Barcelona, ​​capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia, is located in the Spanish Levant, on the Mediterranean coast. Its geographical location is located between 41° 16' and 41° 30' north latitude and between 1° 54' and 2° 18' east longitude "Longitude (cartography)"). m) as the highest point—, as well as the deltas of the Besós and Llobregat rivers. Above the coastline and separating the city from the Llobregat delta is the Montjuic mountain "Montjuic (Barcelona)") (184.8 m).[5]​ Likewise, from the Collserola mountain range several hills appear on the plain that follow a line parallel to the Litoral mountain range: they are the Peira hills (133 m), the Rovira (261 m), the Carmelo "Monte Carmelo (Barcelona)") (267 m), Creueta del Coll (249 m), Putget (181 m) and Monterols (121 m).[6]​.

The plain of Barcelona is not uniform, but presents various undulations caused by the multiple torrents that once crisscrossed the terrain, and it also has a uniform inclination from the sea to the Collserola mountain range, with an ascent of about . Montjuic de la costa.[8]​ The terrain is formed by a substrate of slate "Slate (rock)") and granitic formations, as well as clays and calcareous rocks.[9]​ The coast was formerly occupied by marshes and lagoons, which disappeared as the coastline advanced thanks to the sediments contributed by the rivers and torrents that flowed into the beach; It is estimated that from the century BC. C. the coastline has been able to advance by about .[10]​ The plain area was formerly crisscrossed by numerous torrents and streams, which were grouped into three river sectors: the Horta stream in the area near the Besós river (or eastern area); the Riera Blanca and the Gornal torrent in the Llobregat area (or western area); and, in the central area of ​​the plain, a set of streams from the southern slope of Tibidabo, such as the San Gervasio, Vallcarca, Magòria and Collserola streams.[11]​.

The climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters thanks to the protection that the terrain's orography offers to the plain, which is sheltered from the north winds. The temperature usually ranges between 9.5 °C and 24.3 °C, on average. It has little rainfall, some annual, and most rainfall occurs in spring and autumn. This shortage meant that in the past numerous works had to be carried out to supply the city with water, including wells, canals and irrigation ditches. The vegetation of the area is mainly composed of pines and oaks, and undergrowth of heather, durillo, strawberry tree and climbing plants. In the past, both dryland and irrigated agriculture was practiced - mainly vineyards and cereals - although today practically the entire surface is built.[12]​.

Barcelona, ​​capital of the Barcelonés region and the province of Barcelona, ​​is the most important urban center in Catalonia at a demographic, political, economic and cultural level. It is the seat of the autonomous government and the Parliament of Catalonia, as well as the provincial council, the archbishopric and the IV Military Region, and has a port, an airport and an important network of railways and roads. European.[15]​.

Contenido

Barcelona está dividida en 10 distritos y 73 barrios:.

• - Ciutat Vella "Distrito de Ciutat Vella (Barcelona)") (, 100 685 habitantes): se corresponde con el núcleo antiguo de la ciudad, el derivado de los períodos romano y medieval, más el barrio de la Barceloneta, creado en el siglo . Esta zona recibió mucha inmigración del resto de España durante los siglos y , instalada principalmente en los barrios de Sant Pere y El Raval; así ha seguido durante el siglo , aunque con inmigrantes de otros países. Este distrito tiene la población más envejecida y de más bajo nivel socioeconómico de la ciudad, aunque en el nuevo milenio se ha iniciado un lento proceso de gentrificación en paralelo a los planes de desarrollo urbanístico realizados en el distrito. Al ser la parte más antigua de la ciudad tiene numerosos monumentos y obras arquitectónicas de interés, por lo que es un importante foco de atracción turística. Por otro lado, alberga las más importantes instituciones de la ciudad, como el Ayuntamiento o la Generalidad de Cataluña.[16]​.

• - Ensanche (, 263 565 habitantes): este distrito surgió de la ampliación de la ciudad antigua tras el derribo de las murallas, gracias al Plan Cerdá elaborado por Ildefonso Cerdá. Es un distrito densamente poblado, ya que en sus inicios fue sobre todo una zona residencial donde se alojaron las familias acomodadas tras abandonar la parte vieja de la ciudad. El nivel social sin embargo se ha estabilizado, y hoy día corresponde sobre todo a la clase media. Aun así, es un importante foco de atracción turística, especialmente por la presencia de obras arquitectónicas modernistas, lo que ha incentivado el comercio y la instalación en la zona de las principales marcas comerciales.[17]​.

• - Sants-Montjuïc (, 180 824 habitantes): aglutina la antigua población de Sants, anexionada a Barcelona en 1897, junto a los terrenos de la montaña de Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)"), lo que lo convierten en el distrito más grande de la ciudad; incluye también la Zona Franca "Zona Franca (Barcelona)"). Tiene baja densidad poblacional, y su índice de población de origen extranjero sobrepasa la media. Tiene un elevado porcentaje de superficie verde, gracias sobre todo a la presencia de la montaña de Montjuic, así como de terrenos industriales.[18]​.

• - Les Corts (, 81 200 habitantes): proviene de la antigua población de Les Corts de Sarrià, agregada a la ciudad en 1897, con un probable origen en una masía medieval. Era una zona eminentemente agraria, que a mediados del siglo experimentó un notable aumento urbanístico con la construcción de la zona llamada Corts Noves. La población es mayoritariamente autóctona, y destaca por su elevado índice de población joven. La mayoría es de clase media, aunque el barrio de Pedralbes destaca por ser uno de los más exclusivos de la ciudad. Su principal actividad económica se engloba en el sector terciario, y acoge numerosas instituciones financieras y centros de oficinas.[19]​.

• - Sarriá-San Gervasio (, 145 761 habitantes): procede de la unión de dos antiguos municipios, Sarriá y San Gervasio de Cassolas. Es uno de los distritos más extensos, sobre todo porque comprende buena parte de la sierra de Collserola. También es el distrito con menos densidad poblacional, debido sobre todo a ser una zona residencial de alto estatus, con predominio de casas unifamiliares. En economía predominan los equipamientos de calidad, así como centros escolares y sanitarios privados. Su población tiene la tasa más alta de estudios superiores y de profesionales técnicos y directivos, así como de residentes autóctonos, mientras que de población extranjera predomina la de la Unión Europea.[20]​.

• - Gracia (, 120 273 habitantes): tiene su origen en la antigua villa de Gracia, incorporada a la ciudad en 1897. Era una zona agrícola, que a principios del siglo empezó a forjar un entramado urbano e industrial. Tiene una de las densidades poblacionales más altas de la ciudad, ya que su núcleo antiguo se caracteriza por calles estrechas y casas apretadas. Su población tiene un elevado porcentaje de gente mayor y, aunque el nivel de estudios es superior a la media, la mayoría son de clase social media-baja.[21]​.

• - Horta-Guinardó (, 166 950 habitantes): proviene de la antigua localidad de Horta, agregada en 1904, a la que se añadió administrativamente el barrio del Guinardó, antes perteneciente a San Martín de Provensals. Era una zona agrícola y de residencias estivales, que acogió numerosa inmigración sobre todo en los dos primeros tercios del siglo . Al ser una zona periférica, tiene una baja densidad poblacional, con un predominio de población joven y de clase media-baja. Durante los años de llegada masiva de inmigración fue una zona de fuerte especulación inmobiliaria.[22]​.

• - Nou Barris (, 164 516 habitantes): es el distrito de más reciente creación, en unos terrenos segregados de San Andrés de Palomar. Se trata de una zona periférica y de mayoría poblacional inmigrada, que sufrió también una fuerte especulación inmobiliaria e incluso adoleció de barraquismo y autoconstrucción, y que durante mucho tiempo ha padecido importantes carencias asistenciales y de infraestructuras y servicios básicos, que se han ido mitigando los últimos tiempos. La mayoría de la población es de clase obrera y bajo poder adquisitivo.[23]​.

• - San Andrés "Distrito de San Andrés (Barcelona)") (, 145 983 habitantes): corresponde al antiguo municipio de San Andrés de Palomar, anexionado en 1897. Fue una zona agrícola y molinera hasta mediados del siglo , en que comenzaron a asentarse numerosas industrias. Por otro lado, a mediados del siglo recibió una fuerte oleada inmigratoria, que fue acogida en barrios de casas baratas y de polígonos residenciales, como El Buen Pastor "El Buen Pastor (Barcelona)") y Barón de Viver. En los últimos tiempos ha experimentado una cierta revitalización gracias a actividades comerciales como la ubicación del centro La Maquinista o a la urbanización del entorno de la Estación de La Sagrera para acoger la llegada del AVE.[24]​.

• - San Martín "Distrito de San Martín (Barcelona)") (, 232 629 habitantes): proviene de la antigua población de San Martín de Provensals, agregada en 1897. Como el anterior, era una zona agrícola y molinera, hasta que con la llegada de la Revolución Industrial se instalaron en la zona numerosas fábricas; sin embargo, en las últimas décadas ha sufrido un proceso de desindustrialización, sustituida por actividades económicas más basadas en las nuevas tecnologías, especialmente tras la ubicación del llamado distrito 22@. Este distrito también acogió numerosa población inmigrante. Gracias a los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992 vivió un proceso de renovación de todo el frente litoral, donde se situó la Villa Olímpica.[25]​.

Historical evolution

The administrative division has varied over time. The first delimitation was established in 1389, the date on which the city was divided into four quarters: Framenors, Pi, Mar and Sant Pere. This division was carried out by establishing a grid with the Plaza del Trigo as the geometric center, with a separation of the northern and southern quarters set in the ancient Roman cardo maximus "Thistle (street)"). This separation already evidenced the social difference between the parts of the city: Framenors was an aristocratic neighborhood, Pi was residential and civil servant, Sant Pere was industrial and commercial, and Mar was popular and religious, since it housed the majority of convents and monasteries. In the century, another barracks was added, that of El Raval, establishing a division that lasted until the century.[26]​.

In 1769 a reform was carried out by which five barracks were created, each subdivided into eight neighborhoods: I-Palacio included the port and the new neighborhood of Barceloneta; II-San Pedro was an eminently industrial area; III-Audiencia corresponded to the center of the city; IV-Casa de la Ciudad was a primarily residential area; and V-El Raval housed the land west of the Rambla.[27]​.

During the century, numerous divisions were made, most of them for political reasons, since the districts also marked the electoral constituencies. The most notable were those of 1837, in which the city was divided into four districts (Lonja, San Pedro, Universidad and San Pablo); and that of 1878, after the demolition of the walls, in which 10 districts were established: I-La Barceloneta, II-Borne, III-Lonja, IV-Atarazanas, V-Hospital, VI-Audiencia, VII-Instituto, VIII-Universidad, IX-Hostafranchs and X-Concepción.[28]​.

Between the end of the century and the beginning of the century, various neighboring municipalities were added to Barcelona (Sants, Les Corts, San Gervasio de Cassolas, Gracia, San Andrés de Palomar, San Martín de Provensals, San Juan de Horta, Sarrià); A new administrative reorganization was then carried out, again with 10 districts: I-Barceloneta and Pueblo Nuevo, II-San Pedro, III-Lonja and Audiencia, IV-Concepción, V-Atarazanas and Hospital, VI-Universidad, VII-Sans, Las Corts and Hostafranchs, VIII-Gracia and San Gervasio, IX-Horta and San Andrés del Palomar, X-San Martín de Provensals.[29]​.

