The forefront of cleaner, people-centred cities

Cities are dense and struggling with high levels of air pollution, sedentary behaviour and noise problems linked to car-centred urban planning. Traffic also takes up large areas in cities, resulting in lack of green spaces, and it is obvious that our oil dependency has fuelled climate change. Three cities with governments that are up for the challenge of re-thinking cities are Paris, Oslo and Barcelona, which are working to transform their cities from car-
centred to people-centred.

Barcelona

The government of the city of Barcelona has approved a campaign christened “Let’s fill the streets with life” with the aim of improving the quality of life of people and bringing the city closer to solving environmental challenges. The goal is to make Barcelona a pleasant city to live in, by implementing “Superilles” (superblocks) based on reversing the distribution of public space between vehicles and people to prioritise citizens. The aim is to improve the environmental conditions and quality of life of the people. The first steps were taken in 2016 and involve creating superblocks in three neighbourhoods of Barcelona: Poblenou, Sant Antoni and Horta. In Sant Antoni, a 25% reduction in NO₂ levels and a 17% reduction in PM₁₀ levels were observed in the intervention area. People report better rest, less perceived noise and air pollution, and increased socialization. They found the superblocks to be quieter, more comfortable and safer environments that facilitate social interactions. A study found that the re-design of the city could save 667 premature deaths from reductions in air pollution and noise, and more active travel.

https://www.aspb.cat/documents/english-aspb_salut-carrers-resultsreport-...

Paris

The brain behind the 15-minute city is Carlos Moreno. The idea is simple: that anyone living in an urban environment, like Paris, should have access to all their daily needs – shopping, education, health, leisure, even work – within an easily reachable 15-minute walk or cycle ride. And because we are talking about Paris, somewhere to socialise, such as a bar, café or restaurant, is of course part of the planning.

“Unnecessary transport times have accelerated our lives, shortened our days to the detriment of family, leisure and the environment,” says Carlos Moreno, the city planner who came up with the concept in 2015.

The concept is that cities should be developed for people rather than cars and that the whole idea is to make life easier and healthier for everyone. Paris is going ahead with the concept and has been doing so since 2020. An expanded network made up of hundreds of kilometres of new bike lanes is a key part of the project and it is certainly well used, with more and more people taking up cycling. Another focus is an expanding area of car-free streets and walkways along the banks of the Seine. Moreno’s idea was driven by his desire to come up with ways of cutting carbon emissions in cities and address the way that long commutes degrade quality of life. Mayor Hidalgo wants to make Paris greener, less polluted and more practical for its 2.2 million residents. She is also driven by a desire to make life more bearable during increasingly frequent and deadly summer heatwaves – in August last year, a temperature of 56°C was recorded in Paris. The mayor wants to plant 170,000 trees by 2026 to mitigate the urban heat island effect. The city authorities are also tearing up concrete school yards to lay down soil and plant trees. School yards are also opened after school hours to serve as green areas for residents. Those who remember Paris for the crazy traffic around the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées will have to rethink their image of Paris. These areas will be turned into gardens, and polluting cars will be heavily restricted. The clean-up of the Seine has been accelerated so that people will be able to swim again in the Seine in 2025 – just over 100 years after the practice was banned in 1923.

Paris, the 15-minute city – The New European, https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/paris-the-15-minute-city/

Oslo

Oslo is another city where politicians want to change the paradigm of cities built for cars. The Car-Free Livability Programme is about giving the streets back to people. Citizens of Oslo asked for more green areas, seating, culture and social interactions. They also asked for roads that accommodate cyclists, better public transport and fewer cars in the city centre.

“Our main objective is to give the streets back to the people,” Hanna Marcussen, Oslo’s Vice Mayor for Urban Development told BBC Future.

To reach this goal, Oslo began closing off streets in the city centre to cars entirely. The city removed 760 on-street parking spots inside the city’s inner ring road and replaced them with cycling lanes, benches and miniature parks. The first actions took place in six pilot areas in the summer of 2017, when half of the parking spaces were removed. Further parking spaces were removed in 2018, and measures were taken to change mobility patterns.

Oslo opened several new pedestrian streets and installed benches and playgrounds. Most importantly, they turned the traditional planning pyramid upside down – putting people’s needs at the top and private cars at the bottom. There has of course been opposition, but one key success was the involvement of public and private interests in the design process. Stakeholders, such as shop owners and trade associations, feared the consequences for customer access to shops in the city centre. The dialogue inspired and promoted innovations within the private sector, giving rise to environmentally friendly and health-promoting forms of mobility. Accessibility was also important and those with disabilities were given more parking spaces than previously. Public acceptance improved even more when people started enjoying the people-centred streets, and the planners are expanding to more areas.

