Barcelona

Walkable, mixed-use neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain

Could Los Angeles Emulate Barcelona’s ‘Superblocks’?

A proposal in the city council could bring the ‘superblock’ model to Los Angeles, opening up neighborhood streets to more biking, walking, and public amenities.

August 15, 2022 - The Real Deal

Miner Street Al Fresco

The Post-Pandemic Street

From designing streets to designing process.

December 22, 2020 - David Vega-Barachowitz

Paris Aerial

From Paris to Portland: The 15-Minute City Goes Mainstream

Raising the bar on the 20-minute neighborhood model, cities around the world are embracing the appeal of the 15-minute city during the coronavirus pandemic.

November 18, 2020 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Coronavirus and Urbanism

Barcelona's Long-Term, Pedestrian-First Plan Continues with the 'Barcelona Superblock'

Mayor Ada Colau announced the next step in Barcelona's plan to convert the city center into a "new city for the present and the future."

November 15, 2020 - Bloomberg CityLab

Conference Hall

Uncertain Times for Trade Shows and Conferences

Expecting a dark winter, conferences are being canceled worldwide, putting millions of jobs at risk.

November 10, 2020 - Cities of the Future

Coronavirus and Urbanism

Tourism-Based Urban Economies Will Have to Innovate to Survive the Pandemic

It is time to make bold, disruptive changes to Barcelona's economy, according to this article, by fueling innovation, sustainability, and policies to improve residents' quality of life.

September 15, 2020 - Cities of the Future

Dallas Freeways

When Cities Are Designed for Driving, Car Bans Are Not the Solution

Banning cars will not be effective as long as U.S. cities continue to prioritize transportation systems where mobility is dependent on driving.

January 13, 2020 - Brookings

SoHo Broadway

To Map the City's Retail Health You Need to Walk the Streets

Barcelona and Manhattan, two municipalities with the same population and retail model, share many similarities and a couple of things they can learn from each other.

January 7, 2020 - Cities of the Future

Women in the City

What Would Cities Look Like if They Were Designed by Women?

Cities are built by men, and so too often urban design does not reflect the needs, perspectives, and realities of women.

November 11, 2019 - BBC

Ciutat Vella

Barcelona's Ambitious Plan to Become a Post-Car City

Barcelona is planning to expand on its initial superblock experiment in an attempt to ease the stranglehold of car congestion and air pollution gripping the dense city.

April 9, 2019 - Vox

Portland, Oregon

Planning a Successful Neighborhood Square

Insight from Barcelona and Portland on how to plan and design an active, welcoming neighborhood square.

November 29, 2018 - The Western Planner

residential downtown in Singapore

Singapore Wins Smart City of 2018 Award

The city of Singapore has been chosen as the Smart City of 2018 at the Smart City Expo World Congress to recognize the most outstanding initiatives and projects in the urban innovation and transformation industry.

November 17, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Smart Cities World Congress Opens its Biggest Event

Organized by Fira de Barcelona at its Gran Via venue, the event is the largest to date, with over 840 exhibiting companies, 700 attending cities and a 31% increase regarding exhibition space, occupying two pavilions for the first time.

November 14, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Electric Scooter Share

Bad Break for Scooter Rental Company in its Hometown

Years before there was e-scooter-share, there was electric (Vespa-like) scooter-share in San Francisco by start-up Scoot. Now that they are ready to launch electric bikeshare, the city won't let them, unlike Barcelona, Spain where it began service.

May 31, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Madrid Street

Madrid Seeks to Sharply Curtail Short-Term Rentals

A suite of restrictions under consideration in Madrid would eliminate short-term rentals from 95 percent of the city.

May 16, 2018 - The Local

Streetscape

European Cities take EU Commission to Court over 'License to Pollute' Diesel Regulations

Mayors of Paris, Brussels, and Madrid fight for cleaner air for their citizens. Barcelona has not yet joined the plaintiffs.

May 15, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Driverless Shuttle

Uber GM for Spain: Driverless Model Will Create Jobs

Despite the fatal crash in Arizona and growing fears that taxi drivers will lose their livelihood, Juan Galiardo says he is optimistic that the transition to driverless will “ultimately be beneficial.”

March 30, 2018 - Cities of the Future

Smart City Expo World Congress to Focus on Citizen Empowerment and Mobility

The event will focus on the strategies to empower metropolises and their citizens through active participation, critical reflection, awareness and access. The new Smart Mobility World Congress will be a global mobility hub.

November 3, 2017 - Cities of the Future

Barcelona Needs Swift Action Against Pollution

The capital of Catalunya is suffering from persistent high pollution due to car density and the largest number of motorcycles in Europe. City administrators, aware of the situation, have been unwilling to take any action that would upset drivers.

January 6, 2017 - Cities of the Future

Barcelona

Barcelona Tackles its Traffic, Pollution With Parking Policies and Superblocks

We talked to Barcelona's mobility guru, Mercedes Vidal, about how the high pollution levels that are pushing the city to rethink heavy traffic flows, provide faster more efficient public transport and hike up parking fees.

November 8, 2016 - Cities of the Future

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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.