adding social care to barcelona’s superblocks urban planning.
The Superblocks ("superilles" in Catalan) is a revolutionary Urban Planning system that the Barcelona municipality has been implementing in neighborhoods since 2016. The core idea of superblocks is to maximize both urban and natural spaces by reducing car usage, thus preventing cities from sprawling into suburbs. With fewer cars, pedestrians reclaim public spaces, collaborating with authorities to co-create services and structures that support the common good. Superblocks shift away from single-use spaces, promoting multifunctionality and complexity in the urban environment.
As a University Professor, I guided design students in imagining a “social layer” to the superblocks’ urban planning. Using Human-Centered Design, students co-created with residents and social workers new solutions to improve the care quality provided to children and the elderly in Superblocks neighborhoods. The project ran for three years and was a collaboration between ELISAVA (Barcelona School of Design and Engineering) and Barcelona’s City Council Department of Social Services.
A design point of view, written with Ezio Manzini and The Care Lab.