At the root of the changes in Oslo was a survey conducted by urban architect Jan Gehl which showed that many people found the city centre to be lacking in life. To bring about urban transformation and create more people-oriented cities, Jan Gehl recommends:

Design based on environmentally friendly and efficient transportation, not “cheap petrol”.
Let city life guide urban design.
Design for all your senses, not just the ones you use when driving.
Make public transportation and shared solutions more attractive and more accessible.
Remove the cars!

Car-free Livability Programm, https://www.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/13319592-1553857948/Content/Poli...

Road traffic

In this issue

Making the most of waste heat

The total excess heat in the EU covers almost all of the EU’s total energy demand for heat and hot water in residential and service sector buildings. This potential needs to be utilised, especially during these times of energy and climate crises.

Editorial: EU could be powered by recycled heat

Preventing heat waste has largely been ignored as a solution. A new report by the global engineering company Danfoss highlights the potential of excess heat recovery.

Germany shuts down last three nuclear reactors, ending nuclear power era

Germany switched off its last three nuclear reactors on 15 April, marking the end of its nuclear power era.

Global heating threatens northern forests

In the last month, fires have ravaged forests in both Canada and Russia. This is just the latest of many similar examples.

Unlocking the potential of ocean energy

To ensure affordable energy and limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 °C there is an urgent need to transition rapidly from a centralised energy system that heavily relies on fossil fuels. Ocean energy is one of the technologies that should be scaled up to support the transition of the energy system to reach full decarbonisation.

A quantative take on Russian forests

Russia has one fifth of the global forest area. This area has remained relatively constant in recent decades, but clear cutting and wildfires are altering the species composition.

Ocean acidification in the climate negotiations

If ocean acidification was redefined as an effect of climate change, the UNFCCC could interpret its existing framework so that parties were required to take action on the issue.

The forefront of cleaner, people-centred cities

The Swedish Greenwashing Prize – more than a decade of ironic awards highlighting misleading claims

Each year, for over a decade, Friends of the Earth Sweden has announced a winner of its Swedish Greenwashing Prize – an ironic booby prize that turns the spotlight on misleading and false claims.

The EU needs to do more to reduce methane emissions

The EU has signed the Global Methane Pledge but action to slash methane emissions in the energy and agriculture sectors is lagging behind. Urgent measures are needed to reduce methane emissions while at the same time much more action is also needed to reduce all other greenhouse gas emissions.

E-fuels are a detour on our way to decarbonisation

It takes four times as much energy to drive a car on e-fuels compared to batteries. In addition, they emit as much air pollution as a car running on fossil fuels.

Green incentives are at the heart as UK rolls out its CAP replacement

Public money for public goods is the principle behind the new Environmental Land Management schemes in England – the jury is still out on whether it can sustain farmers’ livelihoods while also protecting the environment.

Nitrogen deposition threat to 60 per cent of European ecosystems

Most affected are regions with intensive livestock rearing. Scenarios show that both technical measures and a reduction in animal numbers are needed to tackle the problem.

Dramatic vanishing of polar sea ice and ice sheets

Polar sea ice and ice sheets are continuing to melt rapidly according to many new studies. The end-of-winter Arctic sea ice extent in March 2023 was the fifth lowest in the satellite record, while the area of Antarctic sea ice fell to a record low.

Main menu

The forefront of cleaner, people-centred cities

Barcelona

Paris

Oslo

In this issue

Making the most of waste heat

Editorial: EU could be powered by recycled heat

Germany shuts down last three nuclear reactors, ending nuclear power era

Global heating threatens northern forests

Unlocking the potential of ocean energy

A quantative take on Russian forests

Ocean acidification in the climate negotiations

The forefront of cleaner, people-centred cities

The Swedish Greenwashing Prize – more than a decade of ironic awards highlighting misleading claims

The EU needs to do more to reduce methane emissions

E-fuels are a detour on our way to decarbonisation

Green incentives are at the heart as UK rolls out its CAP replacement

Nitrogen deposition threat to 60 per cent of European ecosystems

Dramatic vanishing of polar sea ice and ice sheets

Publications

Food for Thought

Northern forests, climate change and the UNFCCC

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Collaborative-Learning project

Air pollution in Europe and children’s health

Climate Change: A Himalayan Odessey

No further discussion needed. The agreed global goal is to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C

Fossil-free electricity 2021

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Air pollution

Climate Change

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