In 1933 a new reformulation was made, also with ten districts: I-Barceloneta, II-Poble Sec and Montjuïc, III-Sarrià, Vallvidrera and Sant Gervasi, IV- Sant Pere and Dreta de l'Eixample, V-El Raval, VI-Esquerra de l'Eixample, VII-Sants, Les Corts and Hostafrancs, VIII-Gràcia, IX-Horta, Sant Andreu del Palomar, Sagrera and Camp de l'Arpa, X-Sant Martí de Provençals, Clot and Poblenou. These districts were expanded in 1949 with two more: XI-Les Corts and XII-Sagrada Familia.[30]​.

In 1984, the current division into ten districts was approved, established with the objective of decentralizing the City Council, transferring powers to the new councils. The new districts were established seeking maximum respect for their historical and morphological identity, but also seeking a practical and functional delimitation, which would guarantee broad healthcare coverage to residents. In general, efforts were made to respect the old demarcations from the old city, its expansion and the added municipalities, although some areas varied with respect to their historical belonging: Pedralbes, previously belonging to Sarrià, went to Les Corts; Vallcarca, before Horta, joined Gracia; The Guinardó, originally from San Martín, was added to Horta; and the new district of Nou Barris was segregated from San Andrés.[31]​.

Barcelona was founded by Roman colonizers in the century BC. C. with the name of Barcino.[note 1]​ Originally it was a small walled city projected from the beginning with a monumental air, and which took the urban form of castrum initially, and oppidum later, settled on the Mons Taber (16.9), a small hill located on the site of the current Plaza de San Jaime. The maximum splendor of the Roman era occurred during the 1st century, with a population that must have ranged between 3,500 and 5,000 inhabitants.[33]​.

The main reason for choosing a small promontory near the coast to build the city was its natural port, although the alluvium from the torrents and the sedimentation of sand from the coastal currents would make the draft of the port difficult.[34] The center of the city was the forum, the central square dedicated to public life and business. It was located at the confluence between the cardus maximus "Cardo (street)") (Llibreteria and Call streets) and the decumanus maximus (Obispo, Ciudad and Regomir streets), approximately in the center of the walled enclosure.[35]​ From this center, the city followed an orthogonal layout, with square or rectangular blocks, following an arrangement of meshes that started from two main axes: a horizontal axial order (northwest-southwest) and another vertical (southeast-northeast), which would mark the future layout of the city, and would be included by Ildefonso Cerdá in his Expansion Plan of 1859.[36]​.

The Romans were great experts in architecture and civil engineering, and provided the territory with roads, bridges, aqueducts and an urban design with a rational layout and basic services, such as sewage.[37]​ The Barcino enclosure was walled, with a perimeter of , which protected a space of .[38]​ The first wall of the city, of simple masonry, began to be built in the century BC. C. It had few towers, only in the corners and at the doors of the walled perimeter. However, the first incursions by the Franks and Alemanni starting in the 250s gave rise to the need to reinforce the walls, which were expanded in the 19th century. The new wall was built on the foundations of the first, and was formed by a 2-meter double wall, with space in the middle filled with stone and mortar "Mortar (construction)"). The wall consisted of 74 towers about 18 meters high, most of them with a rectangular base.[39]​.

Of the rest of the preserved urban elements from the Roman period, it is worth highlighting the necropolis, a set of tombs located outside the walled area, in the current Plaza de la Villa de Madrid: it has more than 70 tombs from the 19th century, discovered by chance in 1954. north, taking water from the Besós River; Both joined in front of the Decuman gate of the city - current Plaza Nueva.[41]​.

After the fall of the Roman Empire and until the formation of the Catalan counties, various conquests took place and the passage of successive civilizations, from the Visigoths and the Arabs to a period of integration into the Carolingian Empire. This period was marked by the reuse of the Roman city and the use of its urban structure, which did not undergo relevant changes. An aspect to highlight about this time is its consideration as a military stronghold, which will lead it to acquire hegemony over other cities in its surroundings and to become the capital of its territory.[42]​ The colonization of the surrounding fields also began at this time, within a system of feudal structure, as well as a certain suburbanization began, with the appearance of the first suburbs.[43]​.

At this time, Barcelona was established as a county and later became part of the Crown of Aragon, becoming an important maritime and commercial hub of the Mediterranean Sea. The city area grew from the primitive urban core - what is today the Gothic Quarter - and, in the 19th century, the El Raval neighborhood emerged. Barcelona then had about 25,000 inhabitants.[44]​.

Medieval Barcelona emerged from the reconstruction of the city after its near destruction by Almanzor in 985, starting again as the main nucleus of the structure and the Roman-era wall.[45] The city underwent numerous changes as a center of political and religious power, a center of commerce and craft production, and as a link between a new and complex network of social and institutional relations. Thus, the city acquires its own autonomy, a singularity within the territory that surrounds it, becoming the center of a hinterland that will mark the organization of the modern city.[46]​.

The progressive increase in the size of the city, and its increasing complexity at both an urban and social and economic level, led to the creation of a specific government system for the administration of the city, the Council of One Hundred (1265). This entity operated in a field of action that went from Moncada to Molins de Rey, and from Castelldefels to Montgat. Among other things, it was in charge of the supply of food and water, the maintenance of roads, the population census and territorial demarcation. He also established the first urban building patterns, known as Consuetuds de Santacilia and promulgated by Jaime I.[47]​.

During the medieval period, Barcelona had a Jewish neighborhood, Call, located between the current streets of Fernando, Baños Nuevos, Palla and Obispo. Founded in 692, it survived until its destruction in 1391 in a xenophobic assault. It was separated from the rest of the city by a wall, and had two synagogues (Major, currently a museum, and Minor, today the parish of San Jaime), baths, schools and hospitals.[48]

Outside the city walls, the plain of Barcelona was dedicated to agriculture, especially dedicated to supplying the city: it was known as hort i vinyet de Barcelona ("orchard and vineyard"), which produced fruit, vegetables and wine, in an area between the Horta and Sants streams, and between the Collserola mountain range, the Puig Aguilar and the Coll de Codines to the sea.[49] This agricultural development It was consolidated with the construction, in the middle of the century - and probably by Count Miró - of two canals that directed the waters of the Llobregat river "Llobregat (river)") and the Besós to the outskirts of the city: the Besós was known as Acequia Condal or Regomir, and was parallel to the Strata Francisca, a road that was a variant of the ancient Roman Via Augusta, and which was built by the Franks to better bring the city closer to the center of the Carolingian Empire.[50]​.

Once the danger of Muslim incursions was removed, the first settlements outside the city walls took place. Various population centers (vila nova) were created, generally around churches and monasteries: this happened around the church of Santa María del Mar, where a port neighborhood was created; also in the church of San Cucufate del Riego, of an agrarian nature; the San Pedro neighborhood around San Pedro de las Puellas; The Pino neighborhood emerged around the church of Santa María del Pino; that of Santa Ana next to the homonymous church "Monasterio de Santa Ana (Barcelona)"); The Arcs neighborhood was settled around the Portal del Bisbe; and the Mercadal, around the Portal Mayor market. The neighborhood of El Raval (in Catalan it means "suburb") was also gradually formed, initially a suburb populated by orchards and some religious buildings, such as the monastery of San Pablo del Campo (914), the church of San Antonio Abad (1157), the convent of the Calved Carmelites (1292), the priory of Nazareth (1342) or the monastery of Montealegre (1362).[51]​.

The creation of these new neighborhoods forced the walled perimeter to be expanded, so in 1260 a new wall was built from San Pedro de las Puellas to the Atarazanas, facing the sea. The new section was , and included an area of ​​. The enclosure had eighty towers and eight new gates, among which were several enclaves of relevance today, such as the Portal del Ángel, the Portaferrissa or La Boquería. those of Martorell and Castellví de Rosanes, at the entrance to the Llobregat river; those of Eramprunyà (Gavá) and Castelldefels in the delta of the same river; and that of Moncada at the entrance to the Besós River.[53]​.

The medieval urban fabric was marked by various areas of influence, from the aristocracy and institutional power, through the bishopric and religious orders, to the guilds and the different commercial associations. The street network was irregular, and the squares were mere widenings of the streets, or plots of land derived from the demolition of a house, which were usually used to store wheat, wool or coal. The houses used to be of the "artisan type", with a ground floor for the workshop and one or two floors of housing, generally measuring 10-12 wide and 10-12 deep, sometimes with a small garden in the back. The largest buildings were either churches or palaces, along with some institutional buildings, such as the City House, headquarters of the Council of One Hundred - later City Hall - or the Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia, in addition to some hospitals - such as the Santa Cruz - or buildings such as the Lonja or the Atarazanas.[54]​.

In 1209, one of the first private urban planning operations in the city took place, the opening of Montcada Street, thanks to the concession made by Pedro II to Guillem Ramon de Montcada; A wide, straight street was laid out, which went from the Bòria to the sea, and which was occupied by large stately residences.[55] Another of the few urban planning processes of this stage was the opening of the Plaza Nueva, next to the Episcopal Palace and near the Barcelona cathedral, carried out in 1355 thanks to the demolition of several houses and the reuse of the Bishop's garden.[56]​.

Between the centuries and , the continuous urban growth led to a new extension of the walled enclosure, with the construction of the wall of El Raval, in the western area of ​​the city, which encompassed an area of ​​, with a perimeter of . The new urban area started from the Atarazanas, following the current streets of San Pablo, San Antonio, Universidad and San Pedro, going down the current Lluís Companys promenade to the Santa Clara monastery - in the current Ciudadela park -, and to the sea, along the current Marqués de la Argentera avenue. Currently, only the Portal de Santa Madrona is preserved, in the Atarazanas.[57]​.

With the expansion of the wall, a long avenue known as the Rambla was left within the city limits, occupied mainly by religious institutions. Its urbanization then proceeded, which ended in 1444. In its day it was the largest space in the city, dedicated to walking, leisure or the installation of occasional markets. Deeply renovated between the 19th and 2nd centuries, today it is one of the most emblematic places in the city.[58]​.

Finally, it should be noted that during the Middle Ages an extensive network of roads arose in the plain of Barcelona that connected the city with the various suburbs and towns in the vicinity, as well as other points of interest: farmhouses (Camino de la Torre Melina), mills (Camino de la Verneda), quarries (Camino de la Creu dels Molers), whitewashing meadows (Camino del Teulat), churches or chapels (Camino de San Lázaro), fountains (Camino de la Font dels Ocellets), etc.[59]​.

In this period Barcelona became part of the Hispanic Monarchy, arising from the union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon. It was a time of alternation between periods of prosperity and economic crises, especially due to plague epidemics in the century and social and war conflicts such as the War of the Reapers and the War of Succession between the centuries and , although in this last century the economy rebounded thanks to the opening of trade with America and the beginning of the textile industry. The city was still confined to its walls - the only expansion was on the beach, the La Barceloneta neighborhood -, despite the fact that at the end of the period it had almost 100,000 inhabitants.[60]​.

This era was not one of excessive urban reforms, since the loss of Barcelona's status as capital led to a decrease in large-scale projects. In the first half of the century, the Sea Wall was built, where the bastions of Levante, Torre Nueva, San Ramón and Mediodía were located.[61]​ For the rest, the main urban reform was in the area around the cathedral, where the Plaza de la Seo was opened, in front of the main portal of the cathedral (1546), as well as the Plaza de San Ivo, with a space cut off from the Royal Mayor Palace.[62]​.

