Barcelona and the 35 municipalities in its surrounding area have persistently failed to meet EU-established air quality targets.ДЄ study from the local Environmental Epidemiology Agency determined that 1,200 deaths could be prevented in the city yearly just by reaching EU-mandated levels for nitrogen dioxide levels (this would mean a five-month rise in life expectancy). What was once a design to make Barcelona healthier, now has to be dramatically rethought for the same reasons.ДЄccording to several studies, air pollution alone causes 3,500 premature deaths a year in BarcelonaвЂ™s metropolitan area (with a population of 3.2 million), as well as having severe effects on local ecosystems and agriculture. Reality and urban development have, however, got the best of it, and as the grid lines became choked with cars, the cityвЂ™s pollution and noise levels have skyrocketed. That revolutionary design, engineered by Ildefons CerdГ in the late 19th century, had at its core the idea that the city should breathe and вЂ“ for both ideological and public health reasons вЂ“ planned for the population to be spread out equally, as well as providing green spaces within each block. This plan will start in the famous gridded neighbourhood of Eixample.

The plan is based around the idea of superilles (superblocks) вЂ“ mini neighbourhoods around which traffic will flow, and in which spaces will be repurposed to вЂњfill our city with lifeвЂќ, as its tagline says. And it comes with something extra: freeing up nearly 60% of streets currently used by cars to turn them into so-called вЂњcitizen spacesвЂќ. Currently faced with excessive pollution and noise levels, the city has come up with a new mobility plan to reduce traffic by 21%.

In the latest attempt from a big city to move away from car hegemony, Barcelona has ambitious plans.

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