Environmental and health effects of the Barcelona superblocks
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- dc.contributor.author Pérez, Katherine
- dc.contributor.author Palència Fernàndez, Laia, 1980-
- dc.contributor.author López, Maria José
- dc.contributor.author León Gómez, Brenda Biaani
- dc.contributor.author Puig-Ribera, Anna
- dc.contributor.author Gómez Gutiérrez, Anna
- dc.contributor.author Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.
- dc.contributor.author Carrasco Turigas, Glòria
- dc.contributor.author Borrell i Thió, Carme
- dc.date.accessioned 2025-05-13T06:04:56Z
- dc.date.available 2025-05-13T06:04:56Z
- dc.date.issued 2025
- dc.description.abstract Background: The superblocks model of Barcelona (Spain) seeks to reorganize the city based on reversing the distribution of public space between vehicles and people by prioritizing citizens, thus improving their environmental conditions and quality of life. The objective of this paper was to describe the effects on environmental, health and quality of life of the first three superblocks implemented, discuss the lessons learned, and provide recommendations for the future. Methods: The evaluation included different approaches depending on the superblock analyzed: A pre-post-intervention health survey, environmental measures of air quality, the Microscale Audit of Urban Landscapes for Pedestrians (MAPS), an observational study on target areas of physical activity (SOPARC), ethnographic guerrilla studies, and focus groups. Results: Residents and workers in all three of the evaluated superblocks reported a perceived improvement in well-being, tranquillity and quality of sleep, some reduction in noise and pollution and an increase in social interaction. The built environment of the superblocks clearly influenced walkability, and the lower car traffic volume improved air quality measures. In one of the superblocks, the same intervention calmed traffic in one of the areas but not in another. Conclusions: Although on a small scale, this evaluation of the environmental, and health effects of the superblocks provides support for expanding the model to other areas of the city.
- dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
- dc.identifier.citation Pérez K, Palència L, López MJ, León-Gómez BB, Puig-Ribera A, Gómez-Gutiérrez A, et al. Environmental and health effects of the Barcelona superblocks. BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 17;25(1):634. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-21835-z
- dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21835-z
- dc.identifier.issn 1471-2458
- dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/70357
- dc.language.iso eng
- dc.publisher BioMed Central
- dc.relation.ispartof BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 17;25(1):634
- dc.rights © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
- dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- dc.subject.keyword City planning
- dc.subject.keyword Health determinants
- dc.subject.keyword Health in all policies
- dc.subject.keyword Program evaluation
- dc.subject.keyword Quality of life
- dc.title Environmental and health effects of the Barcelona superblocks
- dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
- dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion