Livable neighborhoods for sustainable cities: Insights from Barcelona

The paper proposes a reflection on the superblock model - or supermanzana, in its well-known Spanish application - in the context of the debate on the 15-minute city and on the functional reorganization of mobility and public space to improve the quality of life, health and accessibility in urban areas. The impacts of car traffic on the livability of cities and neighborhoods, in terms of safety, air pollution, noise, but also in terms of consumption and quality of public space, are widely acknowledged. These issues are not new to the debate: since the first decades of the 20th century, with the advent and rapid diffusion of the automobile, concerns on the impacts of vehicular traffic and issues of urban livability and traffic separation have been raised by urban and transport planners. As a consequence, various models of neighborhood planning emerged, proposing solutions to limit these impacts. The supermanzana model takes up the principles of neighborhood planning by identifying a main road network and setting up a system of superblocks within the meshes of this network, in order to improve accessibility, equity, health and livability; it aims on the one hand to transform public spaces at the neighborhood level and on the other hand to reorganize the existing urban structure. The application of the supermanzana model in Barcelona offers an interesting contribution to the debate on the 15-minute city, showing how the principle of traffic separation can be applied to existing, dense urban contexts, reclaiming public space to more livable neighborhoods and sustainable cities. The analysis of the case study of Barcelona can contribute to research and policy, learning from this experience and especially from the critical issues that emerged

Implementing the Supermanzana approach in Barcelona. Critical issues at local and urban level

To improve neighbourhood liveability and urban sustainability, Barcelona is seeking to re-organize its urban structure into superblocks, designed to discourage cut-through traffic and promote multiple uses of street space. Despite its potential, this approach is not without its limits, that should be properly taken into account. The implementation of the Supermanzana model in the Poblenou neighbourhood is explored in this paper to analyse its potentialities and constraints. Temporal synchronization between the urban level and the neighbourhood level turns out to be particularly important to reduce conflicts and criticalities

METRO - The role and future perspectives of Cohesion Policy in the planning of Metropolitan Areas and Cities. Annex III: Metropolitan City of Turin case study

The Metropolitan City of Turin, which is one of the case studies of the ESPON METRO project, is a wide area, second level local authority which replaced the former Province of Turin from January 1st, 2015. The metropolitan institution brings together 312 municipalities, covering a very large and heterogeneous territory, from dense urban areas to small towns and villages, much larger than the functional urban area of Turin. It is the largest metropolitan city in Italy, fourth in population size (2.2Mln inhabitants) and seventh in population density (330 inh/km2). Metropolitan Cities are administrative units formally established in Italy by the reform of local authorities (National Law 56/2014), replacing the respective Province authorities. The Italian Metropolitan cities still perform all the functions of the previous Province authorities, and have additional functions, such as strategic, spatial and mobility planning, organization of coordinated systems for the management of public services, mobility and transport, promotion and coordination of digitalization and economic and social development. Despite the high level of institutionalization and competences of the Metropolitan City of Turin, which is formally acknowledged as an entity also enjoying a supranational relevance when it comes to access EU funds, the institution does not have relevant role and competences in the elaboration of key policy and programming documents of the EU cohesion policy and in their management and implementation, while the Region and the national level are the main actors. In this case study report, the potential and actual role of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the implementation of the cohesion policy, and the impact of the cohesion policy on metropolitan development and governance are analysed. After a territorial and socio-economic contextualization of the area, the metropolitan governance and cooperation activities are presented. Then, the cohesion policy institutional architecture and policy instruments are presented, and the role of the metropolitan actors in the planning and implementation of the cohesion policy is examined, as well as its coordination with metropolitan governance. The cohesion policy impact on metropolitan development and governance is then presented, analyzing the coherence and synergies of its instruments and goals with metropolitan ones, the funding magnitude and the related impact. Issues related to the response to the COVID-19 emergency are presented in each of the three core sections of the report. Finally, the last section of the report summarizes the main challenges and recommendations