Over the centuries, an artificial port was built to finally cover the needs of the important commercial center that was Barcelona: paradoxically, during the heyday of Catalan trade in the Mediterranean, Barcelona did not have a port prepared for the port volume that was common in the city. The old port at the foot of Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)") had been abandoned, and the city only had the beach to receive passengers and goods. Deep draft ships had to unload using boats and porters (bastaixos). Finally, in 1438 royal permission was obtained to build a port: first, a ship loaded with stones was sunk to serve as a base for the wall that joined the beach to the island of Maians; The wall was reinforced in 1477, it was lengthened into a breakwater in 1484. In the middle of the century the port was expanded in response to the campaign initiated by Charles I against Tunisia. At the end of the century, the pier was 12 long and 12 wide.[63]​.

With the construction of the port, the seafront between the Pla de Palau and the Rambla was terraced, thus urbanizing the Paseo del Mar, current Paseo de Colón "Paseo de Colón (Barcelona)"). gutters.[65]​.

In the century the city wall was expanded again with the construction of five new gates (San Severo, Talleres, San Antonio, San Pablo and Santa Madrona, the latter a reconstruction of the one from the century). Streets were also paved, sewers were installed, drinking water fountains were built and improvement works were carried out in the port.[66]​.

In the 20th century, Barcelona saw a good part of its autonomy truncated with the victory of Philip V in the War of Succession: the New Plant Decree (1716) eliminated the Generalitat and the Council of One Hundred, which were replaced by a military government, and municipal jurisdiction was reduced to the city enclosure, losing the area of ​​influence that the Council of One Hundred had in the metropolitan environment. At this time there was a notable demographic increase, and the economy became progressively industrialized, leading to the so-called Industrial Revolution.[67]​.

The arrival of the Bourbons generated a series of military engineering works, such as Montjuic Castle and the Citadel fortress.[68]​ For the construction of the Citadel (1715-1751), 1,200 houses in the Ribera neighborhood were demolished, leaving 4,500 people homeless and without compensation, and the Condal Acequia was diverted.[69]​ Work of Jorge Próspero de Verboom, it was a pentagonal walled bastion, with a protective ditch and an esplanade separating the walls and the surrounding buildings. Demolished in the Revolution of 1868, the Ciudadela park was installed within its perimeter.[70]​.

Two new roads that crossed the plain of Barcelona were also of military layout: the Mataró road - coinciding with the current Pedro IV street - and the Creu Coberta road, which connected with the Madrid highway - current Hostafrancs and Sants streets.[59]​.

In 1753 the construction of the La Barceloneta neighborhood began at the initiative of the Marquis de la Mina. Located on a small peninsula of land reclaimed from the sea, its layout was designed by the engineer Pedro Martín Cermeño, with a plot of orthogonal streets and blocks of houses with an elongated plan, which is a clear exponent of academic baroque urban planning.[71]​ In this neighborhood, the Clock Tower, the first lighthouse of the city, was located in 1772; They were followed by the Llobregat in 1845 and the Montjuic in 1925.[72]​.

In 1771, the Worker's Edict was approved, a municipal ordinance aimed at controlling private works in the city, which involved the regulation of the alignment of houses according to the layout of the streets, as well as the supervision of aspects such as street paving, sewage, house numbering, etc. This edict established for the first time the obligation to request a building permit, accompanied by a report and with the payment of the respective fees. Likewise, in 1797 a height limit was established for all buildings.[73]​ During this century there was a change in the typology of private buildings, which went from the "artisan house" of a medieval type to the "multi-family house" with a collective staircase, which definitively separated work from residence.[74]​.

Between 1776 and 1778, the redevelopment of the Rambla was carried out, an old stream that during the Middle Ages marked the western limit of the city, which was populated since the 19th century, mainly by theaters and convents. At this time, the interior wall was demolished, the buildings were realigned and a new landscaped promenade was designed, in the style of the French *boulevard. (1778-1789) which owed its name to Francisco González de Bassecourt, captain general of Catalonia, who had the initiative to create the street.[77] In 1797 the Paseo Nuevo or the Explanada "Paseo de la Explanada (Barcelona)") was also created, located next to the Military Citadel, a wide avenue lined with poplars and elms and decorated with ornamental fountains, which for a time was the main green space of the city, but it disappeared in the urbanization works of the Ciudadela park.[78]​.

During the century, the Borne and La Boquería markets were established as the only two general supply markets, and in 1752 aspects such as weights and measures were regulated for the marketing of food products, in addition to coal.[79]​.

En este período hubo una gran revitalización económica, ligada a la Revolución Industrial —especialmente la industria textil—, lo que comportó a su vez un renacimiento cultural. Entre 1854 y 1859 se produjo el derribo de las murallas, por lo que la ciudad pudo expandirse, motivo por el que se impulsó el proyecto de Ensanche, elaborado por Ildefonso Cerdá en 1859. Asimismo, gracias a la revolución de 1868 se consiguió el derribo de la Ciudadela, cuyos terrenos fueron transformados en un parque público. La población fue creciendo, especialmente gracias a la inmigración del resto de España, llegando a finales de siglo a los 400 000 habitantes.[80]​.

La Revolución Industrial tuvo una rápida consolidación en Cataluña, siendo pionera en el territorio nacional en la implantación de los procedimientos fabriles iniciados en Gran Bretaña en el siglo . En 1800 había en Barcelona 150 fábricas del ramo textil, entre las que destacaba El Vapor "El Vapor (fábrica)"), fundada por José Bonaplata. En 1849 se abrió en Sants el complejo La España Industrial, propiedad de los hermanos Muntadas. La industria textil tuvo un continuo crecimiento hasta la crisis de 1861, motivada por la escasez de algodón debida a la Guerra de Secesión estadounidense. También fue cobrando importancia la industria metalúrgica, potenciada por la creación del ferrocarril y la navegación a vapor. En 1836 abrió la fundición Nueva Vulcano en La Barceloneta y, en 1841, arrancó La Barcelonesa, antecedente de La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima (1855), una de las más importantes fábricas de la historia de Barcelona.[81]​.

La industrialización comportó importantes cambios en el urbanismo de la ciudad, debido a las nuevas necesidades de los sectores económicos de sistema capitalista, que requerían una fuerte concentración de mano de obra y de servicios auxiliares. Barcelona sufrió así un importante salto a la modernidad, caracterizada por tres factores: la migración poblacional del campo a la ciudad, la vinculación entre los avances industriales y los urbanísticos, y una mejor articulación del territorio mediante una amplia red de carreteras y ferrocarriles, que llevará a Barcelona a convertirse en una metrópoli colonizadora de su entorno territorial.[82]​.

Durante este siglo se consolidaron las ordenanzas municipales iniciadas con el Edicto de obrería: en 1814 el Pregón de policía urbana estableció en 84 artículos todas las disposiciones sobre edificación civil, mantenimiento de los espacios públicos y diversas regulaciones sobre seguridad y orden público. En 1839, el Bando general de buen gobierno renovó y amplió estas disposiciones y, entre otras cosas, reglamentó la relación entre la anchura de las calles y la altura de los edificios. Por otro lado, la ley del 8 de enero de 1845 estableció las atribuciones propias del Ayuntamiento en diversos aspectos como el urbanismo, regulando las condiciones de salubridad de los espacios públicos, así como el acondicionamiento de calles, plazas y mercados.[83]​ En 1856 se aprobaron las primeras Ordenanzas Municipales, que reunían y ampliaban todas las disposiciones anteriores, con un código urbano que contemplaba por primera vez todos los aspectos de las relaciones cívicas e institucionales en la ciudad. Por primera vez se instauraba la obligatoriedad de presentar en los permisos de construcción un plano de distribución interior. Estas ordenanzas quedaron enseguida obsoletas debido al nuevo plan de Ensanche, hasta que en 1891 se elaboraron unas nuevas que recogían las nuevas especificidades sobre el Ensanche y nuevos enlaces de la ciudad. Entre otras cosas, se aumentó la superficie de ocupación de las parcelas de un —establecido en el Plan Cerdá de 1859— a un .[84]​.

Entre las principales actuaciones urbanísticas de estos años se encuentran la apertura de la calle de Fernando en 1827, entre la Rambla y la plaza de San Jaime, con una posterior continuación hacia el Borne con las calles de Jaime I (1849-53) y Princesa "Calle de la Princesa (Barcelona)") (1853).[85]​ En 1833 se inició la ampliación del Pla de Palau, que por entonces era el centro neurálgico de la ciudad, con la presencia del Palacio Real "Palacio del Virrey (Barcelona)"), la Lonja y la Aduana. Se amplió la plaza y se construyó el Portal de Mar (1844-1848), un monumental pórtico de acceso a la Barceloneta desde el casco viejo, obra de Josep Massanès, que fue derribado en 1859 conjuntamente con las murallas de la ciudad.[86]​ Massanès fue autor también de un plan de ensanche en 1838 que no llegó a término, que comprendía el triángulo situado entre Canaletas, la plaza de la Universidad "Plaza de la Universidad (Barcelona)") y la plaza Urquinaona, y que ya esbozaba lo que sería la plaza de Cataluña, situada en el centro del triángulo.[87]​.

Otro factor que favoreció el urbanismo de estos años fue la desamortización "Desamortización española") de 1836, que dejó numerosos solares que fueron edificados o convertidos en espacios públicos, como los mercados de la Boquería y Santa Catalina, el Gran Teatro del Liceo y dos plazas trazadas por Francesc Daniel Molina: la plaza Real y la plaza del Duque de Medinaceli.[nota 2]​.

De igual forma, las nuevas disposiciones sanitarias promulgadas en esta época supusieron la desaparición de numerosos cementerios parroquiales, cuyos solares se urbanizaron como nuevas plazas públicas: surgieron así plazas como la de Santa María, del Pino, de San José Oriol, de San Felipe Neri, de San Justo, de San Pedro y de San Jaime.[88]​ Esta última se convirtió en el corazón político de la ciudad, ya que se encuentran allí el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona y la Generalidad de Cataluña.[89]​ Por otro lado, la desaparición de los cementerios parroquiales comportó la creación de un nuevo camposanto situado fuera de la ciudad, el cementerio del Este o del Pueblo Nuevo, basado en un proyecto de 1773 pero que se construyó principalmente entre 1813 y 1819. Le siguió en 1883 el cementerio del Sudoeste o de Montjuic, mientras que ya en el siglo se construyó el del Norte o de Collserola (1969).[90]​.

En 1842 se dio inicio a uno de los más claros factores de modernidad derivados de los nuevos avances científicos, la iluminación de gas. Las primeras calles iluminadas fueron la Rambla, la calle de Fernando y la plaza de San Jaime, concretamente con gas producido por destilación seca de la hulla (gas ciudad). Ese año se creó la Sociedad Catalana para el Alumbrado por Gas, rebautizada en 1912 como Catalana de Gas y Electricidad. En 1856 se consiguió aplicar el gas a cocinas y calentadores domésticos.[91]​.

Uno de los mayores factores de dinamización de la ciudad como capital de un amplio entorno metropolitano fue la llegada del ferrocarril: de Barcelona partió en 1848 la primera línea de ferrocarril de la España peninsular, que comunicaba la Ciudad Condal con la villa de Mataró. Se crearon entonces las estaciones de Francia (1854), Sants (1854) y del Norte "Estación del Norte (Barcelona)") (1862). La capital catalana se convirtió en el centro de una red ferroviaria en forma de 8 —el llamado «ocho catalán»—, formada por dos anillos que se cruzan en la ciudad. En los años 1880 había ya enlaces con Francia, Madrid, Zaragoza y Valencia, además del resto de capitales de provincia catalanas. Operaban en esa época dos compañías: Ferrocarril del Norte y MZA (Madrid-Zaragoza-Alicante), integradas en 1941 en RENFE.[92]​.

