Superblocks: How Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars
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- čas přidán 26. 09. 2016
- Modern cities are designed for cars. But the city of Barcelona is testing out an urban design trick that can give cities back to pedestrians.
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I'm more surprised by the perfect squares
Adrian Torres I've been there last summer and coming from a 100k German city it was quite different. Most notably: when you want to walk, most traffic lights tend to be red for you. That means: every 70-100 m (don't know how long the blocks are) I had to stop for around 20 seconds. It was also quite irritating. I was always like: I know how to get home from here, but the reality is more like every crossing looks the same and you think you know it
@@bspringer I'm from Barcelona and I've been in Berlin and Koln. What really surprised me, mostly in Berlín, was the almost absence, in comparison to Barcelona, of trafic lights and pedestrian áreas. I found it quite irritating, and dangerous too, try to find a way to cross the street in some areas. I think in Barcelona, although we are used to cross in red light when there aren't much trafic, we have a good system. The cars and pedestrians have their preference área and any driver will complain if anybody cross the street in red... but yes, Its curious and funny to see the diferences. Not only in the structure of the streets, but also in the perception that we have of them in diferent places.
Oscar Appleman I am from Bluche and was in Amsterdam for holidays and what surprised me was no matter in what direction I walked I always keep ending up in same place where I started to walk from.
Hey Adrian
@@bspringer that's because you have to ignore the red lights, I know it's hard for a German :)
The Dutch have been doing this for awhile, you really need a good reason and big set of balls to try and drive through the center of Amsterdam
Same in Barcelona nowadays, now people just give up and go by train and metro
Same in Central London
Same with copenhagen and in general a lot of european cities. Europe is just better than the us.
@@nielsnielsen9013 Europe cares about people. US cares about money.
Well instead you have traffic jams caused by bicycles.
Somebody: "Let's prioritize human beings over cars"
Americans: "Communism!"
Oh I can’t wait to see the Americans response.
You nailed it
No American said it...you moro
@GanargXKraken nice little bubble you are
chokes on extra cheese burger
You're not mentioning what an amazing effect this has on the mental health of the community. I used to live in Tehran where it's more efficient if you use public transport so people walk in the streets and when I moved to the US I was so depressed for not seeing humans around me outside
that's a unique way to get depressed
@@nitricfox7895 yeah he was more happy in Tehran capital of Iran lol
So you were not depressed about living in a highly repressive regime. You were not depressed of seeing black sheets with no shape or faces passing by. The shape of a real woman and her face did a number on you?
@@SK-SC That is what is said myself tf? A real man feel threatened by the shape of a real woman to the point he has to cover up from head to toe with a black sheet. Feeling depressed for leaving that behind?
@@SK-SC Yep some lunatics on here, and their wife, mother and daughters have to walk around covered up from head to toes in black hijabs or berkas or whateva they call those things.
Barcelona is by far the best city that I've enjoyed as a pedestrian. You dont even realise that you're walking kilometres from one place to another
I've walked 3km from Espanya to Camp Nou and it felt like 5 minutes
Since when did you start being pedestrian?
Dude the bike lane in the middle of the huge streets is kinda scary if you’re decent at biking.
My aunt says the same!
@@Tourarounwarsaw it all started at the day I was born
All cities in Europe that I have visited are filled with these pedestrian zones, mainly the old towns and medieval parts of the city, not only Barcelona. It makes exploring a city so much more pleasant than using a car!
They exist in Barcelona and other Spanish cities, this is about reducing pollution
But as you said, in old towns and medieval parts (which also exist in BCN by the way) but this is being implemented in urban areas away from that center. That's the difference.
Just only for historic and commercial downtown.
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening.
@@scienceownsimposters2142 fuiyo..?
Just to be precise:
- Superblocks have already started, but in Poblenou, another district. Example is the next one.
- Don’t use flamenco music to illustrate Barcelona. It is like using country music to illustrate New York. We love flamenco, but it is typical from the south of Spain.
Carmen Amaya, Peret, El Pescailla, were born in Barcelona.
@@carlosvanhalen7919 totally right, and still flamenco is not the best music to illustrate Barcelona. For example Peret is rumba not flamenco, and the type of rumba he sings is called Catalan rumba. Using Catalan rumba to illustrate Barcelona, great idea.
es que no usan flamenco por barcelona, usan flamenco porque es españa jaajaj pero igual de todas formas sigue siendo bastante cliché
Wrong. Flamenco is also very Catalan, theres a branch of flamenco which is " la rumba" and it was in Catalonia where the Catalan rumba was invented. And as a Catalan Spaniard I can attest.
@@iuliuscaesar9078ya lo digo en un post anterior. Pues que usa rumba, no flamenco 😂😂😂
Moved from Europe to Canada and I sadly admit that I have seen more of Japan than of Canada. Japan and Europe are very pedestrian friendly and both have great public transportation.
Everyday I wish Canada had the kind of city planning that Japan has
Just came back from Barcelona and couldn't quite pin down exactly why the city really appealled to me - this design is engenious!
Guy Bowker thanks! i think it’s one of the things that i like the most about my city and i’m glad you enjoyed it too
Guy Bowker * ingenious sorry it was annoying me ( ・∇・)
@@cbgeger dona gust veure americans gaudint de bcn oi?
