A nice touch: a place to dispose of cigarette butts, designed into the litter bins – small by our standards.
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On the other hand, large dumpsters for domestic refuse can be found throughout the city on the main streets. There are no lanes to hide them off street, and the spaces of apartments are generally small – so a daily ritual of Barcelonans is the trip between 8 and 10 pm to dispose of garbage and recyclables into the gray behemoths that take up a lot of public real estate. Capacity: 1,700 litres.
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There’s little graffiti to be seen, at least in the central city, and excepting on the night-time shutters. The streets are remarkably clean and litter-free, despite the 24-hour public life of the city and the armies of tourists that pour in and out. That might be because of the army of cleaners, outfitted in florescent green, that by hand and broom attend to its constant maintenance.
Centro Comercial Glòries
Centro Comercial Glòries
I’ve had similar observations in Barcelona, re: the cleanliness of public spaces. Did you know that there’s an enterprise which turns used public worker uniforms into tote bags and wallets?
Can you imagine the change to Vancouver laneways, and other spaces, if residents and businesses had a place to take refuse every night? I’m liking the potential, especially in neighborhoods which combine commercial and residential uses.