En estas fechas aparecieron también los primeros servicios de bomberos y policía propios de la ciudad. En 1843 se creó la Guardia Urbana de Barcelona, encargada de la defensa de la seguridad ciudadana; en 1938 asumieron también el control del tráfico y la circulación urbana.[93]​ Por otro lado, en 1849 surgió la Sociedad de Socorro Mutuo contra Incendios, una empresa privada que en 1865 fue sustituida por la Sociedad de Extinción de Incendios y Salvamento de Barcelona, el primer servicio público de bomberos gestionado por el Ayuntamiento. Su primer jefe fue el arquitecto Antoni Rovira i Trias, y su primer cuartel la casa de Comunes Depósitos, a la que siguieron múltiples cuarteles por toda la ciudad. En 1908 se sustituyeron los vehículos de tracción animal por los de motor, y en 1913 se profesionalizó la figura del bombero, hasta entonces eventual.[94]​.

A mediados de siglo la Diputación de Barcelona se encargó de establecer unos nuevos trazados viarios en el llano de Barcelona: surgieron así la carretera de Sarrià —actual avenida de Sarrià—, trazada por Ildefonso Cerdá y construida entre 1850 y 1853; el camino de Sants a Les Corts (1865-1867); y la carretera de la Sagrera a Horta (1871), actual calle Garcilaso.[59]​ En estos años se acondicionó el puerto, cada vez más importante como llegada de materia prima —sobre todo algodón y carbón—, con la construcción de un nuevo muelle y el dragado del puerto, a cargo del ingeniero José Rafo"), quien presentó su proyecto en 1859.[95]​.

Por otro lado, en 1855 se inició el servicio de telégrafo, con una red de carácter radial centrada en Madrid, que a partir de 1920 se extendió de forma periférica con Valencia, Sevilla y La Coruña. Controlada por el Estado, el servicio fue incorporado al de correos, creándose la Dirección General de Correos y Telégrafos.[96]​.

Cabe remarcar también que en el siglo aparecieron los primeros parques públicos, ya que el aumento de los entornos urbanos debido al fenómeno de la Revolución Industrial, a menudo en condiciones de degradación del medio ambiente, aconsejó la creación de grandes parques y jardines urbanos, que corrieron a cuenta de las autoridades públicas, con lo que surgió la jardinería pública —hasta entonces preferentemente privada— y la arquitectura paisajista.[97]​ El primer jardín público de Barcelona se creó en 1816: el Jardín del General, una iniciativa del capitán general Francisco Javier Castaños; estaba situado entre la actual avenida Marqués de la Argentera y la Ciudadela, delante de donde hoy se halla la estación de Francia, y tenía una extensión de , hasta que desapareció en 1877 durante la urbanización del parque de la Ciudadela.[98]​ En esta época se instalaron varios jardines en el paseo de Gracia: en 1848 se crearon los Jardines de Tívoli, entre las calles Valencia y Consejo de Ciento; y en 1853 se emplazó entre las calles de Aragón y Rosellón los llamados Campos Elíseos "Jardín de los Campos Elíseos (Barcelona)"), que contaban con un jardín, un lago con barcas, un teatro y un parque de atracciones con montañas rusas. Estos jardines desaparecieron pocos años después al ir urbanizándose el paseo de Gracia.[99]​.

Ensanche of Barcelona

In the middle of the century, a momentous event occurred that completely changed the appearance of the city, the demolition of the walls. Over the centuries, the population grew constantly (from 34,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the century to 160,000 in the middle of the century), which led to an alarming increase in population density (850 inhabitants per hectare), putting the health of citizens at risk. However, due to its status as a stronghold, the central government was opposed to the demolition of the walls. A strong popular outcry then began, led by Pedro Felipe Monlau, who in 1841 published the memoir Down with the walls!, in which he defended their destruction to avoid diseases and epidemics. Finally, in 1854 permission was given for its demolition, which provided the way out for the territorial expansion of the city.[100]​.

Thus the Barcelona Expansion process began: in 1859 the City Council appointed a commission to promote a competition for expansion projects, which was won by Antoni Rovira i Trias; However, the Ministry of Development intervened and imposed the project of Ildefonso Cerdá, author of a topographical plan of the Barcelona plain and a demographic and urban study of the city (1855). The Cerdá Plan (Plan of the surroundings of the city of Barcelona and the project for its improvement and expansion, 1859) established an orthogonal layout between Montjuic and Besós, with a system of rectilinear streets oriented northwest-southeast, 20 meters wide, cut by others oriented southwest-northeast parallel to the coast and the Collserola mountain range. Thus, a series of square blocks were delimited on one side, of which Cerdá planned to build only two sides and leave the other spaces for gardens, although this point was not fulfilled and in the end practically all the buildable land was used; The buildings were designed with an octagonal plan characteristic of the Ensanche, with chamfers that favored circulation.[101] The plan provided for the construction of several main avenues: the Diagonal "Avenida Diagonal (Barcelona)"), the Meridiana, the Parallel, the Gran Vía and the Paseo de San Juan; as well as several large squares at their intersections: Tetuán, Glorias, Spain "Plaza de España (Barcelona)"), Verdaguer, Letamendi and University "Plaza de la Universidad (Barcelona)"). It also provided for the opening of three large avenues in the old part of the city: two that would connect the Ensanche with the coast (Muntaner and Pau Claris) and another in a perpendicular direction that would connect the Citadel with Montjuic (Cathedral Avenue). Pedro.[103]​.

Cerdá's project was quite innovative for the time, especially in relation to the delimitation of green spaces and service areas, taking into account both functional aspects as well as recreational and healthcare aspects. The buildings had to have a height of 16 meters (ground floor and four floors), and a depth of 10 to 20 meters. The distribution of the Ensanche would be sectors of 20 x 20 blocks, divided into districts of 10 x 10 and neighborhoods of 5 x 5. Each neighborhood would have a church, a civic center, a school, a daycare, a nursing home and other care centers, while each district would have a market and each sector, a park. It also had industrial and administrative facilities, and on the outskirts there was a slaughterhouse, a cemetery and three hospitals. However, most of these provisions were not carried out, due to the opposition of the City Council, upset by the imposition of Cerdá's plan compared to that of Rovira that had been approved in the competition, and also due to real estate speculation, which led to the blocks being built on all sides and not only on the two planned by Cerdá.[104]​.

Interior renovations

The Cerdá Plan was developed mainly outside the city walls, due to real estate speculation, leaving aside the improvements necessary for the conditioning of the old part of Barcelona. The need for an "interior reform" project was then raised, with the aim of modernizing the old core of the expanding city. One of the first was that of Miquel Garriga i Roca, author of a joint alignment plan "Plan of Barcelona by Miquel Garriga i Roca (1856-1862)") (1862), the first exhaustive plan of the city, at a scale of 1/250. Garriga's project provided for the realignment of streets as a basic method of a broad reform of the interior of the city, but the difficulty of its execution and the absence of expropriation mechanisms paralyzed this first project.[108]​.

A more elaborate project was carried out by Àngel Baixeras in 1878, who presented an expropriation bill in the Senate, which was approved in 1879. Baixeras' project envisaged a profound remodeling of the old city, and its most notable aspect was the opening of three large roads - initially called A, B and C - to make the old center more passable, following the old Cerdá project. However, the project was not approved until 1895, and it still had to wait until 1908 for its execution, which was partially carried out, since only track A was built, renamed Vía Layetana.[109]​.

From this period it is also worth highlighting the introduction of the tram for urban transport. In 1860, a bus line had been opened that ran along the Rambla, but the slowness of the carriages made this means of transportation unviable. In 1872, rails were installed for traction, which made transportation easier, with imperial model cars—of English origin—drawn by two or four horses. The line was extended from the port (Atarazanas) to the town of Gracia, and later from Atarazanas to La Barceloneta. One of the first lines to operate was the English Barcelona Tramways Company Limited. In 1899 the trams were electrified.[110]​.

In these years, urban furniture also grew, especially since the appointment in 1871 of Antoni Rovira i Trias as head of Buildings and Ornamentation of the City Council, as well as his successor, Pedro Falqués, who put special effort into combining aesthetics and functionality for this type of urban decorations. The increase in elements such as streetlights, fountains, benches, kiosks, railings, planters, mailboxes and other public services was favored by the rise of the iron industry, which allowed their mass production and resulted in greater resistance and durability.[111]​.

In the 1880s, the installation of electric lighting began, which gradually replaced gas lighting on public roads. In 1882 the first streetlights were placed in the Plaza de San Jaime, and between 1887 and 1888 the Rambla and Paseo de Colón were electrified. However, the generalization of electric light did not occur until the beginning of the century, with the invention of the light bulb, and was not completed until 1929.[112]​.

World's Fair of 1888

At the end of the century, an event was held that had a great economic and social as well as urban, artistic and cultural impact for the city: the Universal Exhibition of 1888. It took place between April 8 and December 9, 1888, and was held in the Ciudadela park, land previously belonging to the Army and won for the city in 1868. The incentive of the fair events led to the improvement of the infrastructure of the entire city, which gave an enormous leap towards modernization and development.[114]​.

The remodeling project of the Ciudadela park was entrusted to Josep Fontserè in 1872, who designed large gardens for the recreation of citizens, and together with the green area he planned a central square and a ring road, as well as a monumental fountain and various ornamental elements, two lakes and a forest area, in addition to various auxiliary buildings and infrastructure, such as the Borne market, a water tank - currently the Pompeu Fabra University library -, a slaughterhouse, a iron bridge over the railway lines and several service booths.[115]​ He also designed the urbanization of the new Borne sector, made up of a hundred plots, which would present a common stylistic seal, although in the end it was only partially carried out.[116]​.

In addition to the Citadel, the Hall of San Juan (current Lluís Companys promenade) was remodeled, a long avenue 50 meters wide that served as the entrance to the Exhibition, at the beginning of which the Arc de Triomphe, designed by Josep Vilaseca, was located. On this walk, the wrought iron balustrades, the pavement mosaics and some large street lamps stood out, all designed by Pedro Falqués.[117] Most of the buildings and pavilions built for the Exhibition disappeared after its completion, although the Castle of the Three Dragons and the Martorell Museum (both integral parts of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona), the Greenhouse and the Umbracle survived, while a part of the enclosure of the park was later occupied by the Barcelona Zoo.

For the event, numerous works and improvements were carried out throughout the city: the urbanization of the entire seafront of the city was completed, between the Ciudadela park and the Ramblas, through the remodeling of the Paseo de Colón "Paseo de Colón (Barcelona)") and a new pier, the Fusta dock; Plaza de Cataluña began to be urbanized, a process that would culminate in 1929 thanks to another Exhibition, the International Electrical Industries Exhibition "International Exhibition of Barcelona (1929)"); The Riera d'en Malla was covered, giving rise to the Rambla de Catalunya; Parallel Avenue began; and the San Juan promenade was extended towards Gracia and the Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas towards the west. they endure.[119]​.

At the end of the century, it is worth highlighting Pere Garcia Fària's project to regulate the city's sewage system (Barcelona subsoil sanitation project: sewage, drainage, urban waste, 1891). It was a project that placed special emphasis on hygiene, with innovative criteria that are still in force today: it established a visitable sewage network, wide by high, maintained by a municipal brigade that still fulfills its functions. It is a unitary system of rainwater and wastewater, which works mainly by gravity —except for some small pumping stations—, which makes the presence of large collectors in the lower part of the city necessary. Thanks to this project, the sewer network was expanded in a few years from to .[120]​ Around this time, the streets also began to be urbanized with tile sidewalks and cobblestone roads, replaced in the 1960s by asphalt.[121]​.

