This week, Lisbon is testing out the “superblock” concept

The urban transformation experiment is borrowed from Barcelona’s ‘superilla’ in a bid to see how replicable it is

This past weekend, Campo de Ourique, a central neighbourhood of Lisbon, launched an experimental initiative called "Há mais bairro no jardim!" (There’s more neighbourhood in the garden!). In essence, this will be an exact replication of Barcelona’s superilla (superblock) urban transformation.

The test phase, which will last a week (until 17 April), aims to find out how replicable the Catalan capital’s revolutionary urban idea is to other big cities.

What the ‘superblock’ entails is the grouping of several street blocks into a larger unit, by making the streets in their interior pedestrian and soft mobility spaces and pushing motorized traffic to the edges of the superblock.

“The eight sections of street that converge in the garden no longer have crossing traffic, becoming accessible space to local residents. Thus, a superblock is created made up of the garden and the eight surrounding blocks”, explains a leaflet distributed in the neighbourhood. That also explains the title of the initiative – in Lisbon, a small park serves as the focal point of the superblock.

Testing the future of urban mobility spaces

The idea of ​​introducing superblocks in Lisbon was initially discussed during a meeting of the Citizens' Council in May last year and thus it counts on the full support of the residents.

District authorities recognize that the experiment could also leave some residents unhappy, but they remind that two more car parks are already planned to be built in the neighbourhood, specifically in Pátio das Sedas and Travessa do Bahuto. 

Overall, however, the officials count on the understanding and participation of all residents. To evaluate the results, next week there will be a satisfaction survey conducted among residents and neighbourhood merchants.

The Parish Council will also organize several events, such as concerts, an open-air cinema and a composting workshop in order to promote the temporary community space and encourage people to get comfortable with it.