Gerard Agusti collons si en dona de gust 😂😂😂
I have been there for a 2 weeks workshop program years ago. It was a kickass experience. I would love to visit there again with more free time to explore and wander.
"Street parking is replaced with underground parking"... I think that alone would help.
Then dont waste money in useless stuff
In barcelona they also have a very good public transport system so less people commute/pass through the center in cars. In america youd have to blow out most of the space under the city center to make room for all the cars but in barcelona this is a viable solution.
@Nemesis
If i go from (Netherlands) Utrecht to Amsterdam.
I park my car some km before i enter Amsterdam(that have cheap parking)
There i take the bus ore train.
No problem at all.
@Nemesis
Wel back in the 80s,i hated our Dutch anti-car loby.
That changed when i was sitting on a terras,and saw the same cars driving by,looking for a parking spot in the centrum of the city.
I realized,i did the same with my car.
The only underground parking that you can find in big american cities belong to fancy Hotels. We had to pay 50 Dollars for one night of parking...
What we called “mixed use” planning here in the US, is what the rest of the world called how to build livable areas. Is it any wonder the most desirable and expensive areas in the US are usually the mixed use areas “grandfathered” in before zoning laws became so onerous after WWII? Completely separating residential and commercial zoning means you HAVE TO DRIVE just to get your groceries. No pop into local baker to get some bread, no walking to your favorite local restaurants for dinner. It lead to rise of the suburbs and urban sprawl. But now those suburban towns are going bankrupt because the expenses required to maintain those infrastructure and suburbs generate much less revenue per given area compared to cities. I suspect it also contributes to the feeling of isolation, alienation, and lack of community so prevalent in this country.
Exactly it's also why the stereotype of a paranoid soccer mom comes from isolation makes people ignorant and fearful of the outside world unwilling to let in new information and they push this on there kids sheltering them from everyone and everything
Americans discover walking, a new concept
Most People in the United States also aren’t crammed like a bunch of slaves traveling to the new world like most Europeans are.
The united states in fact has one of the lowest population densities of any western country
@Dragon wayyyy less then Americans
@Dragon American act if u don't own a car u don't belong in the society
non americans realize we cant control how much we can walk and its all up to the government
@FlyingMonkies325the thing is that they have the choice to walk, in america its dangerous to walk next to fast cars and everything
Can't speak for everyone but, living in Barcelona, from all my friends and acquaintances, I'd say about 70% of them do not own a car or if they do they don't use it in the city. Hopefully other cities can learn from good ideas like these!
Octavio Di Gianni how different our cultures are, I’m from Utah and everyone is driving a car. It is almost like the car is a right of passage, when you’re a high school kid and get your license you are the “cool kid” now because you can drive. Or like now because you can drive it makes you more important than me who can’t drive. Very sad honestly
If you have an electric scooter you're set for Barcelona
There is a lot more room here to move around. We need cars to be able to get around. European solutions will not always work in the US, nor should they.
It's probably similar in most European cities...
As long as you're living in the city, you just don't need a car
Getting around by car is slower than most other ways of transportation anyway
Octavio do ganni So are all their resources within walking distance then?? their job grocery store and doctors office??
Right, off to Cities: Skylines to try this.
Windoges same
I'm on youtube on my phone to try and avoid getting on my pc because I have class in the morning and don't want to end up playing games till 2 am.
You're not helping.
this guy knows whats up haha
My thoughts exactly.
I think I created Utopian traffic management with a grid of elevated highways around a grid of super-blocks.
Been in Barcelona not long ago and taking a car is a very bad decision. You enjoy walking and seeing people around, it’s such a great atmosphere. You don’t even realise how much you’ve walked once your back at home. I never noticed that Barcelona did this on purpose to reduce the gases realised to the air, it makes so much sense now! Taking the train or bus is also enjoyable, I just love Barcelona so much!
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening.
@@scienceownsimposters2142 What?
Jakartan and most Indonesian cities pedestrians who has no sidewalks at all be like: 👁️👄👁️
Laughs in not streets or roads or traffic rules in Bangladesh
Why is it like that tho
@@karlofilipec84 jakarta does have, but the other state of the country? i dont think so
Yeah i mean we are 3rd world country. There's still a long way for us
@@aliefgifranmuhammad7615 yeah India too..here people get overpatriotic when criticised. loads of uneducated and mannerless people will just charge at you.
Flamenco in Barcelona = Country Music in New York.
Lol
@@raahimhadi4905 but true
no no no ... flamenco is from the south of Spain
No not the same but oke
Country music is from everywhere in the US, not just wherever you stereotype it from.
Barcelonian here! Great vid, but the flamenco guitar track at the beginning kinda triggered me, that music is from the south of Spain, not from Barcelona! It's like playing Texan country in a video about NYC lol
shut up and bring me a paella and sangria, ole
@@edu5257 😂😂
And the famous Tortilla de patatas jaja.
Hahaha tienes toda la razon, siempre la lian con la musica flamenca.
Verdad, no hay Txarango :/
YES I was triggered too!! I like flamenco, but having it used to "illustrate" (I don't know how to express it) Barcelona, capital form Catalonia, that has it's own tradicional music... I'm from Barcelona too and the topic of this video seems funny to me, because it is a quite new project with whitch a lot of people totally desagree (people with cars tend to be protective with their space). With our last major, a fight for taking the space back from cars to pedestrians and bikes has started, and everyone is unhappy with the space being redistributed (bike trails in the wider pedestrial zones, cars having to share space with bikes and car-free zones). The only happy ones are the ciclists, among whom I am counted :).