El siglo estuvo condicionado por la convulsa situación política, con el fin de la monarquía en 1931 y la llegada de la Segunda República, finalizada con la Guerra Civil y sustituida por la dictadura franquista, hasta el restablecimiento de la monarquía y la llegada de la democracia. Socialmente, este siglo vio la llegada masiva de inmigración a la ciudad, con el consecuente aumento de la población: si en 1900 había 530 000 habitantes, en 1930 casi se habían doblado (1 009 000 hab), para llegar entre 1970 y 1980 al pico máximo (1 754 900) y a finales de siglo a 1 500 000 habitantes.[125]​.

Con el cambio de siglo se abrió un nuevo escenario político marcado por la pérdida de las colonias en América y Asia y el auge de la Lliga Regionalista, dirigida por políticos como Francisco Cambó, Enric Prat de la Riba y el arquitecto Josep Puig i Cadafalch, quienes manifestaron su deseo de situar a Barcelona en la primera línea internacional, al nivel de ciudades como París, Nueva York, Berlín o Viena. Es el modelo de la «Barcelona Imperial» planteado por Prat de la Riba, o de la «Nueva París del Mediodía» comentada por Puig i Cadafalch. Surgen en ese sentido proyectos de mejoras de las infraestructuras, los ferrocarriles, los transportes y los equipamientos, la creación de un puerto franco, la atención a las necesidades de una sociedad cada vez más industrializada, la búsqueda de mecanismos para acoger el aumento de la población y satisfacer aspectos hasta ahora poco atendidos como la educación, la cultura y los espacios verdes.[126]​.

Municipal aggregations and Links Plan

The beginning of the century was marked by the geographical expansion of the city: in 1897 Barcelona annexed six neighboring towns, until then independent: Sants, Les Corts, San Gervasio de Cassolas, Gracia, San Andrés de Palomar and San Martín de Provensals. [note 3] Likewise, in 1904 San Juan de Horta "Horta (Barcelona)" was annexed); in 1921, Sarrià and Santa Cruz de Olorde (a small piece of land in Collserola segregated from Molins de Rey); in 1924, Collblanc and the Hospitalet Marina, where the Free Zone "Zona Franca (Barcelona)" was created); and, in 1943, El Buen Pastor "El Buen Pastor (Barcelona)") and Barón de Viver, segregated from Santa Coloma de Gramanet. The city went from to , and from a population of 383,908 inhabitants to 559,589.[127]​.

The annexation of the new municipalities raised the need for a city link plan, which was put out to public competition in 1903 (International Competition on preliminary projects for links of the Barcelona Expansion Zone and the added towns among themselves and with the rest of the municipal area of ​​Sarrià and Horta), in which the French urban planner Léon Jaussely was the winner. The integration of the new municipalities added with Barcelona and between them was sought, with a predominance of organizational aspects over expansive ones, in an attempt to reformulate the Cerdá Plan, frowned upon by the modernist generation.[128] The Jaussely Plan was based on a structural scheme, with a differentiated treatment of the various urban fabrics, which recalls the Beaux-Arts "Beaux Arts (architecture)") type layouts in vogue in the environments. international standards of the time.[129]​ His proposal was based mainly on three criteria: a road scheme with main axes (five radials and two ring roads), the zoning of activities and the systematization of green spaces.[130]​ The project envisaged large road infrastructures (boulevards, large squares, promenades, diagonals, promenades), parks and gardens, railway links - with the interior lines buried -, public and collective buildings. at the central points of road layouts, equipment and service areas. The project was only partially carried out, and in 1917 it was reformulated with the so-called Romeu-Porcel Plan;[83]​ However, the innovative nature of its ideas left a deep mark and inspired Barcelona urban planning for much of the century.[131]​.

The most important action in these years was the opening of the Vía Layetana, which connected the Ensanche with the sea, projected with the letter A in the Baixeras Plan of 1878. The works were finally carried out in 1908, with joint financing between the City Council and the Banco Hispano Colonial, the first concerted operation in Barcelona. noucentista, with a certain influence of the Chicago School "Chicago School (architecture)." (1918), Joaquim Vilaseca (1932, Renovation Plan, urbanization and link between the unique points of the Old Town) and Soteras-Bordoy (1956, Partial Planning Plan for the Old Town of Barcelona).[109][note 5]​.

Also in the first years of the century, the slopes of Tibidabo were urbanized, with a wide avenue that linked San Gervasio Avenue with the mountain, which was occupied by single-family houses in the style of English garden cities.[note 6]​[136]​ For transportation, a tram was installed on the avenue and a funicular to ascend to the top of the mountain (1901), where the Amusement Park of the Tibidabo.[137]​ In 1906 the Vallvidrera funicular was also opened.[138]​.

An interesting urbanization project was that of the Can Muntaner estate (1900-1914), at the foot of Mount Carmel "Monte Carmelo (Barcelona)"), in the La Salud neighborhood "La Salud (Barcelona)"), also designed as a garden city of single-family houses. The promoter was the industrialist Eusebi Güell, and the architect Antoni Gaudí was in charge of the layout. The project was not successful, since only two plots were sold, and in 1926 the land was transferred to the City Council and converted into a park, known today as Park Güell.[139]​.

During the first years of the century, an expansion of the port was carried out, with a project prepared by Julio Valdés") and carried out between 1905 and 1912: the east dock was extended and a counter breakwater and the interior docks were built. These works gave the port practically its current appearance, except for the construction of the south dock and the interior dock in 1965.[140]​.

The turn of the century brought the general electrification of the city, both at the public and private levels. In 1911, the Barcelona Traction Light and Power company—better known as La Canadiane—was founded, which opted to take advantage of the hydraulic resources of the Pyrenees, building reservoirs in Tremp (1915) and Camarasa (1920). He also built the Fígols and San Adrián de Besós thermal power plants. Thanks to electrification, Barcelona began to stand out in sectors such as metallurgy, chemicals and automobiles, consolidating itself as an industrial and commercial center.[141]​.

During the first decade of the century, public urinals called vespasianas were installed, made of metal with a circular body with capacity for six people, on which rose a hexagonal section intended for advertising, crowned by a small dome. In the 1910s they were removed, and in the future it was established that all urinals had to be underground.[142]​.

In these years the tram network was expanded, thanks to companies such as Les Tramways de Barcelone Société Anonyme. The expansion of the city with the aggregation of neighboring municipalities increasingly required a broad and fast transport network, whose progress was favored by the electrification of trams, a fact that also lowered its cost and allowed the service to become more popular: from seven million passengers in 1900 it rose to 17 million in 1914.[143]​.

At the beginning of the century, the first buses also appeared: in 1906 the first line was created between Plaza de Cataluña and Plaza de Trilla, in Gracia, operated by the La Catalana company, with five Brillié-Schneider cars. The service was suppressed in 1908 due to the protests of the tram companies, for which it was clear competition, but in 1916 some suburban lines appeared, which ran between Barcelona and San Justo Desvern, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Hospitalet, Badalona, ​​El Prat, San Baudilio, Gavá and San Clemente de Llobregat. In 1922, urban buses were reestablished, run by the Compañía General de Autobuses de Barcelona (CGA), which was later absorbed by Tranvías de Barcelona, ​​which began to operate both transports.[144]​.

Also at this time the first taxis appeared: in 1910 the first 21 vehicles were licensed; In 1920 there were already a thousand taxis, with 64 stops throughout the city. In 1928 the green light was incorporated as a "free" signal, and in 1931 the color black and yellow was established as the city's distinctive color.[145]​.

In the 1920s, urban transportation was improved with the construction of the Barcelona Metro. Work began in 1920 with the installation of two lines: line 3 (Lesseps-Liceo), inaugurated in 1924, and line 1 (Cataluña-Bordeta), put into service in 1926. The network was progressively expanded, and Barcelona currently has 12 lines. Initially it was operated by three companies: Gran Metropolitano de Barcelona (L3), Metropolitano Transversal (L1) and Ferrocarril de Sarrià a Barcelona (current Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Catalunya);[146]​ the first two merged in 1957 into the company Ferrocarril Metropolitano de Barcelona, which together with the bus company Transportes de Barcelona formed the company Transportes Metropolitanos de Barcelona in 1979. (TMB).[147]​.

It should also be noted that during the first decades of the century, public schooling was significantly promoted, thanks above all to the initiative of both the City Council and the Provincial Council and the Commonwealth of Catalonia. In 1922, the City Council created the School Board, which promoted secular, bilingual education and pedagogical renewal,[148] and promoted an ambitious plan for school buildings, among which those built in the Noucentista style by Josep Goday stand out (Ramon Llull, Collaso i Gil, Lluís Vives, Milà i Fontanals, Baixeras and Pere Vila schools).[149] After the Civil War, public education was assumed by the central government, until with the arrival of democracy, the powers passed to the Generalitat.[150]​.

In these years, growing importance was also given to the issue of green spaces, which was raised in 1926 by Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, director of the Parks and Gardens service of Barcelona: with the text The problem of free spaces, presented at the XI National Congress of Architects, he proposed the placement of a series of green spaces in the form of concentric semicircles between the Besós and Llobregat rivers, along the entire length of the Sierra Collserola, with small enclaves in the inner part of the city in the style of London squares.[151] He proposed four levels for the city: interior parks, among which would be the Citadel and Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)"), as well as three smaller ones (Letamendi, Sagrada Familia and Glorias); suburban parks, among which would be the Hipódromo, Turó Park, Turó Gil, Font del Racó, Vallcarca, Guinardó and Park Güell; outdoor parks (Llobregat, Pedralbes, Vallvidrera, Tibidabo, Sant Medir, Horta and Besós); and the Collserola nature reserve. Rubió's project was not executed, except in small portions, but little by little the city gained green land: from 1910 to 1924 it went from .[152]​.

International Exposition of 1929

In 1929 the International Exhibition "International Exhibition of Barcelona (1929)") was held in Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)"). For this event, the entire area of ​​the Plaza de España "Plaza de España (Barcelona)"), Avenida de la Reina María Cristina and Montjuic Mountain was urbanized, and the pavilions that currently host the Barcelona Fair were built. One of the main architects of the project was Josep Puig i Cadafalch, and it was one of the main test beds of Noucentisme, the successor style of modernism.

On the occasion of the Exhibition, a good part of the Montjuic mountain was landscaped, with a project by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier and Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, who created a complex with a marked Mediterranean character and classicist taste: thus the gardens of Laribal, those of Miramar and those of the Greek Theater were created.[155]​.

As happened in 1888, the 1929 Exhibition had a great impact on the city at an urban planning level, not only in the Montjuic area, but improvement and conditioning works were carried out throughout the city: the squares of Tetuán, Urquinaona and Letamendi were landscaped; the Marina bridge was built; Plaza de Cataluña was urbanized; The Diagonal "Avenida Diagonal (Barcelona)") was extended to the west and the Gran Vía to the southwest, as well as the Paseo de Gracia and San Juan in the sections surrounding Gracia. Various public works were also carried out: the paving of streets and sewage was improved, public toilets were installed and the replacement of gas lighting with electric lighting was completed.[156]​.

Finally, the city's communications were improved, with the construction of the Prat Airport in the 1920s, the reform of the Francia Station, the improvement of links with the peripheral neighborhoods, the elimination of level crossings within the city, the burying of the train tracks in the urban interior - in streets such as Aragón "Calle de Aragón (Barcelona)"), Balmes and Vía Augusta "Vía Augusta (Barcelona)") - and electrification of the public trams.[157]​ A funicular was also built to access the top of the mountain - with a second section to ascend to the castle that in 1970 was replaced by a cable car -, as well as a cable car to access it from the port of Barcelona, a work by Carles Buïgas that, due to a delay in the works, was inaugurated in 1931.[158]​[159]​.

