Placemaking Barcelona

In #Barcelona for 48 hours—despite rainy, unpredictable weather—the city remained an endless source of inspiration. We took the time to just sit, reflect, and discuss our shared interests in #feministurbandesign, weaving together personal and professional experiences. Through our network, we've realized that emotional support is truly essential for this work; creating a space for free expression is sometimes all that's needed. At #LaRaposa, a #feminist library and café, we found a place to share, vent, and connect, and soon, The Gendered City book will be available there, right where it belongs. Very grateful to Karen Whybro for enriching this conversation by her inspiring work. It was amazing to sit and talk with our network and beyond Sonia Ríos, Vineeta Shetty, Jayashree Chandrappa, Raphaela Mak, Guilherme M., and many more :)

This week, I had the opportunity to attend the Walkable Streets program, a two-day intensive masterclass organized by City Lab Barcelona. I deepened my understanding of the transformational potential of walkable urban spaces, by looking into the case studies of Superblocks, Green Axes, and School Streets here in Barcelona — the city I call home. Throughout the program, we learned from three experts with hands-on experience: 🚲 Jordi Honey-Rosés – Senior researcher in urban planning at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, with extensive knowledge on walkability, emphasized the social, environmental, economic and health benefits. His passion and insight into these impacts made the concept of walkable streets come alive. 🌳 Xavier Matilla – Barcelona’s Chief Architect from October 2019 to June 2023, key in making the so-called Superilla initiative of pedestrianisation a reality, with the recent Consell de Cent development as its highlight. His leadership has reshaped the city, into a healthier, friendlier and fairer place. 🤾♀️Sara Ortiz Escalante – Feminist urban planner and activist working at Col·lectiu Punt 6, demonstrated how urban planning and design can, and should, be more inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the diverse needs of all city dwellers. She showcased ways to make public spaces feel safer and more welcoming for all, from a intersectional feminist perspective. The Superilla started as a small and tactile city pilot in the neighbourhood of Poblenou, working together with architecture students. Powered by political will and extensive, continuous citizen engagement, the Superilla has since evolved into a major urban movement. Seeing this progression within my own city brought a new layer of appreciation for how thoughtful urban design and community-driven initiatives can reshape neighbourhoods and improve quality of life. This experience has strengthened my commitment to promoting walkable, inclusive urban spaces. Working at EIT Urban Mobility, I’m excited to carry forward these insights and contribute to creating cities that prioritize people, health, and sustainability.

Great to have another fab city on the Placemaking radar!

Nos acercamos a la Plaza de las Glòries acompañados de varios compañeros de profesión, todos arquitectos, con la intención de intentar comprender qué había sucedido en aquel edificio. Nos preguntábamos qué cúmulo de errores burocráticos o urbanísticos había permitido que una fachada tan desastrosa se situara en un solar tan primordial dentro de la que será la plaza más importante del Área Metropolitana de Barcelona. No entendimos en qué momento nadie había obligado a desfragmentar volumétricamente esa pantalla en, al menos, dos volúmenes de diferente altura, lo cual habría permitido una mejor integración con la altura del edificio dels Encants y un crecimiento en forma de rascacielos hacia la Diagonal. No entendimos porque se ocultó la madera con la que estan construidos. Nos preguntábamos si quizás la intervención de un artista gráfico podría rescatar la estética de esa fachada o si, tal vez, una o dos esculturas gigantescas de Plensa justo delante servirían para ocultar sus defectos. Confío en que lo que queda por desarrollar en las fachadas de la plaza no repita estos errores. Como comentó uno de mis colegas, lo que debía hacerse era trasladar el estilo de lo que hay en el area de la Torre Agbar, sin necesidad de pensar mucho más.

This is happening, and I can't wait to meet our amazing FEM. DES. #Barcelona and extended network! 😊 A Sunday gathering feels like the perfect opportunity to make it happen! So looking forward to meeting Karen Whybro, Honorata Grzesikowska, Elena Luongo, Yidi WANG, Jayashree Chandrappa, Cecilia De Marinis, and many more :) Also placemakers 🤍 Lauren Schiff, Guilherme M., and Vineeta Shetty. Thanks to Romain L. and Lauren Schiff for pointing out this place :)

Today, Friday 27th from 5 pm. to 7p.m. leaving from Parc del Clot, I'll have the honor to lead the first edition of the World Wide Wander event in Barcelona. It's a creative exercise idealized by Street Wisdom and hosted in several cities worldwide, that encourages citizens to walk and explore the city with our senses. Join me and let's wrap up the week with a dose of connection and inspiration. More info and sign up here: https://lu.ma/hbhr1wjr Meeting point 👉 https://lnkd.in/dqy3D8Pn

It was an inspiring and enjoyable afternoon walking through the Superillas of Barcelona. A big thanks to Vineeta Shetty for organising this, together with the Placemaking Barcelona folks and to Jordi Honey-Rosés for generously sharing your expertise on such a fascinating topic! We explored what drives Barcelona’s remarkable ability to rapidly transform its streets. Our walk through the Superblocks in Sant Antoni and Eixample showed us how, since 2016, intersections have been reimagined—starting with the first iconic tactical interventions and evolving into more structural changes, particularly in the Eixample. Key moments of reflection focused on Salvador Rueda’s vision of a people-centred city, where cars are secondary to pedestrian spaces, recreation, and community life. His long-term advocacy for the Superblocks is finally seeing widespread adoption. We also examined the concept of the Green Axis and the challenges of distributing green space across Cerdà's grid. How will this plan compare to the broader Green Axis strategy for the city? Among the questions we explored:   - What does the future hold for the Superblock project under Barcelona’s new mayor?   - Will these transformations be enough to meet the growing demand for more livable, green urban spaces? One highlight of the tour was learning about the Joan Oliver Library in Sant Antoni, designed by RCR Architects with both children and the elderly in mind. We also discussed the San Antoni market, a great example of a participatory design process that prioritised community needs over tourism, keeping it rooted in local identity. Another amazing initative was to know about the bicibus initiative-check it out (https://lnkd.in/dhX-W3pE). Barcelona's streets are evolving—let’s see what the future holds!

Next Thursday September 19th we will be sharing new data on bicycle theft in Barcelona and launching our campaign to report bike theft on the BiciZen platform. We will be meeting at the protected bike parking space run by the CUBIC co-op. I hope to see many of you there.

Perhaps the most ambitious car-free scheme on the continent, Montréal has pedestrianized 11 commercial arteries—totalling 9.4 kilometres—in seven boroughs this summer. A pandemic-era initiative pushed by chambers of commerce, they have quickly become cherished destinations for locals and tourists alike. Montréal City Hall invested $12-million between 2022 and 2024 to open the streets in front of 2,100 local businesses: “The boroughs, business owners, residents, customers, passers-by, and tourists appreciate the quality of life offered by pedestrianization projects.” - Mayor Valérie Plante. Ultimately, these car-free streets are built on the recognition that shopping districts can either attract cars or people. They can’t successfully do both. And in an age of online retail, these brick-and-mortar businesses realize that they really can’t compete on expedience—so they must compete on experience.