Living in a superblock neighborhood and it's a great concept, increases the quality of living extremely! I really don't care about noisy humans, also in the evenings in front of bars and restaurants, but the traffic noises and the space occupied by cars are a dilemma we can fix and make our cities amazing for inhabitants and visitors :)
Cities aren't noisy. Cars are.
American suburbanites say they hate the city's noise, but the irony is they don't realize how much of the noise is their fault(unless you live near a stadium or a nightclub, practically _all_ of it) because when they drive into the cities, they come in a noise-resistant cabin, unaware of the grating ambience of their engines.
@@gino14 only cars produce noise?
Guess you've never been to a crowded space
@@poisonpotato1 You speak to me of crowded? I live in Tokyo nowadays.
Yes there is occasional noise, but of all the noises the only one that irritates me with how reliably constant it is... is that of the _cars._
@@gino14 Would prefer cars to noisy neighbours or barking dogs any day, thank you
Love Barcelona, lived there for 3 months. It really does make more sense to walk places or take the train. It takes much longer if you take a car.
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening.
@@scienceownsimposters2142 Please enlighten us
I was in Brussels on no-car day last year and it was a Utopia. People walking, cycling, skateboarding, roller blading down the wide streets. The city seemed more together and was far more peaceful. People need to have a little bit of vision that extends beyond driving a big car at 1mph through gridlocked city streets.
You're right! I don't understand the point of driving through city centers when you can't even travel fast. Cars are a terrible form of transportation and use up a lot of space.
Jack Taylor but you've got a car right??
Jack Taylor I'm a plumber, my truck has loads of material and tools. should I skateboard them to a job?
hudson k we're not talking about eliminating cars, we're talking about prioritizing pedestrians. Do you think that plumbers in Europe carry their tools and materials in a backpack?
our plumber rides a bike. He has all his tools placed in bags either side of the rear wheel.
I'm from Vitoria-Gasteiz and was so glad that my city was mentioned in one of your videos :]
I was also happy that Vitoria was mentioned, I love living here :D
Lets switch cities please.
+p.d.d.p Or you could just move?
AUPAAAA CELEDOOOON
Drawn808 That cost money
I wish our Government also adopt Barcelona like plan here in Delhi, Delhi has become gas chamber
Nurul Ansari LoL dude u joking right! for that before even the city is developed u have to plan 😂
And our over population problem and different people mindset’s 😒👎
Sorry to say buddy but India is a lost cause
Even though it’s not perfect, I feel the Rohini area with its societies and parks is similar to this . With 8-10 societies surrounding a big DDA market with all your basic needs you really don’t need the car much , just walk because there is not much of a need to use the car unless you want to go to school or work . I don’t live in Rohini anymore but I do remember I rarely used the car .
@@moonbeeps nobody asked you kiddo
American car-centric urban planning is a way for them to marginalize those who can’t afford a car.
This is outright moronic and your clearly ignorant of why the u.s designed its infrastructure the way it did
I’ll give you a hint it had to do with the Cold War.
But playing devils advocate, it’s also ingrained in American culture since the time of the cowboys to have your own “vehicle” whether it be horse or car or pick up truck. Independence is literally the National Value
omg the flamenco music😂 it's barcelona not sevilla....
@@arnautorronteras2602 still a different culture innit
its a video from americans. did you really expected that Americans know something about european culture?
@@ezyzet different xD
@@arnautorronteras2602 Are you serious here? Each region of Spain is diverse, we love flamenco music in Catalonia but it is not a piece of representative music from the region. The same way bagpipes are common in the north of Spain but not the South. What if they would do a video about andalusia with celtic music from Galicia? It just doesn't make any sense!
At least it's not mexican music this time
I wish I were in Barcelona now…
To walk with you
Along the avenue
Oh God, I see what you did there...
Michael Caplin :) Bill Newman is the best #BeYourMythicalBest
TheMorris360 I wish I were in Barcelona now.
"America wasnt made for the car, it was bulldozed for the car."
-Jason Slaughter
And here in Netherland not a single road is straight
I am from the Netherlands i don't really get what you mean by that. Because I see plenty of straight roads. Maybe it depends on where you live
Mariëlle Tielens no it is because all streets are form the LGBTQ community
i guess you mean streets, so what its ok to have curve ahaha
@@Ma-pm1wq I think he means that you don't have a grid like most US cities or barcelona.
Same here in Macedonia
*Super Blocks are nice.* They are like a park without having any space for the park.
I agree. This could work in Times square, but leave some room for truck deliveries only and the disabled.
i live in denmark. This is lies.
Uhm, more like Americans are slaves to their cars. Not having to have a car is freedom, and leads to better cities you actually want to be in. Better for everyone. If you feel you need a car, then you live in a really badly planned city.
epSos.de yea i really hate how i have to drive 10 mins and 10 mins back to get some decent food
Do you live in Barça?
