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If you imagine a typical American city street,
大家想象一个典型的美国城市街道，
and you take away the space that's dedicated to cars, you aren't left with very much.
然后拿走汽车专用的空间，剩下的空间就没多少了。
There are some narrow walkways on the side, and some bridges in between them, but not much else.
马路两旁有一些狭窄的人行道，也有连通这些人行道的人行横道，但除此之外基本就没什么空间了。
Cars dominate cities.
汽车主宰着我们的城市。
Spend some time walking around most cities and you'll find yourself pushed to narrow sidewalks, waiting for crosswalk lights.
只要花点儿时间到大多数城市中转转，你会发现自己被挤到了狭窄的人行道上等红绿灯，
You'll find cyclists navigating really narrow strips of space.
自行车也只能在狭窄的夹缝里通行。
Americans are used to cars the way that fish are used to water.
汽车对于美国人，就如同鱼对于水一样习以为常。
That's so ubiquitous in the U.S. that I think for most people, it just never occurred to them that it could be otherwise.
这种情况在美国无处不在，所以，在我看来，大多数人都从未想过没有这么多汽车会怎么样。
But what if there were a way to change that?
问题是，如果真的有办法改变现状，
To give space back to pedestrians and bicyclists, and to make cities more friendly to life outside of a car?
把道路空间还给行人和自行车，让城市对汽车之外的生活更友好呢？
It turns out Barcelona might have a solution.
事实证明，巴塞罗那可能有办法了。
In 2014, the city was faced with serious air pollution problems.
2014年，该市面临严重的空气污染问题。
Barcelona and its 35 surrounding municipalities consistently failed to meet the EU's air quality targets.
巴塞罗那及周边的35个城市一直未能达到欧盟的空气质量目标。
Studies were showing that air pollution in the region causes 3,500 premature deaths every year.
研究表明，该地区的空气污染每年会造成3500人过早死亡。
Traffic in the city also causes severe noise pollution.
此外，城市交通也带来了严重的噪音污染。
So the city developed an extensive Urban Mobility Plan with the hope of reducing traffic by 21 percent.
因此，该市制定了内容广泛的《城市交通规划》，希望将交通量减少21％。
The coolest part of the plan were these things:
这个计划最牛的地方就是这些方块：
They call them "superilles". Superilles? "Si, superilles."
他们把这些方块叫作“superilles”。superilles？“是的，superilles。”
That translates to "superblocks".
翻译过来就是"超级街区"。
It's this urban design concept intended to minimize the presence of cars in city centers.
就是一种旨在最大限度地减少城市中心汽车数量的城市设计理念。
The word "superblock" has been used before to describe huge city blocks without any passageways for cars.
尽管之前也有人用"超级街区"这个词来形容没有任何汽车通道的超大型城市街区。
But that's not what's happening here.
但那并不是巴塞罗那的情形。
So here's how Barcelona's plan works.
接下来我们就来说说塞罗那方案的具体情况。
You take nine square city blocks and close off the inside to through traffic.
就那这个九宫格的社区来说，将九宫格的内部对车辆彻底关闭。
So buses, big freight trucks — or any vehicles that are trying to get from one part of town to the next — have to drive around the perimeter.
这样一来，公交，大货车 - 以及任何试图从城镇的一头到达另一头的车辆 - 都必须绕着这个九宫格的周边通过。
Inside the superblock, the speed limit is kept to 10 kilometers per hour — that translates to just over 6 miles per hour —
在超级街区内部，限速在每小时10公里 - 相当于每小时6英里多点儿 -
and curbside parking is replaced by underground parking.
同时用地下停车场取代路边停车场。
That means you wind up with street space for markets, outdoor games, and events.
这样一来，街道上就有了摆市场，玩户外游戏或举办其他活动的场所。
Within this nine square block perimeter, you're gonna have kind of a pleasant streetscape
在这个九宫格的街区内，你将拥有舒适的街景，
where people can walk around and mingle and do things without this kind of constant fear of cars around.
人们可以四处走动，来来往往而不必担心周围的汽车。
The concept is going to be tested out in five neighborhoods,
该市将用这一概念对五个街区进行测试，
but the city has identified 120 possible intersections throughout the region where it could be implemented.
但该市已经锁定，整个地区有120个路口都可以实行这一方案。
So how do we know what the results of this kind of plan would look like?
问题是，我们怎么知道这种方案结果会是什么样子呢？
Well, northwest of Barcelona is a city called Vitoria-Gasteiz, which has implemented superblock designs since 2008.
原来，巴塞罗那西北部有一个名为Vitoria-Gasteiz的城市，该市自2008年以来一直在落实这一超级街区设计。
In the main superblock at the city center, pedestrian space increased from 45 percent of the total surface area to 74 percent.
