The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Barcelona is often cited by New Urbanists for livability and human scale. One reason is the block structure of Eixample, a district designed by Ildefons Cerdà in the 19^th Century. Buildings have chamfered corners at intersections, yielding air, light & visibility. Today, much of this space is taken up by on-street parking and high volumes of traffic. Octagonal-shaped intersections mean that pedestrians must walk somewhat out of their way to cross the street (not in a straight line). Regardless, the public realm is improving throughout Barcelona with the current implementation of “Superblocks,” limiting private automobile use to certain thoroughfares.  --- by Zeke Mermell, AICP, LEED AP