Transforming Urban Mobility: A Deep Dive into the Politics of Barcelona's Superblocks

The Barcelona Superblocks project is an ongoing urban transformation that is radically overhauling the face of communities and urban mobility throughout the city. It is a continuation of the city’s rich culture of undertaking massive, city-altering projects, such as Ildefons Cerdà’s ambitious plan that saw Barcelona expand beyond its medieval barriers in the 1850s. Furthermore, the city’s status as a hotbed for social movements laid the groundwork for the rise of Ada Colau’s government in 2015, which has pursued a distinct governance style as a means to construct a bottom-up urban regime. This change represents a stark change from the top-down regime dictated by an alliance between city council and business elites which promulgated a growth-centred planning approach that emerged in the planning of the 1992 Olympics. Hence, the success of the superblocks project is also a reflection of the fortunes of this new regime and its efforts to build a new form of governance in the city.