Innovating streets for people:
Re-programming Barcelona facing the climate emergency
Presented by Xavier Matilla, Chief Architect of Barcelona City Council
2 December 2020
About the webinar
Thanks to the organisation of Urbanhub Aotearoa in liaison with Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency, we are pleased to announce this opportunity for local government, academic forums and members of professional associations to engage with Barcelona City Council and learn about the role of tactical urbanism and co-design in the implementation of the Barcelona “superblock”.
Public space is our cities’ most valuable asset. Returning public space to people is the foundation of a sustainable city model. Currently, private motorists occupy most of our public space relegating pedestrians to sidewalks creating dysfunctional and unequal cities. As a response, Barcelona has recently released funds (44 million euros) to implement in the next 10 years, a variation of Salvador Rueda’s “superblock” concept. One in three streets in Barcelona’s “eixample”, will soon become “green axes” that prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.
About the presenter
Xavier Matilla is the current Chief Architect of Barcelona City Council (Ajuntament de Barcelona). He is in charge of the tactical urbanism interventions carried out by the Urban Ecology Authority (Model Urbà Ecologia Urbana) and an associate professor at the Architecture School of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (ETSAV-UPC).