Very thoughtful solution to noise and air pollution in big cities. Great stuff
How does this help reduce pollution?? Instead cars have to travel more due to roads being closed out. People still need to travel from one place to another and walking is not a solution for long distaces so the no. Of cars should remain same
Siddham Jasoria Well if we continue at this rate, fossil fuels won’t be able to power cars anymore. Add on top of that pollution and emissions...and yeah nah
@@siddham have you ever heard of public transport
Siddham Jasoria the point is that if you reduce the road options for the cars, they will end up using the same route as the buses. There is no point in driving your car if the bus is going to take the exact same route and for cheaper (and better for the environment)
Ever see people in Japan wear masks on public transportation? Don't worry, you'll soon find out why if this "solution" comes to your city. There are PLENTY of reasons to use your own vehicle, depending on what city. This is *not* a solution for everywhere...
I left the US in October 2019. I’ve traveled throughout Europe, and now am traveling throughout South America. I haven’t had a car since leaving the US. I’ve taken airplanes, ferries, trains, subways, trolleys, busses, bicycles, a rare taxi, Uber and walked. It has been wonderful and liberating, and far less expensive than owning an automobile. The American automakers and oil giants lied to the US population in the 1950’s. They enslaved the US consumer with car ownership, not liberated.
I'm still fascinated to this day and have never seen anything like Barcelona city layout! If looks as if a perfectionist was playing a City building simulator or Age of empires. It is amazing to me!
2:37
People might think a reduction from 66.5 to 61 decibels is not much but it's an exponential scale. That means noise has reduced by 3.5 times
No! First of all it's a Logarithmic scale. An increase of 3db represents a doubling of power, 6db a doubling in Sound Pressure level and 10db a doubling in perceived volume (human ears don't react in a linear fashion). Therefore a 5.5db decrease does not mean a noise reduction of 3.5 times but ca 0.4 times
ok... so he's smart and corrected something wrong! oh no! how could he do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@nok9355 right? How dare he try to put out correct information when given false information?
It's bull, anyway. What ends up happening (like here, in Belgrade, where they're closing more of the inner city - old town) is that instead of light /er traffic everywhere, you get a CONSTANT jam everywhere around it. Basically there is no more rush hour, but from the morning until night: never-ending streams of traffic all around it. It's a HORRIBLE idea. :/
Was thinking that
You call US sidewalks narrow? Try using philippines sidewalk you gotta have a hard time... Finding one
US sidewalks are narrow indeed. I'm from Barcelona, I have traveled all over the world and I have not find better sidewalks than the ones we have in Barcelona. US cities are horrible to walk...
If US cities are horrible to walk what more the Philippines.
+Bert Sesame us sidewalks are like 1 metre wide If that
phillipines is a spanish country too and they will find ways to urbanized it better trust me spanish are good with city and culture and lyfestyles
The same happens in Costa Rica...
I'm from the US and I lived in
Southern Bavaria for a year and a half. When I was in Europe I never even seriously thought about owning a car. It would have been fun to drive over some mountain passes, but it's so way to get around it doesn't matter. When I returned to the states I was immediately sad to be driving, knowing that it's a necessity that I'm chained to it here. Driving feels so isolating, I'd rather read or socialize or nap on a train. It's sad that America is the way it is. If only we'd spread out and made these cuties organically
Ive been to Spain before and when i stayed at Barcelona, it feels as if you can walk for kilometers on end without feeling tired or exhausted, highly recommend visiting
I wonder if wide pavements have this effect - instead of spending all the time trying to dodge people and avoid being walked into.
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening.
Thank you from Catalonia 🇪🇦🇪🇦🖤
My city did something like this, I think they call them GreenWays.
Certain roads were turned into bike/walk only roads, and a wide paved several mile walking path (the B-Line) was cut through the middle of town. So far I think it's been very successful, at least in giving bikers and walkers/joggers a convenient and SAFER route to travel.
It's not unique for Europe, just the scale they are planning it in Barcelona is. More cities in middle and Northern Europe have car free centres or situations like in the city of Groningen.
Where are you from mate?
Bloomington, Indiana. USA.
Yeah greenways, rails-to-trails, street diets, etc. are not uncommon in the USA. They're just not prevalent in the big city-centers where they are needed for de-congestion reasons.
Personaly I just don't want to live in a world where I can't ,Step from my living room into a mobile living room , directly into another room somewhere else .
I just want that to be made non polluting . Anything else is going backwards imo.
In European and I see a city centre as a walking area primarily
yea cars are for people in suburbs/rural areas.
Yeah
@@Gos1234567 nah, but they are certainly not for city centres
Ye same
@Adrian No they would be considered part of that city/town,in Ireland or the UK they would be anyway
Because of Covid, they shut down the main streets to cars in a little mountain tourist city called Banff where I live. It was a really cool feeling to be able to walk in the middle of the road and from one side of the street to the other without any worries. It made it feel like those old "Western/Cowboy" main streets you would see in the movies.
U.S. needs to do this. Less polution, car deaths/accidents, more interaction, helps small shops/businesses.
Do you think I want to interact with some random people
@@Jake.gr2 they're citizens of the same country as you bruh
@@Jake.gr2 then just like,dont talk
Are you listening, Paradox and Colossal Order? How about mixed zoning for Cities: Skylines?
Penny Lane omg pleeeease I need that
next DLC don't worry ;) only 13,99€
there's ways around that, best solution i've seen is zone a 4X4 area of commercial in every now and then in your residential zones
Yeah, come to Greece.
There's no room for cars, nor people.
Urban planning is a joke.
Which country city Greece belongs to?