All these public works led to a strong demand for employment, causing a great increase in immigration to Barcelona, ​​coming from all parts of Spain. This increase in population led to the construction of various working-class neighborhoods of "cheap houses", such as the Eduardo Aunós group in Montjuic (disappeared), the Ramon Albó group in Horta (current Can Peguera) and the Milans del Bosch groups (current Buen Pastor "El Buen Pastor (Barcelona)") and Barón de Viver in Besós.[160]​ However, one of its worst effects was the rise of barracks, since many of the immigrants who could not access housing resorted to self-construction, with precarious buildings made with waste materials (cane, wood, brass), in unique spaces for the family of some. In 1930 there were about 15,000 barracks in Barcelona, ​​mainly in San Andrés, Montjuic mountain and the beaches of Barceloneta and Pueblo Nuevo, where neighborhoods such as Pequín "Pequín (Barcelona)"), Perona and Somorrostro "Somorrostro (Barcelona)") are still remembered.[161]

Second Republic and Plan Macià

The arrival of the Second Republic favored the creation of various urban projects, in a city that in 1930 had reached one million inhabitants, and that was deficient in infrastructure, housing, transport and equipment such as schools and hospitals.[163]​ In 1932 the Generalitat commissioned the brothers Nicolau and Santiago Rubió i Tudurí with a zoning project for the Catalan territory (Regional Planning), which would be the first attempt at joint planning of all the lands of the Principality. The project included a region of Barcelona, ​​which included the city's plain, the Bajo Llobregat and the group of towns around the Tibidabo mountain.[83]​ The Regional Plan included all considerations about the territory, both urban and natural, as well as aspects such as agriculture and livestock, mining, industry, tourism, health and culture.[164]​.

Another territorial structuring project was carried out in 1936, the Territorial Division of Catalonia, based on a work commissioned by the Generalitat in 1932 to Pau Vila. The project sought a spatial organization based on administrative public services, which resulted in a division into 9 regions and 38 regions. The City of Barcelona remained the capital of the Barcelonés region, which included Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, ​​Santa Coloma de Gramanet and San Adrián de Besós. At that time, Catalonia had an area of ​​2,920,748 inhabitants and 1,070 municipalities.[165]​.

In these years, an interesting urban project was generated, the Macià Plan (1932-1935), prepared by the GATCPAC architects, with Josep Lluís Sert at the head, in collaboration with the French rationalist architect Le Corbusier. The project provided for a functional distribution of the city with a new geometric order, through large backbone axes and with a new maritime façade defined by Cartesian skyscrapers, in addition to the improvement of equipment and services, the promotion of public housing and the creation of a large park and leisure center next to the Llobregat delta.[166]​.

The Plan presented Barcelona as a political and administrative capital, of a working-class and functional nature, which would be structured into various areas: a residential zone, a financial and industrial zone, a civic and service zone, and a recreational zone, which included parks and gardens and beaches; Links and communications and transportation were also carefully studied. The backbone would be the Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas, a wide strip that would go from the Llobregat to the Besós. Meridiana and Paralelo avenues were also promoted, which would converge at the port, where a city or business center would be located, moving the port facilities to the Free Zone "Zona Franca (Barcelona)"). For the residential area, they proposed the creation of 400 x 400 m modules—equivalent to nine blocks of the Ensanche—with large housing complexes and social facilities. The recreation area was designed through green spaces located in these residential modules and a large strip of land in the coastal area, between Barceloneta and the Pueblo Nuevo "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"), as well as the creation of a vast complex for leisure called Ciudad de Soso y Vacaciones, which would be located on the beaches of Viladecans, Gavá and Castelldefels.[167]​.

The Franco dictatorship and the Regional Plan

The years of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975) were characterized by urban developmentalism, which consisted of the unbridled construction of cheap housing, largely officially protected, to absorb immigration from the rest of the State. In two decades, the population went from 1,280,179 inhabitants in 1950 to 1,745,142 in 1970.[173]​ However, although subsidized housing was promoted, this did not stop speculation.[174]​ The new housing was developed mainly on the outskirts of the city - an area of about , double that of Ensanche -,[175]​ with three models main ones: neighborhoods of suburban expansion, neighborhoods of marginal urbanization or self-construction, and mass housing estates.[176]​ The construction of housing was carried out, in many cases, without prior urban planning, and using cheap materials that, over the years, would cause various problems such as aluminosis. The construction fever caused the creation or expansion of new neighborhoods, such as El Carmelo, Nou Barris, El Guinardó, El Valle de Hebron, La Sagrera, El Clot or Pueblo Nuevo "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"). Esplugas de Llobregat), which in turn grew enormously, a fact that led Mayor Porcioles to coin the concept of "Greater Barcelona".[178]​.

Real estate speculation was favored by the reform of the Municipal Ordinances carried out in 1942, in which the height of the buildings was increased with respect to the width of the streets: thus, in streets between 20 and - average width of the Ensanche - heights of up to , equivalent to a ground floor and six floors, were allowed, while in more than the height it could reach (seven floors). This increase in buildability caused notable differences between buildings built in different periods, and caused the presence of numerous party walls that made the urban space ugly, a problem that the city still suffers from despite several projects to correct it, such as the Barcelona get pretty campaign.[179]​.

The post-war urban renewal was led by the person responsible for urban planning of the new authorities, Pedro Bidagor, who in 1945 promoted the creation of the Provincial Planning Commission of Barcelona, in charge of preparing a planning project for the city and its surroundings.[83] Thus arose the Regional Plan of 1953, developed by Josep Soteras, an attempt to integrate the city with the neighboring municipalities in order to satisfy the strong demand for housing in the years of massive immigration arrival, while trying to stop real estate speculation and improve the urban environment.[180]​ The Plan was accompanied by a legislative change, the Land and Urban Planning Law of 1956, which sought to provide rationality to urban development, although it encountered numerous difficulties in its application.[181]​ The project differentiated between expansion, suburban or garden-city areas, applying a polarized distribution of the territory; Thus, in Barcelona he identified three areas as growth areas: Levante, Poniente and Diagonal Norte. It also reserved large areas for infrastructure, equipment and green spaces; Among the latter, the boundary of the Collserola mountain range as a large metropolitan central park stood out.[182]​.

Democracy and the General Metropolitan Plan

The end of the dictatorship and the arrival of democracy marked a new development in the architectural and urban panorama of the city, increasingly immersed in international avant-garde currents. The new socialist town councils of Narcís Serra and Pasqual Maragall opted for urban planning and architecture as hallmarks of the city, and began an extensive program of urban reforms, which culminated with the celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games. The new public commissions were reflected in the increase in facilities such as schools, parks and gardens, roads and urban spaces, civic, cultural and sports.[207]​.

A good part of the municipal actions consisted of the acquisition of urban land, a fact favored by the relocation of factories and industrial complexes that were moved out of the city. This policy was favored by the new council, which appointed Oriol Bohigas as delegate of Urban Planning, which began a period of strong public investment in the city that led to a radical change in the urban physiognomy and a new projection of Barcelona at an international level, whose launch took place with the Olympic Games.[208]​.

The municipal actions of those years focused on reconstruction versus expansion, on public versus private initiative. Against the vision of the city as a unitary entity, the concept of the sum of realities was opposed, in which attention to local needs was prioritized. The aim was to alleviate both quantitative and qualitative deficits, in which each intervention in public space served as an engine for urban regeneration, compensating the peripheries with a "monumentalization" of their environment.[209]​.

One of the driving factors of urban change was industrial restructuring, promoted by the Reindustrialization Plan for the center of Barcelona, ​​which resulted in the creation of an Urgent Reindustrialization Zone (ZUR). The new industrial development was based on factors such as R&D, and the commitment to new technologies.[210]​.

The new urbanism was reflected in the General Metropolitan Urban Planning Plan (1976), written by Joan Antoni Solans, an attempt to stop speculation and rehabilitate the most degraded urban spaces, placing special emphasis on social, healthcare and cultural facilities. For this purpose, the Barcelona Metropolitan Corporation was created, which encompassed the capital and 26 surrounding municipalities. Three general lines of action were drawn up: one of small-scale urban rehabilitation, such as the opening of streets and squares, the creation of parks and gardens and the restoration of buildings and artistic monuments; another on urban restructuring, focused on aspects such as road reorganization (ring belts), new central areas and land reclassification; and another of morphological reorganization, which was reflected in the current administrative division of the city into ten districts (1984), the majority coinciding with the old municipalities added to Barcelona.[211]​ One of the main tools for these interventions would be the Special Plans for Interior Reform "Interior reform of the cities of Spain") (PERI).[212]​.

1992 Olympic Games

Another of the profound transformations of Barcelona came on the occasion of the 1992 Olympic Games. The event involved the remodeling of part of the Montjuic mountain "Montjuic (Barcelona)"), where the so-called Olympic Ring was located (1985-1992), designed by Carles Buxadé, Joan Margarit, Federico Correa and Alfons Milà,[221]​ a large venue located between the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium and Plaza de Europa, which houses several sports facilities, among which the Palau Sant Jordi stands out.[222]​.

To accommodate the athletes, a new neighborhood was built, the Poblenou Olympic Village (1985-1992), with a general layout of the Martorell-Bohigas-Mackay-Puigdomènech team.[223]​ The planning of the Olympic Village was complex, and various aspects had to be adapted: the coastal railway had to be buried; Treatment plants had to be built and the discharges that until then went directly to the sea had to be channeled; a new port (Olympic Port) was built; new beaches were established and regenerated; and new road axes - such as Icaria Avenue - and transport routes were laid out.[224] Various facilities were also installed in the area, such as the Telephone Central (1989-1992, Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora) and the Meteorology Center (1990-1992, Álvaro Siza). On the other hand, the construction of two large skyscrapers (Hotel Arts and Torre Mapfre) changed the appearance of Barcelona.[225]​.

Another area of ​​action was the El Valle de Hebron neighborhood, organized according to a project by Eduard Bru") (1989-1991), which combined green areas with sports facilities. The Olympic Press Village was located in this area (1989-1991), the work of Carlos Ferrater.[226]​.

The Olympic Games also involved a process of creating new parks and gardens, such as the Mirador del Migdia, Poblenou, Carlos I parks and three designed by the Martorell-Bohigas-Mackay firm: the Cascadas park, the Olympic Port park and the Nueva Icaria park.[227]​.

On the occasion of the Games, the Old Port (Port Vell) was also remodeled, with a project by Jordi Henrich") and Olga Tarrasó. The new space was dedicated to leisure, with the creation of the Maremagnum leisure center, linked to land by the Rambla de Mar, a pivoting bridge designed by Helio Piñón and Albert Viaplana.[228] A Coastal Plan was also instituted for the event with a view to the regeneration of the beaches of the city, quite eroded until then, and which were completely renovated and reclaimed for the enjoyment of the citizens. Beaches such as those of San Sebastián, Barceloneta, Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella were cleaned and filled with sand from the seabed, treatment plants were built in the Besós and Llobregat rivers and underwater rocks were placed to favor flora and fauna.[229]​ On the other hand, the The Llobregat River was diverted in its final stretch to the south, allowing the port to be expanded in that direction.[230]​.

At the turn of the century, the city continued to focus on innovation and design as future projects, along with the use of new technologies and a commitment to environmental sustainability. In 2000, the Urban Strategies Advisory Council was created, in charge of assisting the City Council on urban planning issues and strategic decision-making issues for the city and its surroundings. Initially it was composed of Oriol Bohigas, Dominique Perrault, Richard Rogers, Ramon Folch, Jordi Nadal and Antoni Marí.[241]​.

