Vitoria-Gasteiz Superblocks — A Measured Pilot (Sancho el Sabio) and a Cheaper Rollout After the Funding Squeeze

Vitoria-Gasteiz's 2009 Sustainable Mobility and Public Space Plan reorganised the city into 68 planned superblocks, inside which through-traffic is excluded and streets are returned mainly to pedestrians. The initial diagnosis found over 70% of public space reserved for cars while nearly 70% of journeys were made on foot, and more than a third of residents were exposed to noise above WHO recommendations.
The Sancho el Sabio pilot (superblock S16), supported by CIVITAS-MODERN, was evaluated before and after: CO2 emissions fell from 755 to 438 t (-42%), NOx from 2.4 to 1.4 t, small-particle emissions from 0.13 to 0.08 t (-38%), average noise from 66.5 to 61 dBA, and pedestrian surface rose from 45% to 74%. A street count recorded 66% of people on foot, 11% by bicycle and 23% in vehicles, and a 400-person telephone survey gave 7.43/10 acceptance (no baseline).
The cautionary lesson is cost: complete pavement refurbishment was very expensive, and after the economic crisis the municipality extended the scheme to 17 more central superblocks (47 streets) with lighter measures — 30 km/h limits, lane narrowing, direction changes and signage. Evidence comes from one pilot without a control area, and CIVITAS notes that cultural habits and the difficulty of changing behaviour slowed extension.

Read the full analysis: https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/civitas-case-study-streets-designed-for-sustainable-mobility-vitoria-gasteiz.pdf