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Comment by grassclip | Hacker News Reader

I'm actually in Barcelona at the moment, and it's definitely been easy to walk around, but that could also be because the touristy areas near the ocean are very dense, and day to day living north or west of that hub might be different. Besides the giant blocks for walking (I'm not sure I've found a "superblock", but the blocks I've walked on are huge), there are an incredible amount of mopeds. That seems to be a default way of getting around town for locals. That's a big difference than bikers who have to worry about bikes getting stolen, mopeds are probably going to be safe where you leave them, and people here are able to leave them pretty much everywhere. Movement in the city seems very easy for sure.

Side note, anyone here work at or know about Pier 01 down near the water? I just walked by there and was wondering what kind of companies were located there.

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> mopeds are probably going to be safe

:) mopeds (or rather "scooters" and "vespas" in Italy) get stolen left right and centre. They are used more than bikes simply because they require less effort - they are the closest modern equivalent to horses, the transportation method for which old European cities were actually built.

> they are the closest modern equivalent to horses

I'm not sure how you're making this comparison, but if we're gonna compare machines to horses, the bicycle was invented in the 19th century to compete with horses, before automobiles were invented.

His comparison makes sense to me. When you ride a horse or a moped, you aren't putting the effort into it, something else is. When you ride a bike, you're putting the effort into it. It's definitely a difference. I enjoy a 10 km bike ride, but it definitely takes effort, and I'm not likely to do that if I'm going somewhere I'm not willing to show up sweaty too. It's a completely different consideration on a moped (or a horse, but who has a horse these days anyway).

I know a little about Pier 01. It's full of Barcelona and international startups, and I believe it's part of the Barcelona Activa city project to develop entrepreneurship. There's a French accelerator called Numa opening there and a bunch of other companies. I can find you someone to talk to there if you want.

> I'm not sure I've found a "superblock"

That's because they don't exist yet, except for one temporary one that was created last month.

I was there a few days ago and while walking around the Encants neighborhood, I was using a maps app and looking at the block I was on, which showed a hollow interior (similar to that seen in overhead shots of BCN). But I don't think that makes it anything more than just a block with a unique design.

Like you, I didn't find a superblock but I think that's due to it being a concept and not something you can necessarily visually see (as explained in the somewhat recent Vox video).

> which showed a hollow interior (similar to that seen in overhead shots of BCN)

That was the original design. The idea was to have a park inside all blocks. But you know... greet happened.

This is the result from the original idea to the final state: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Evolucio...

Why would one have to worry about a bike getting stolen but not a moped?

One needs a key to start it up. You can cut a chain to free a bike, but hot-wiring a moped will take longer and be more noticeable.

you just need a van an three guys to lift the moped and put it inside the van. It definitely happens in Barcelona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atJuzEhkRDg

http://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20160802/4036244...

But if you close all the streets to auto traffic, you can't get the van there. Checkmate!

Mopeds are considered auto traffic.. Checkmate?

But actually, super blocks aren't closed to traffic, they enforce slow traffic speeds -- like 5MPH. A van could still cruise by at 5MPH and steal a moped, but it would be super obvious in a crowded super block.

In terms of the obviousness of a crime, is there any word as to correlation or causation for street crime vs. pedestrian traffic? My gut says that busier streets lead to fewer crimes, but I'd like to see numbers on that.

Modern Vespas actually have an immobilizer device that prevents the scooter from working without the right transponder key, so it's even more difficult than just "hot-wiring" them.

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