One of the first urban projects of the new millennium was the creation of the 22@ district, thanks to a modification of the General Metropolitan Plan carried out in 2000. Its objective is the reformulation of the industrial land of the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"), a traditionally industrial sector that at the end of the century entered into certain decline due to the relocation of the majority of companies to land outside the city. The conservation of the productive business fabric of the area was then promoted, betting on companies dedicated to new technologies, in line with the private sphere and the daily activities of the area. The area of ​​action is , which made it one of the areas of greatest urban renewal in Europe at the beginning of the century.[242]​.

One of the most notable events of the new millennium was the celebration of the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, which allowed for new urban changes in the city: the entire Besós area was recovered, until then populated by old disused factories, the entire Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)") was regenerated and the new Diagonal Mar neighborhood was built, while the city was provided with new parks and spaces for leisure. citizens.[243]​ The venue was designed by Elías Torres and José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, of which a multipurpose esplanade stands out, culminated at one end by a large photovoltaic panel, which became one of the emblems of the event.[244]​.

The urban planning of the new millennium has reinforced the polynuclear grid structure promoted since the 1990s, which has favored the appearance of new urban centers such as the Forum, 22@ and La Sagrera.[245]​ In 2025 the new Plaza de las Glorias Catalanas was inaugurated after several years of works, in which traffic was buried and a new park was installed for the enjoyment of citizens.[246]​.

Communications have improved with the arrival of high speed, which links the Catalan capital with Madrid and Paris; The Mediterranean Corridor line is being planned, a strategic transportation line between the peninsula and the European continent. The port and airport of El Prat have also been expanded, with the aim of turning Barcelona into the logistics center of southern Europe. The metro network has been expanded, with the extension of several lines (3 and 5), and the creation of some new ones (9, 10 and 11), some of them fully automated. In 2012, an orthogonal reorganization of the bus network began, to create a rapid transit bus network.[247] The construction of a fourth ring road is also planned to improve communications in the metropolitan area,[248]​ as well as the connection between the Bajo Llobregat and Besós trams through Diagonal Avenue.[249]​.

In recent years, numerous infrastructures have been installed in the city to promote pedestrian traffic in high and difficult-to-access areas, mainly elevators and escalators. A clear example is the Carmelo neighborhood, where a collapse also occurred in 2005 due to the extension works on line 5 of the metro, which caused the demolition of several buildings and the relocation of hundreds of neighbors. [250] Due to this, the Generalitat declared El Carmelo as an Extraordinary Area of Comprehensive Rehabilitation (AERI), with a program of intervention and promotion of public works, rehabilitation of buildings and improvement of equipment. public.[251]​.

As for green spaces, among the most recent ones built it is worth mentioning: the Nou Barris Central Park (1997-2007), by Carme Fiol and Andreu Arriola, which in 2007 received the International Urban Landscape Award in Frankfurt (Germany);[252]​ the Diagonal Mar Park (1999-2002), by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, a modern design park where presence of water;[253]​ and the Poblenou Center park (2008), by Jean Nouvel, divided into various thematic spaces, with avant-garde design.[254]​ In 2016, the first large park for dogs was opened, a 700 m² space located in the Nou Barris district, which has a watering hole and play elements for pets.[255]​.

A new impulse for urban planning began in 2015 with the beginning of the drafting of the new Urban Master Plan (PDU) of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, whose approval is scheduled for 2021. The PDU must complement the General Metropolitan Plan of 1976 in order to promote the urban and social transformation of the metropolitan area of the Catalan capital, made up of 36 municipalities and 3.5 million inhabitants.[256] Among the objectives of the new plan are: classify the metropolitan land and establish its urbanization criteria, establish building regulations, delimit the areas of urban transformation and its sustainable development, preserve the environment, respect forest and agricultural lands, and guarantee correct mobility of people and transport. According to Ramon Torra, manager of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, «the PDU has two conceptual objectives: the definition of a metropolitan urban model that integrates current diversity, ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially cohesive; and the methods and tools necessary to carry it out."[257]​.

In September 2016, a pilot test began to adapt certain groups of blocks in the city as "superblocks", intermediate spaces between the block and the neighborhood, with restricted vehicle traffic to promote pedestrian traffic, bicycle circulation and public transport, also gaining spaces for leisure and public facilities. The first test was carried out in a set of nine blocks in the Pueblo Nuevo "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"), where the vertical and horizontal signs were changed to indicate the area. Traffic is prohibited in a straight line, so vehicles can only turn at intersections, and is limited to 10 km/h. This leaves the interior space between blocks free, which will be used for public spaces, for which an ideas contest has been organized among Architecture students.[258]​[259]​.

After this pilot test, in 2020 a new phase of creating superblocks began in the Ensanche district, with the aim of establishing 42 new axes and green squares within a period of ten years, until 2030. The first axis of action would be Consejo de Ciento street, where the creation of four new agoras is planned in Rocafort, Conde Borrell, Enrique Granados and Gerona. According to the forecast, one in every three streets in Ensanche would prioritize pedestrianization and public and sustainable transport. Unlike the pilot tests, now action is taken by axes instead of blocks, with the subsequent creation of new squares on the intersection axes. Private traffic will be restricted to residents, with a maximum speed of 10 km/h. A budget of 37.8 million euros is planned for these actions. The start of construction is scheduled for 2022. These changes seek compliance with the sustainable development goals (SDG) promoted by the United Nations.[260]​.

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in December 2019 worldwide led to various urban changes in the city, some temporary and others that became permanent. On March 14, 2020, the Spanish Government decreed the entry into force of the state of alarm throughout the national territory, with the obligation of citizens to confine themselves to their homes except for essential services.[261] To keep distances with the aim of avoiding contagion, numerous spaces were enabled for pedestrian crossing, gained at the expense of road traffic roads. These areas were marked with colored paint according to their use: blue for bicycles and yellow for pedestrians, together with the use of temporary elements such as pivots and concrete blocks. In many of these spaces, areas such as terraces for bars and restaurants were set up, with the aim that customers could have drinks outside, a more conducive space to avoid contagion. These measures, initially conceived on an ephemeral basis, were defined by the Councilor for Urban Planning, Janet Sanz, as "an example of tactical urbanism".[262] Over time, many of these provisional changes became permanent, such as the spaces enabled for terraces of hospitality establishments, which were regulated in September 2021 through a new ordinance that established new criteria for permanent street furniture, specifically seven new platform models to integrate the elements of said establishments. (tables, chairs, umbrellas) in the surrounding space.[263]​.

• - Barcelona official website Archived December 23, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.

Barcelona, ​​capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia, is located in the Spanish Levant, on the Mediterranean coast. Its geographical location is located between 41° 16' and 41° 30' north latitude and between 1° 54' and 2° 18' east longitude "Longitude (cartography)"). m) as the highest point—, as well as the deltas of the Besós and Llobregat rivers. Above the coastline and separating the city from the Llobregat delta is the Montjuic mountain "Montjuic (Barcelona)") (184.8 m).[5]​ Likewise, from the Collserola mountain range several hills appear on the plain that follow a line parallel to the Litoral mountain range: they are the Peira hills (133 m), the Rovira (261 m), the Carmelo "Monte Carmelo (Barcelona)") (267 m), Creueta del Coll (249 m), Putget (181 m) and Monterols (121 m).[6]​.

The plain of Barcelona is not uniform, but presents various undulations caused by the multiple torrents that once crisscrossed the terrain, and it also has a uniform inclination from the sea to the Collserola mountain range, with an ascent of about . Montjuic de la costa.[8]​ The terrain is formed by a substrate of slate "Slate (rock)") and granitic formations, as well as clays and calcareous rocks.[9]​ The coast was formerly occupied by marshes and lagoons, which disappeared as the coastline advanced thanks to the sediments contributed by the rivers and torrents that flowed into the beach; It is estimated that from the century BC. C. the coastline has been able to advance by about .[10]​ The plain area was formerly crisscrossed by numerous torrents and streams, which were grouped into three river sectors: the Horta stream in the area near the Besós river (or eastern area); the Riera Blanca and the Gornal torrent in the Llobregat area (or western area); and, in the central area of ​​the plain, a set of streams from the southern slope of Tibidabo, such as the San Gervasio, Vallcarca, Magòria and Collserola streams.[11]​.

The climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters thanks to the protection that the terrain's orography offers to the plain, which is sheltered from the north winds. The temperature usually ranges between 9.5 °C and 24.3 °C, on average. It has little rainfall, some annual, and most rainfall occurs in spring and autumn. This shortage meant that in the past numerous works had to be carried out to supply the city with water, including wells, canals and irrigation ditches. The vegetation of the area is mainly composed of pines and oaks, and undergrowth of heather, durillo, strawberry tree and climbing plants. In the past, both dryland and irrigated agriculture was practiced - mainly vineyards and cereals - although today practically the entire surface is built.[12]​.

Barcelona, ​​capital of the Barcelonés region and the province of Barcelona, ​​is the most important urban center in Catalonia at a demographic, political, economic and cultural level. It is the seat of the autonomous government and the Parliament of Catalonia, as well as the provincial council, the archbishopric and the IV Military Region, and has a port, an airport and an important network of railways and roads. European.[15]​.

Contenido

Barcelona está dividida en 10 distritos y 73 barrios:.

• - Ciutat Vella "Distrito de Ciutat Vella (Barcelona)") (, 100 685 habitantes): se corresponde con el núcleo antiguo de la ciudad, el derivado de los períodos romano y medieval, más el barrio de la Barceloneta, creado en el siglo . Esta zona recibió mucha inmigración del resto de España durante los siglos y , instalada principalmente en los barrios de Sant Pere y El Raval; así ha seguido durante el siglo , aunque con inmigrantes de otros países. Este distrito tiene la población más envejecida y de más bajo nivel socioeconómico de la ciudad, aunque en el nuevo milenio se ha iniciado un lento proceso de gentrificación en paralelo a los planes de desarrollo urbanístico realizados en el distrito. Al ser la parte más antigua de la ciudad tiene numerosos monumentos y obras arquitectónicas de interés, por lo que es un importante foco de atracción turística. Por otro lado, alberga las más importantes instituciones de la ciudad, como el Ayuntamiento o la Generalidad de Cataluña.[16]​.

• - Ensanche (, 263 565 habitantes): este distrito surgió de la ampliación de la ciudad antigua tras el derribo de las murallas, gracias al Plan Cerdá elaborado por Ildefonso Cerdá. Es un distrito densamente poblado, ya que en sus inicios fue sobre todo una zona residencial donde se alojaron las familias acomodadas tras abandonar la parte vieja de la ciudad. El nivel social sin embargo se ha estabilizado, y hoy día corresponde sobre todo a la clase media. Aun así, es un importante foco de atracción turística, especialmente por la presencia de obras arquitectónicas modernistas, lo que ha incentivado el comercio y la instalación en la zona de las principales marcas comerciales.[17]​.

• - Sants-Montjuïc (, 180 824 habitantes): aglutina la antigua población de Sants, anexionada a Barcelona en 1897, junto a los terrenos de la montaña de Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)"), lo que lo convierten en el distrito más grande de la ciudad; incluye también la Zona Franca "Zona Franca (Barcelona)"). Tiene baja densidad poblacional, y su índice de población de origen extranjero sobrepasa la media. Tiene un elevado porcentaje de superficie verde, gracias sobre todo a la presencia de la montaña de Montjuic, así como de terrenos industriales.[18]​.