Adventures & Events bruh
yeah tho they do want to go green here especially in Athens cause the parthenon and other antiquities are at risk even tho back in the eighties they tried to fix it and rlly did
@@Tourarounwarsaw Athens Granderia Metropolis Se Districto
Your experience doesn't sound like urban planning because the whole point of urban planning is to intentionally make space for pedestrian travel (w/o cars). It's a bedrock of their planning so if greece doesn't have that, I wonder if it could really be considered in this category.
Maybe it LOOKS like urban planning, but you really need organized government effort in order to pull this off on a mass scale, and plan street setup, transitways, etc. Idk if your community had those initiatives?
Mom and pops shops would thrive over huge stores in a walkable neighborhood. You're not running from the traffic jam or huge commute time, you can really know people around and really connect with your neighborhood. Telling as someone who lives in a walkable place, I have a bakery just across the street, my gym is a five minute walk, the corner store I go to get my groceries (when I just need a little something) it's a less than five minute too. It's just a better way of living.
in Germany we call it the "FUßGäNGERZONE"
Why did you use a lowercase Ä hahah
I was searching for that comment
In Croatia we call it the "PJEšAčKA ZONA"
man i just left barcelona not even 24 hours ago and noticed on my flight that the city looked like squares now i know why!
why everyone cant be like we in Luxembourg? if we need to go somewhere we use helicopters
too loud. too dangerous.
we aren't rich like u
Way too expensive and we have nowhere to put them.
We use bears here in Russia, no pollution, sounds are natural and not harmful to ears, sometimes pedestrians get attacked, but only tourists, so that's ok
@@elvirjade4742 no more tourist income for you.
Here's a solution! It's called "public transport."
Maybe wanna explain the meaning of this word to our american friends
@@drunkdriving_germany that's for socialist liberals... real americans need their V8 pickups!
@@morganangel340 i prefer golf carts
@@drunkdriving_germany those are for getting around our homes
Why not both?
Yeah I lived in the capital of Poland for most of my life and now for 3 years I’m living in Texas USA. Truth be told I’m sick tired of the American mindset. They think that its impossible for anyone without a car or being in a car to get anywhere. A lot of them prefer to use a car because it’s easy. I can see the cuz stores and other leisure places are always separate from houses from people. The us government really should think how they do stuff.
For me, it’s literally impossible to live without a car. It’d be like walking a half-marathon just to go to Lowe’s. That’s the closest thing to me and I’d have to go even further for anything else. This is the rural Midwestern experience.
@@ichijofestival2576 That's a valid point but when I've been in the US I felt exactly like my polish fellow. I didn't had a car and the infrastructure was so unwelcoming and careless about biking and taking public transit. There wasn't any interest to support such mode of transports; biking was just viewed as a sport activity and taking public transit just for the poor. And everything was so distant from each other. I felt so lost and I guess many people in the US without a car feel that way too. I think the US has to go another way than Europe but right now your infrastructure and mobility seems to be highly exclusive just for one mode of transport and this isn't good for the overall urban development.
Usa is super big + it's not spain that's going pedestrian it's just a city.
Imagine going cross state or living in the suburbs and not having access to transportation relying only on your feet & your e-bike...
Well I live in “ruralish Texas” and I do need a car to get places
@@LightsOut276 imagine having a great transportation infrastructure
Such a beautifully planned city. Barcelona!.
Haha not sure about the flamenco sountrack...any flamenco is only in Barcelona for the tourists. It's all rumberos there.
I was thinking just that! :p I'm from Seville, and flamenco is a very Andalusian thing - not so much Barcelona. It's an interesting video though, and reminds me of the concepts laid out by Jay Foreman in his Unfinished London series, where they were planning on building three big ring roads in London to reduce the traffic load in the centre - but sadly the project was never finished.
I was thinking just that! :p I'm from Seville, and flamenco is a very Andalusian thing - not so much Barcelona. It's an interesting video though, and reminds me of the concepts laid out by Jay Foreman in his Unfinished London series, where they were planning on building three big ring roads in London to reduce the traffic load in the centre - but sadly the project was never finished.
thanks! my parents are British, but I was born and raised in Sevilla, so will always consider myself sevillana :)
+Draw Curiousty So even if a dog is born in a stable it can be a horse, is what you're saying?
spanish and english aren't separate species though ?
Barcelona is such a beautifully planned City, mind-blowing
Great video. I always found that Barcelona is very avantgardist when it comes to transportation. The subway, the bus system, the shuttles to and from the airport that is both cheap and efficient.
I'm from Paris, I lived in Toronto and currently living in Tel Aviv and yet I find that Barcelona is a great model to follow when it comes to transportation and how the city is organized for social life. Definitely one of my favourite cities! Go Barcelona :)
Have a nice day random scrolling person ; )
you see me scolling, not hating...
well isn't that an unusually nice thing for a stranger on the internet to say :) have a good day as well
Good day to you too :)
It's always nice to read these kind of comments. My day's been nice so far, I hope yours is even better 😊
Omg such a nice guy. Good day/afternoon to you too :D
The problem is we see cars as a sign of wealth. An easy form of transportation between point A, and point B. Due to the immense nature of our American landscape unlike European cities, cars have begun to look like a necessity. We don't have efficient mass transportation systems, and until we can remove the stigma of public transportation being 'for the poor' we're never going to get anywhere any time soon.
