re to tackle environmental issues that plague today’s society. “We urgently need a paradigm shift away from the car-centred urban planning model and towards a people-centred approach.”
Saving lives—one block at a time
The health benefits of a proper implementation of Barcelona’s plan cannot be overstated. Currently, the city’s air contains about 47 micrograms per cubic meter of one of the major pollutants: nitrogen dioxide. That’s well above the World Health Organization’s legal limits, and it significantly reduces the quality of life, as well as life expectancy, of its residents.
The report indicates that these 503 superblocks would reduce levels of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide by 24%, taking them below the lethal threshold. This would increase the average life expectancy of Barcelona’s inhabitants by nearly 200 days, saving the city almost $2 billion annually.
That’s a considerable improvement for both the economy and public health. And the more cities implement measures like this, the more significant the accumulated effect would be across the world. Already more cities are looking to Barcelona to carry out similar plans, such as Seattle’s Home Zones project. Hopefully, the entire planet will take note sooner rather than later.
Barcelona has shown that its superblocks strategy is not only feasible and economically viable, but would actually open spaces for green areas (a much needed feature in cities), reduce traffic, pollution, noise, stress, and ultimately save lives. This kind of initiative is more than a definite possibility: it’s an outright necessity.
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