Barcelona wants to breathe

As most of the cities, Barcelona has an undeniable environmental problem mainly caused by motorized vehicles. During the last month of October, the effects of an anticyclone over the city skyrocketed the pollution level, reaching rates three times over the maximum level allowed by the UE.

The Catalan Government was forced to take measures, and so set a limit of 80 Km/h for traffic in the city rings. But this was far from being sufficiently effective. 

Charging point signal. (c) G. Héctor

It is obvious that other short-term solutions are needed in order to prevent this kind of events from happening again. Pollution in cities is the main reason why most sectors of society are trying to boost the use of alternative energies for vehicles. In Barcelona, an experimental project for electric mobility is being carried out by both private and public initiatives. “Live”, in this sense, is a new platform promoting the electric vehicle, in what constitutes an opportunity to position the city as a center of innovation within this field.

Although the project is in its first implementation’s phase, there are already 242 charging points in the city, a considerable amount for a place like Barcelona (in London, a much bigger city, there are 263 - just 21 more). Besides, the city has a fleet of 248 cleaning vehicles and 21 motorbikes for different uses, all of them running on electricity. As for citizens using this kind of technology, the City Council currently offers some benefits for people who purchase an electric vehicle, such as a 75% reduction of the circulation tax. 

Traffic in a narrow street. (c) G. Héctor

Barcelona, on the top 10 of Smart Cities

“Live” is the main reason why, in January 2012, Barcelona appeared for the first time on the top ten list of Smart cities. Bearing in mind that last October the city was exceeding the permitted pollution level - and what is worse: that this can happen again - , it is not so clear that Barcelona has suddenly become one of the 10 smartest cities. Something is not quite right about the situation, and more drastic measures are likely to be taken shortly. However, firm projects like “Live” show a commitment that can give us some hope for the future.

Photo (teaser): Toni Tugués  
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