Excellent points, Kyle Li! I am in my 50s, and my children are grown. I would so enjoy being able to carpool or use public transit. Public transit isn't available in this area. It's hard to get people interested in carpooling, despite the fact that it saves money for each participant.
Well, sure. The other problem is that cars also represent one of the most prized of American ideals: independence. Owning a car means you get to go where you want to, when you want to. Using public transportation means shackling your independence to others, depending on an outside system to make your way to where you need to go. Even carpooling means limiting your freedom to just impulse drive somewhere else on your way back home, which is something I would commonly do if I needed a break from my standard routine. In a city built on walking, we'd be able to get that independence without cars, but I travel anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes one way just to do anything where I live, and those kind of distances (17 - 50 miles) simply aren't feasible for your average walker.
good point, but another reason why cars are so popular and broadly used is the amount of privacy that you get vs public transportation and that will be pretty hard to beat.
I show off my wealth by not owning a car. I can afford to live close to a city centre and my work place. Cars are dying as a status symbol in the netherlands because of this change in showing off wealth.
Electric cars, uber, and lyft are a start for the U.S.
this looks like an amazing place for a carpark!
America's urban planning and development has been a catastrophic faiilure.
Australia is even worse
The city center of my city has three layers, an underground layer for parking, a ground level layer for shops, and a really cool top layer on top of the buildings with parks and houses.
Here is a picture: blog.expedia.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stad-boven-centrum-almere.jpeg
Ooooh, where is this?
Michelle Almere, the Netherlands.
Michelle Actually, I don't think you can see it anymore without living there. There used to be a restaurant with a view on the top layer, but that went bankrupt.
Do you want to switch lives? We never get cool things like that in NYC.
p.d d.p NYC must have cool things too. I mean, about 10 million people live there. There must be something.
As an American, traveling to Europe and seeing city squares along with brick roads for pedestrians was beautiful compared to the boring concrete car cities we have in USA. Planning on moving soon!
Welcome!
nice absolution profile picture
Have you moved yet?
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out….
You sound like you live on the west coast
This is so interesting. I remember in Hong Kong having a car is a large sign of wealth because it's so expensive to own a parking spot, and this is a much better way to deal with too much cars and traffic. The superblocks were really interesting. Thanks for the video!
thanks for the inspiration, I won a writing competition about city layouts!
I want to send this to my city mayor now
yes please
Don't let dreams be dreams!
idcaf currently making the dream come true
the future for cars looks dim, i cry every night knowing that self-driving cars will replace regular cars.... :'''''''''''''[
This channel really hates cars though, they seem really biased, cars are also a necessity.
This is a brilliant idea but this happening in North America is so unlikely.
Right even if the studies shows it helps businesses and economy. They'd just find a way to say it doesn't, or outright ignore evidence. (Which they've never done before of course).
Funny point that it actually helps business
canadian cities like quebec, montreal or vancouver started thinking about this by extending pedestrian spqces and investing in bike lanes. but still, we're in deed far away for Europe, japan or sone south American cities in terms of living space.
I lived in Pamplona (500km away from BCN) in the 90's. Except for the old part (Casco Viejo and 1er y 2do Ensanche, the latter looking a lot like BCN typical square blocks), the whole city is thought for the pedestrians. Even the blocks seemed huge (about 400m per side), they were mostly filled by huge pavement or green spaces, plus parking lots, filling the rest of space with buildings of a standard height (abuot 8 o 10-story ones). Walking there was just a pleasure, and every place you stepped your foot on seemed a good place for kids to play in. What a wonderful, well-planned city!
I live in vitoria gasteiz at the moment and its a fantastic city to live in, very peaceful and easy to walk around
And here in India and China we're stuck with the worst pollution ever and still not doing anything
Makes me sad :(
Mrudul Jain I don't know about India but I think it might be in a pretty similar situation as in China. This concept of super blocks have always kind of unnoticeably existed in China as neighborhoods inside cities are mostly surrounded by a fence with gates for residents only, which kind of works like this in Barcelona. However, some parts of cities in China experience a problem created by this kind of design as traffic have to drive around for distances wayyyyy too far. This is interesting tho
modi government is busy making statue buying all the media channel so that they can't show the reality.
Mara P what?
Mrudul Jain Wait wait.. about india i agree. but china? umm.. actually china make some progress towards the clean energy.
india gov only care bout their military.. dont care about the environment and all of their people.
In China there's no block beside superblocks.
Really?? Again reading the comments?
it's like stockholm syndrome
I would, but I have a car bed, so I just flop on that.
Right, sorry.
Sorry
Espero que no tengas ningún problema.
I don't mind the flamenco and "rumba", although being cliché, it's Spain at the end of the day but it's not the kind that represents Barcelona the most, I would've chosen something in between or some typical Catalan music. But despite that (and not important to me at all) you guys made a very good job documenting this. I studied it in highschool and I was shocked to see so fewer cities use this planning, which to me is one of the best in the world. Thanks for showing to the world this not noticeable but interesting aspect about my city. Hope America can learn somehting from it.
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening.
Oh my gosh!!! it's gratifying to find this kind of information I hope it helps me in choosing my specialty. Thank you very much
Currently it's being very criticized here in Spain by public opinion and newspapers. I hope the criticism results in a better concept for the "illes" and everyone here can benefit
By the way. Just let me say somethimg mildly negative about the video. The spanish guitar is not typical from this region of Spain, and it's a little bit annoying to hear it every time documentaries or videos in youtube talk about Barcelona and its surroundings. Just think of a video about NYC with Country Music and you'll get what I mean
Can you explain why it's being criticised? :o
Yeah, the music made my eyes roll. Such a trite, hokey, and above all, non-representative choice for Barcelona.
