Pontevedra started limiting cars in its city center in 1999, when Mayor Miguel Fernández Lores took office.
Source: JUT Media
Transportation
The Mayor Who Prioritized Pedestrians Before It Was Cool
Spanish Mayor Miguel Fernández Lores started limiting the flow of cars in Pontevedra in 1999. The seaside city has been growing ever since.
This story is part of a Bloomberg CityLab series of conversations with mayors about what they’re doing to make their cities more livable. Read more here.
For decades, throngs of cars clogged the cobblestone streets of Pontevedra’s medieval downtown, making this seaside city on Spain’s northwestern tip a hard place to live. Smog, loud noise and narrow walkways drove young families away from a region struggling with a shrinking and aging population.