Governare la transizione alla guida autonoma in un’ottica di vivibilità urbana

La diffusione dei veicoli a guida autonoma (VGA) promette di avere un impatto dirompente sulla mobilità urbana. Se in un primo momento la letteratura scientifica si è concentrata su aspetti di innovazione tecnologica, sicurezza, normativa e sui dilemmi etici associati all’automazione dei processi decisionali, negli ultimi anni sta emergendo un dibattito sui potenziali impatti urbani e territoriali di questa innovazione tecnologica, e su come governarli. In particolare, stanno emergendo preoccupazioni in merito a possibili criticità che la diffusione dei VGA (soprattutto se lasciata al mercato e non propriamente guidata dall’amministrazione pubblica) potrebbe generare, quali una crescente dipendenza dall’auto, il declino del trasporto pubblico locale, la riduzione della mobilità attiva, lo sprawl, etc. Questo contributo presenta i risultati di un processo di backcasting collaborativo applicato sul caso studio di Torino, che ha definito una visione al 2050 basata sull’applicazione estensiva del modello dei superblocchi, e la roadmap per raggiungere tale visione, governando la diffusione dei VGA verso obiettivi di sostenibilità e vivibilità urbana. Gli esiti del progetto mostrano quanto indirizzare la transizione alla guida autonoma verso una visione desiderata sia un processo complesso, che richiede azioni già sul breve periodo, una pianificazione di medio e lungo periodo e la cooperazione tra molteplici soggetti e settori

Relaciones interculturales, mercado de trabajo y localización socio-espacial de los inmigrantes bolivianos que residen en áreas urbanas y periurbanas de la ciudad de Córdoba

Este proyecto estudiará los procesos de segmentación del mercado laboral y de segregación socio-espacial de los inmigrantes bolivianos en áreas urbanas y peri-urbanas de la ciudad de Córdoba, y las maneras en que dichos procesos son justificados a través de estereotipos basados en distinciones culturales y/o raciales. Focalizaremos sobre las relaciones de desigualdad y de explotación que signan el mercado de trabajo y otros espacios de sociabilidad en el contexto actual de acumulación del capital. Nos planteamos las siguientes hipótesis: 1) Los inmigrantes bolivianos que residen en la ciudad de Córdoba se vinculan, como mano de obra no calificada, con un mercado laboral informal segmentado étnicamente, en el marco de procesos discriminatorios basados en estereotipos étnico-raciales. 2) Algunos inmigrantes bolivianos lograron cierta movilidad económicoproductiva, convirtiéndose en patrones de sus co-nacionales en diferentes sectores (construcción, horticultura, comercio informal, industria de indumentaria), hecho que es facilitado por la activación de redes migratorias. 3) Los estereotipos sobre los bolivianos son re-significados y, a veces, confrontados por agentes vinculados con los medios y con organismos gubernamentales y no gubernamentales. 4) La segregación residencial es otro mecanismo discriminatorio que favorece la exclusión de los inmigrantes trabajadores. Nuestro objetivo principal es caracterizar los diferentes ámbitos laborales en los que se desempeñan los inmigrantes bolivianos en la ciudad de Córdoba y conceptualizar las relaciones inter e intra culturales que se dan en ese marco, teniendo en cuenta la incidencia de: las redes migratorias, las trayectorias migratorias y laborales, y la heterogeneidad de los capitales de los inmigrantes; la localización socio-espacial de los lugares de trabajo y de otros espacios de sociabilidad; y, las maneras en que diversos agentes reproducen o confrontan los estereotipos sobre los bolivianos. Se aplicará una estrategia de triangulación de métodos y de técnicas. Desde un enfoque cuantitativo analizaremos los aspectos socio-demográficos de la población de origen boliviano que reside en la ciudad de Córdoba, teniendo en cuenta su inserción laboral y ubicación socio-espacial en áreas urbanas y peri-urbanas. Se analizarán periódicos de edición provincial y aquellos editados por organizaciones de inmigrantes bolivianos en Córdoba y en Buenos Aires. Se caracterizarán las acciones y políticas destinadas a inmigrantes bolivianos. Se realizarán estudios etnográficos de casos en las áreas urbanas y peri-urbanas en donde residen y/o trabajan inmigrantes bolivianos. Se desarrollarán talleres destinados a inmigrantes bolivianos con el objetivo de reflexionar sobre sus derechos laborales y sus derechos como inmigrantes.Fil: Pizarro, Cynthia Alejandra. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales; ArgentinaFil: Fontana, Silvia Esther. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales; ArgentinaFil: Conrero, Sofía. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencia Política y Relaciones Internacionales; ArgentinaFil: Universidad Católica de Córdoba; Argentina