Because the traditional media criticises everything that involves the new government of the city because of being from left (real left, not just cosmetic)
what is cosmetic left
It's being criticized bc press and tv is so biased to the right wing and Barcelona's mayor is left wing.
Barcelona is the best city in which I've ever been :)
same!!!!
try thessaloniki.
Lawrence Calablaster try allepo
I like Rome better
Rumplelumpa Snickerdoodles Never got to visit the beach: it was a school trip, a choir tour.
I love driving and would never give up my vehicle. I can see how this is appealing to Some, but it’s just different strokes for different folks.
No one says u cant drive, it's just they're making little areas like this where you cant. Like a retrofitted park sorta.
the power of the square! I've seen some of this reclaiming of areas in bigger cities and I love it.. just wish there wasn't so much old infrastructure that prevents cities from going all the way. Kudos to Barcelona and also kudos to the shots of my DC in there!
American cities changed a lot after WWII, when the suburb was invented. Houses had gardens and a driveway, commercial areas had many parking spaces, and then even parking lots. This eventually led to cities being built to accomodate cars on a massive scale. Not what you see in Europe or Asia, where cities are densely populated and built vertically instead of flat and these cities were around before the car so they have been pedestrian friendly for some time.
Juan Garcia same here in Australia, I envy people who can walk to markets.
Euro cities are before car and Asian cities are after America
A lot of cities in Asia are also like America's since they had most of their infrastructure from the Industrial revolution unlike the old ancient european cities that already was giant and had a large infrastructure.
In Finland and Sweden we have buses that go trough areas that only have big family houses because those families have kids without a car.
Ildefons Cerdá would be a pro at Sim City.
Arturo Soria would be better
Cerdà
@@loplopthebird1860 who
But would probably have some trouble in Cities:Skylines
à
3:00 legend
?
I love how the buildings are in the same shape its so nice to see from a far
I lived in Barcelona for 11 years. This kind of works because they have a good public transportation system with underground trains and buses. This is not the case for many American cities (Seattle for example). Also even though this is terrific for people who live in the city, it just makes it much more difficult for the thousands of people that do not live in the city but go into it every day for work, etc.
I don't see this working in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix is so spread out and the only means of transportation is car especially during the hot summer times.
This could work in Fresno, California because the city has a very similar grid-based layout, however there's little to no public transportation and there's 3 freeways that slice the city up
"it just makes it much more difficult for the thousands of people that do
not live in the city but go into it every day for work, etc."
Care to elaborate?
Well, so even though I said that Barcelona has good public transportation, this doesn't extend as well to outside city limits, so people who live outside of the city but work in the city usually need to drive their cars to work. It is already a nightmare to cross the city and find parking the way it is now. I can't imagine how much worse it will be with all of those streets closed and with so much less parking space. The video talks about underground parking, but it is not like underground parking is suddenly going to pop up where there was none, and even when available, it is prohibitively expensive. All I am trying to say is that this "solves" a group of people's problems while increasing another groups'.
+BountyFlamor people who live in the suburbs and work in the city would have problems getting to work if this system was implemented
I'm from Barcelona and live in Chicago, and I can relate to this so much! Thanks, Vox!
Same, I'm from Novi Sad but live in the horrid Dallas. Can't wait until I move back :/
Enna Silkov I've never been to either one, how do they compare?
Sergi Martín Here are my thoughts on both... :)
DALLAS -- a very wealthy city, with a lovely, iconic skyline dominated by enormous skyscrapers. It has some great museums showcasing modern and classical art, as well as a fantastic opera whose building was designed by I.M. Pei (he designed the Louvre's glass pyramid). I appreciate all of the above.
However, in Dallas, you can't _walk anywhere_. Given how big the city is (1 million+ people) there are very few parks and pedestrian-friendly areas. Even downtown Dallas is dominated by roads and cars. In Europe sidewalks are lined with shops and stores; in Dallas most sidewalks are adjacent to large, company buildings. So you walk and pass cold windows and closed doors. :/
NOVI SAD -- This is the second-largest city in Serbia, population around 250,000. As everyone knows, Serbia is one of Europe's poorest countries, and certain parts of Novi Sad are slightly unpolished/decrepit in a way that reflects this.
Nonetheless, the city itself is gorgeous. You can walk in the city from end to end because it's so pedestrian-friendly... and along the way you'll see a number of lovely parks, squares, and small bakeries. The city sits on the Danube
river; on one side is a bustling, lively city, and on the other is an old Austrian fortress and a baroque-style town. You easily walk across the bridge to the old city, because even the bridge has a large pedestrian sidewalk. And it's a very safe city: I'm a girl, and my female cousin and I have wandered around at night multiple times, all while feeling very safe. :)
Sorry for the long answer, haha, but I hope I've justified my opinion ;)
Sergi Martín By the way, I really want to visit Barcelona someday. My mother went one year on a business trip, and now it's her favorite city. She loves the architecture, the liveliness, the cleanliness... and unlike London (she says) Barcelona isn't very commercialized. All the brands and stores are tucked away or integrated smoothly. I won't be surprised if she moves there ;)
Dallas is not dominated by skyscrapers
This is so clever. I love it 🙌🏽
I live in Las Palmas, another spanish city and we made the entire city center into a superblock, I drive my car often since I live in the outskirts of the city and I cant express how much better it is. Instead of driving through traffic I drive around the busy area into a massive parking lot and then get to enjoy an entire day out walking about, running into people I know, shopping and eating good food
I lived in Barcelona and I loved walking on the streets because they were so relaxing...didn't realize there was this whole thing going on :P
Relaxing? Mentirosa.
