Understanding the relationship between public space social capital expressions and pedestrian-oriented design. A case study within the superblock action plan in Barcelona

Social Capital (SC) is embedded in individuals who cultivate strong interpersonal relations and actively participate in their communities. Empirical research suggests that pedestrian-oriented neighbourhoods increase social interactions, which are essential for the development of SC. The Superblock Action Plan in Barcelona has become a world-renowned initiative to massively transform car-used space into people-centred design. In this paper, we analyse how structuring (i.e. permanent infrastructure) and tactical (i.e. temporary-mobile infrastructure) interventions in the Sant Antoni area, one of the first superblocks, are correlated with expressions of SC in the form of people's behavioural patterns. To achieve this, extensive field observations of public space usage and urban settings at micro-scale level were carried out and further analysed through multivariate techniques. The results reveal a stronger correlation between social behaviour and structuring interventions than tactical ones. Variables such as inner courtyards, urban furniture, terrace protection from vehicular traffic, commercial premise customisation and prosocial interaction infrastructure contribute significantly to promoting behavioural patterns associated with SC. These findings have considerable implications for the deployment of public programmes to reclaim land from cars. • Structuring and tactical interventions foster greater expressions of social capital than traditional approaches. • The structuring interventions cultivate an environment more conducive to social interaction. • Micro-analysis reveals complexity of urban dynamics and social capital. • Urban design impacts patterns of human activity. • Dimensionality of social capital expressions is reduced using PCA.