On April 16, Dr. Oriol Marquet will participate in the LISER’s RSS seminar, presenting “Assessing the acceptance and political impact of transformative urban policies: the case of 15-minute cities and Barcelona’s superblocks”. This event is hybrid and will take place from 11:00 to 12:30.
Transformative urban policies such as 15-minute cities and superblocks are gaining traction in cities across Europe, promising a seamless transition to low-carbon modes of transport without resorting to potentially unpopular bans and restrictions. However, these optimistic assumptions have been challenged by recent protests and backlash. 2023 saw a surge in protests against the 15-minute city concept, and in cities such as Barcelona, the superblock policy became a central point of controversy in local elections. This opposition, expressed both in the political arena and in public opinion, exposed an unexpected level of resistance to urban innovations that were previously believed to have great appeal.
These dynamics reveal our limited understanding of the factors that trigger acceptability and opposition to policies aimed at transforming the urban environment to encourage active modes of travel. They also highlight our lack of knowledge about the real political cost to policymakers willing to implement such initiatives. This talk aims to break down the main sources of public discontent related to policies such as 15-minute cities. Furthermore, it will use the case of Barcelona’s superblocks to assess the political costs or benefits in local elections associated with the implementation of such policies.
Photography: Lamberto Ramon Torres