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening.
I love cars and all, I even have a channel where I review and vlog about cars - but the pleasure of a pedestrian only neighborhood is second to none!
Give your enthusiast car card back
You can like something and still recognize there's a right time and place for it. I like videogames but I've always refused to get a mobile gaming platform because I like being forced to read books when I'm not home.
Urban driving on crowded streets will always suck. There's a reason besides safety that car commercials are shot on closed courses-they wouldn't sell cars with footage of a crowded freeway.
Evan Derickson True but I would rather be driving in my car in the cold rather than walk. And being Chicago it's definitely more safe to be in your car.
Evan Derickson And console games are wayyy better than mobile games
Yeah I have two massive v8 cars and I live in a rural area with mean I usually use more fuel and create more pollution so rural areas still have to be worked on
Barcelona is one of the best city to walk around..
I love this channel ❤️
Barcelona is the most beautiful city I have ever seen, but walking in the eixample streets is pain in the ass , because in order to cross the street you need to turn the corner ,use the crosswalk and again turn the corner instead of walking straight.
that's how you explore the city
Yeah, I like wandering around in cities when I visit so it wasn't a problem for me because I had plenty of free time. But it causes a problem when you are in a rush.
You will pass out when you find out what Barcelona really is.The Great Awakening..
Vox has 420 videos right now.
It's a long time since I have seen the
reoccurrence of this dead meme in the comment section of a video *So Edgy Bro*
West Yorkshire edge
how is 420 even edgy?
So dank
Seriously, who cares about 420. You twelve?
And it looks good from above too! Makes me want to go to Barcelona lol
very interesting, thanks vox
This is a great idea for modern cities based around cars but in Italy it's basically already like this, as in most of the city centers have some limits so only authorized cars can go there and some areas are strictly for pedestrians
Same in Spain, but in Barcelona they want to reduce pollution
Same in France. European city are built around the historical center which is not made for cars but US was created for Economy so...
exactly, so its weird barcelona isnt also built like that
The Barcelona's medieval city center is already pedestrian. They want to implement this thing in the grid part of the city that was built in the 19th century.
I see
i’m currently in barcelona and i got this in my recommendations... hmmmm
CZcams is stalking you. Watch out! It might be behind you!
Hello 👋 from nepal 💓
Big tech knows everything about you. Is that a surprise to you?
as long as you have a google account, google which owns CZcams knows your location. wait don't people Oder things in Barcelona so if google doesn't know your location how would it work? it simple they always know your location.
We already have that in Lisbon, Portugal. In downtown Lisbon (Baixa-Chiado), it's a pedestrian area.
I like it. We’ve already seen a lot of people ditch their cars for ride share companies since this video was made 4 and a half years ago.
3:00 *JUST LOOK AT THOSE GUYS GETTING CLOSER TO THE CAMERA* 😂
Yo man, what's up 😂
Meanwhile I'm here in a dutch city, where this has been this way since the city was constructed about 500 years ago. We have a market place where cars are only allowed to go 15 km/h, it's a commercial and residential zone, and it has been this way since hundreds of years
Robin Tomey Didnt know that you had cars in the Netherlands 500 years ago..
uri1197 can you read properly? Clearly didn't say they had cars 500 years ago I said that the city center was constructed 500 years ago.
uri1197 lmao your hella dumb
uri1197 Is this the first year you started to learn how to read?
Robin Tomey We have squares and inner cities, not superblocks.
I'm totally down with this!
Why the flamenco music??? It’s Barcelona.
Because they figured Barcelona is in Spain, 'eh let's just put in stereotypical spanish music'
@@dazza2350 yeah
American infrastructure is ugly as hell. Needs less concrete everywhere.
Modern architecture. A lot of these European buildings were build ages ago.
OK, but that's no excuse to make modern stuff look ugly.
it's a matter off aestethics and simetric order
it varies from city to city like there are ugly ass american cities there is also ugly ass european cities altough beauty is a subjective term
yea can't argue about new york (I like) altough its simetry is post industrial and too linear and asfixiating misses those european curves
Or you can simply have a subway station on every street corner as already exists in Tokyo.
'Simply'
if you think that's simple, you have no idea the scope of what you're suggesting.
An Australian seeing the Tokyo train service is annoying because how train service just does not work. There is one route the Sydney to Newcastle and that almost always has a problem.
+TheMagrathean What's even odder, is that all Trains in Tokyo seem to fit the platforms like a glove! In the UK I'm so used to seeing over/under hang and some carriages not getting access to a platform, due to Trains being too long/the stop never getting expanded for longer trains.
Cyber Pixels
Tokyo's is magical. You go on a train and all the platforms completely fit the trains. There's also music that plays when the train stops, so blind people can use it easily. Oh and let's not forget about how clean it is!
I’ll be there this summer and I can’t wait.
thanks for quality content 👍