Barcelona's car-free 'superblocks' could save hundreds of lives

Report predicts radical scheme could cut air pollution by a quarter as other cities including Seattle prepare to follow suit

Barcelona could save hundreds of lives and cut air pollution by a quarter if it fully implements its radical superblocks scheme to reduce traffic, a new report claims.

A study carried out by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health calculates that the city could prevent 667 premature deaths every year if it created all 503 superblocks envisaged in its initial plan - up from the current six schemes.