在市中心最主要的那个超级街区，行人空间从总面积的45％增加到了74％。
With so much less traffic, noise levels dropped from 66.5 dBA to 61 dBA.
随着车流量减少，噪音水平也从66.5分贝下降到了61分贝。
Most impressive of all, there was a 42% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and a 38% reduction in particle pollution in the area.
最可圈可点的是，该地区的氮氧化物排放量减少了42％，颗粒污染也减少了38％。
On top of that, business is up.
此外，该地区的商业也是一派欣欣向荣的景象。
What you consistently see when people change their streetscapes to prioritize human beings over cars
当人们把人放在了汽车前面并为此对街头巷尾进行整改时，不断出现的情形是，
is you don't see any decline in economic activity, you see the opposite.
你不禁不会看到任何经济活动因此变得萧条，你还会看到它们朝着好的方向发展。
You get more people walking and cycling around more slowly,
你会看到越来越多的人或自行车慢悠悠地行走在街头，
stopping more often, patronizing businesses more, and that kind of center of social activity will tend to build on itself.
大家停下来的次数更多了，光顾各种商店的次数也多了，那种所谓的社交的核心也就会随之建立起来。
So here's the question: could something like this work in an American city?
所以，问题是：这样的方案能够复制到美国的城市吗？
Barcelona has some unique advantages getting started on this plan,
巴塞罗那能够开始实行这一方案是因为这个城市有她独特的优势，
in that a lot of it was built before cars, and a lot of it was built on a simple grid.
因为这个城市很多地方都是在引进汽车之前修建的，而且很多地方都是按照简单的方格形状设计的。
The district of Eixample — where the superblock plan is based —
扩展区——超级社区就设置在这里——
was designed in 1859 in this repetitive grid structure by this guy, Ildefons Cerdá.
就是这个家伙Ildefons Cerdá1859年按照这种重复的网格结构设计的。
He basically invented the word for (and the study of) "urbanization"
可以说，“城市化”这个词（及其研究）就是他发明的，
when he laid out this grid plan for Barcelona that evenly distributed resources like schools and hospitals.
是他为巴塞罗纳想出了这种均匀分配学校、医院等资源的网格状设计。
But superblock designers insist that cities don't need a simple grid structure to implement this kind of plan.
然而，超级街区设计者们坚持认为，没有这种简洁的网格设计，城市也可以实行上述交通方案。
It can work anywhere.
他们认为那种方案能够放之四海而皆准。
Now, cities in the US have attempted some car-minimizing projects like this.
现在，美国也有一些城市在试水这样的汽车最少化项目。
The problem is, they're usually done in wealthier areas with lots of existing businesses.
问题是，这些试水项目通常都落在了较为富裕，商业本就已经非常繁荣的地区。
Zoning policies often require separation of residential and commercial areas —
城市的分区政策通常需要将住宅区和商业区分开 -
but an ideal walkable area would be a mix of the two.
但理想的步行区域是将两者糅合在一起的。
On top of that, zoning minimums on parking availability encourage the presence of cars and parking lots,
而且，可用停车空间最小化的分区政策鼓励汽车和停车场的存在，
and minimums on street width make for wide, unwalkable streets.
而街道宽度最小化又是在为宽阔但无法行走的街道创造条件。
Because of that, walkable districts are basically isolated luxury items in the US.
正因如此，美国基本只有奢侈品购物区才是可供步行的区域。
What makes the Barcelona plan different is that they aren't setting aside one fancy neighborhood or town square to make pedestrian-friendly —
让巴塞罗那方案脱颖而出的是，他们并没有为了把城市变得对行人更友好而特地留出一个豪华小区或者城市广场——
instead, by proposing superblocks throughout the entire city,
相反，他们是在整座城市提倡超级街区方案，
they've declared car-free spaces a right for everybody, no matter what part of town they're in.
他们宣称，无论行人身处城市的哪个角落，他们都有共享没有汽车的空间的权利。
Maybe — this might be overly optimistic —
也许 - 这或许有点儿乐观过头了 -
but I think it has sunk in in the U.S. that the model whereby every city resident comes with a car —
但在我看来，在美国已经陷入了每个城市居民都有车的生活模式中 -
and drives a car everywhere – is just inherently limited.
随便去哪里都要开车 - 而这种模式本来就充满了限制。
It limits the growth of your city, it limits the health of your city and the growth of your city.
它不仅限制了城市的发展，还限制了城市的健康。
So one way or another, we have to find ways of having a lot of people live close to one another without all of them having cars.
所以，不管怎样，我们都必须想出办法，让大家能够紧密地生活在一起，而不是人人都生活在车里。
You know, being able to get around and work and play and live and have enjoyable lives without cars.
让大家能够在没有汽车的情况下也能够四处活动，工作，玩耍，生活，享受。