• - Les Corts (, 81 200 habitantes): proviene de la antigua población de Les Corts de Sarrià, agregada a la ciudad en 1897, con un probable origen en una masía medieval. Era una zona eminentemente agraria, que a mediados del siglo experimentó un notable aumento urbanístico con la construcción de la zona llamada Corts Noves. La población es mayoritariamente autóctona, y destaca por su elevado índice de población joven. La mayoría es de clase media, aunque el barrio de Pedralbes destaca por ser uno de los más exclusivos de la ciudad. Su principal actividad económica se engloba en el sector terciario, y acoge numerosas instituciones financieras y centros de oficinas.[19]​.

• - Sarriá-San Gervasio (, 145 761 habitantes): procede de la unión de dos antiguos municipios, Sarriá y San Gervasio de Cassolas. Es uno de los distritos más extensos, sobre todo porque comprende buena parte de la sierra de Collserola. También es el distrito con menos densidad poblacional, debido sobre todo a ser una zona residencial de alto estatus, con predominio de casas unifamiliares. En economía predominan los equipamientos de calidad, así como centros escolares y sanitarios privados. Su población tiene la tasa más alta de estudios superiores y de profesionales técnicos y directivos, así como de residentes autóctonos, mientras que de población extranjera predomina la de la Unión Europea.[20]​.

• - Gracia (, 120 273 habitantes): tiene su origen en la antigua villa de Gracia, incorporada a la ciudad en 1897. Era una zona agrícola, que a principios del siglo empezó a forjar un entramado urbano e industrial. Tiene una de las densidades poblacionales más altas de la ciudad, ya que su núcleo antiguo se caracteriza por calles estrechas y casas apretadas. Su población tiene un elevado porcentaje de gente mayor y, aunque el nivel de estudios es superior a la media, la mayoría son de clase social media-baja.[21]​.

• - Horta-Guinardó (, 166 950 habitantes): proviene de la antigua localidad de Horta, agregada en 1904, a la que se añadió administrativamente el barrio del Guinardó, antes perteneciente a San Martín de Provensals. Era una zona agrícola y de residencias estivales, que acogió numerosa inmigración sobre todo en los dos primeros tercios del siglo . Al ser una zona periférica, tiene una baja densidad poblacional, con un predominio de población joven y de clase media-baja. Durante los años de llegada masiva de inmigración fue una zona de fuerte especulación inmobiliaria.[22]​.

• - Nou Barris (, 164 516 habitantes): es el distrito de más reciente creación, en unos terrenos segregados de San Andrés de Palomar. Se trata de una zona periférica y de mayoría poblacional inmigrada, que sufrió también una fuerte especulación inmobiliaria e incluso adoleció de barraquismo y autoconstrucción, y que durante mucho tiempo ha padecido importantes carencias asistenciales y de infraestructuras y servicios básicos, que se han ido mitigando los últimos tiempos. La mayoría de la población es de clase obrera y bajo poder adquisitivo.[23]​.

• - San Andrés "Distrito de San Andrés (Barcelona)") (, 145 983 habitantes): corresponde al antiguo municipio de San Andrés de Palomar, anexionado en 1897. Fue una zona agrícola y molinera hasta mediados del siglo , en que comenzaron a asentarse numerosas industrias. Por otro lado, a mediados del siglo recibió una fuerte oleada inmigratoria, que fue acogida en barrios de casas baratas y de polígonos residenciales, como El Buen Pastor "El Buen Pastor (Barcelona)") y Barón de Viver. En los últimos tiempos ha experimentado una cierta revitalización gracias a actividades comerciales como la ubicación del centro La Maquinista o a la urbanización del entorno de la Estación de La Sagrera para acoger la llegada del AVE.[24]​.

• - San Martín "Distrito de San Martín (Barcelona)") (, 232 629 habitantes): proviene de la antigua población de San Martín de Provensals, agregada en 1897. Como el anterior, era una zona agrícola y molinera, hasta que con la llegada de la Revolución Industrial se instalaron en la zona numerosas fábricas; sin embargo, en las últimas décadas ha sufrido un proceso de desindustrialización, sustituida por actividades económicas más basadas en las nuevas tecnologías, especialmente tras la ubicación del llamado distrito 22@. Este distrito también acogió numerosa población inmigrante. Gracias a los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992 vivió un proceso de renovación de todo el frente litoral, donde se situó la Villa Olímpica.[25]​.

Historical evolution

The administrative division has varied over time. The first delimitation was established in 1389, the date on which the city was divided into four quarters: Framenors, Pi, Mar and Sant Pere. This division was carried out by establishing a grid with the Plaza del Trigo as the geometric center, with a separation of the northern and southern quarters set in the ancient Roman cardo maximus "Thistle (street)"). This separation already evidenced the social difference between the parts of the city: Framenors was an aristocratic neighborhood, Pi was residential and civil servant, Sant Pere was industrial and commercial, and Mar was popular and religious, since it housed the majority of convents and monasteries. In the century, another barracks was added, that of El Raval, establishing a division that lasted until the century.[26]​.

In 1769 a reform was carried out by which five barracks were created, each subdivided into eight neighborhoods: I-Palacio included the port and the new neighborhood of Barceloneta; II-San Pedro was an eminently industrial area; III-Audiencia corresponded to the center of the city; IV-Casa de la Ciudad was a primarily residential area; and V-El Raval housed the land west of the Rambla.[27]​.

During the century, numerous divisions were made, most of them for political reasons, since the districts also marked the electoral constituencies. The most notable were those of 1837, in which the city was divided into four districts (Lonja, San Pedro, Universidad and San Pablo); and that of 1878, after the demolition of the walls, in which 10 districts were established: I-La Barceloneta, II-Borne, III-Lonja, IV-Atarazanas, V-Hospital, VI-Audiencia, VII-Instituto, VIII-Universidad, IX-Hostafranchs and X-Concepción.[28]​.

Between the end of the century and the beginning of the century, various neighboring municipalities were added to Barcelona (Sants, Les Corts, San Gervasio de Cassolas, Gracia, San Andrés de Palomar, San Martín de Provensals, San Juan de Horta, Sarrià); A new administrative reorganization was then carried out, again with 10 districts: I-Barceloneta and Pueblo Nuevo, II-San Pedro, III-Lonja and Audiencia, IV-Concepción, V-Atarazanas and Hospital, VI-Universidad, VII-Sans, Las Corts and Hostafranchs, VIII-Gracia and San Gervasio, IX-Horta and San Andrés del Palomar, X-San Martín de Provensals.[29]​.

In 1933 a new reformulation was made, also with ten districts: I-Barceloneta, II-Poble Sec and Montjuïc, III-Sarrià, Vallvidrera and Sant Gervasi, IV- Sant Pere and Dreta de l'Eixample, V-El Raval, VI-Esquerra de l'Eixample, VII-Sants, Les Corts and Hostafrancs, VIII-Gràcia, IX-Horta, Sant Andreu del Palomar, Sagrera and Camp de l'Arpa, X-Sant Martí de Provençals, Clot and Poblenou. These districts were expanded in 1949 with two more: XI-Les Corts and XII-Sagrada Familia.[30]​.

In 1984, the current division into ten districts was approved, established with the objective of decentralizing the City Council, transferring powers to the new councils. The new districts were established seeking maximum respect for their historical and morphological identity, but also seeking a practical and functional delimitation, which would guarantee broad healthcare coverage to residents. In general, efforts were made to respect the old demarcations from the old city, its expansion and the added municipalities, although some areas varied with respect to their historical belonging: Pedralbes, previously belonging to Sarrià, went to Les Corts; Vallcarca, before Horta, joined Gracia; The Guinardó, originally from San Martín, was added to Horta; and the new district of Nou Barris was segregated from San Andrés.[31]​.

Barcelona was founded by Roman colonizers in the century BC. C. with the name of Barcino.[note 1]​ Originally it was a small walled city projected from the beginning with a monumental air, and which took the urban form of castrum initially, and oppidum later, settled on the Mons Taber (16.9), a small hill located on the site of the current Plaza de San Jaime. The maximum splendor of the Roman era occurred during the 1st century, with a population that must have ranged between 3,500 and 5,000 inhabitants.[33]​.

The main reason for choosing a small promontory near the coast to build the city was its natural port, although the alluvium from the torrents and the sedimentation of sand from the coastal currents would make the draft of the port difficult.[34] The center of the city was the forum, the central square dedicated to public life and business. It was located at the confluence between the cardus maximus "Cardo (street)") (Llibreteria and Call streets) and the decumanus maximus (Obispo, Ciudad and Regomir streets), approximately in the center of the walled enclosure.[35]​ From this center, the city followed an orthogonal layout, with square or rectangular blocks, following an arrangement of meshes that started from two main axes: a horizontal axial order (northwest-southwest) and another vertical (southeast-northeast), which would mark the future layout of the city, and would be included by Ildefonso Cerdá in his Expansion Plan of 1859.[36]​.

The Romans were great experts in architecture and civil engineering, and provided the territory with roads, bridges, aqueducts and an urban design with a rational layout and basic services, such as sewage.[37]​ The Barcino enclosure was walled, with a perimeter of , which protected a space of .[38]​ The first wall of the city, of simple masonry, began to be built in the century BC. C. It had few towers, only in the corners and at the doors of the walled perimeter. However, the first incursions by the Franks and Alemanni starting in the 250s gave rise to the need to reinforce the walls, which were expanded in the 19th century. The new wall was built on the foundations of the first, and was formed by a 2-meter double wall, with space in the middle filled with stone and mortar "Mortar (construction)"). The wall consisted of 74 towers about 18 meters high, most of them with a rectangular base.[39]​.

Of the rest of the preserved urban elements from the Roman period, it is worth highlighting the necropolis, a set of tombs located outside the walled area, in the current Plaza de la Villa de Madrid: it has more than 70 tombs from the 19th century, discovered by chance in 1954. north, taking water from the Besós River; Both joined in front of the Decuman gate of the city - current Plaza Nueva.[41]​.

After the fall of the Roman Empire and until the formation of the Catalan counties, various conquests took place and the passage of successive civilizations, from the Visigoths and the Arabs to a period of integration into the Carolingian Empire. This period was marked by the reuse of the Roman city and the use of its urban structure, which did not undergo relevant changes. An aspect to highlight about this time is its consideration as a military stronghold, which will lead it to acquire hegemony over other cities in its surroundings and to become the capital of its territory.[42]​ The colonization of the surrounding fields also began at this time, within a system of feudal structure, as well as a certain suburbanization began, with the appearance of the first suburbs.[43]​.

At this time, Barcelona was established as a county and later became part of the Crown of Aragon, becoming an important maritime and commercial hub of the Mediterranean Sea. The city area grew from the primitive urban core - what is today the Gothic Quarter - and, in the 19th century, the El Raval neighborhood emerged. Barcelona then had about 25,000 inhabitants.[44]​.

Medieval Barcelona emerged from the reconstruction of the city after its near destruction by Almanzor in 985, starting again as the main nucleus of the structure and the Roman-era wall.[45] The city underwent numerous changes as a center of political and religious power, a center of commerce and craft production, and as a link between a new and complex network of social and institutional relations. Thus, the city acquires its own autonomy, a singularity within the territory that surrounds it, becoming the center of a hinterland that will mark the organization of the modern city.[46]​.

The progressive increase in the size of the city, and its increasing complexity at both an urban and social and economic level, led to the creation of a specific government system for the administration of the city, the Council of One Hundred (1265). This entity operated in a field of action that went from Moncada to Molins de Rey, and from Castelldefels to Montgat. Among other things, it was in charge of the supply of food and water, the maintenance of roads, the population census and territorial demarcation. He also established the first urban building patterns, known as Consuetuds de Santacilia and promulgated by Jaime I.[47]​.

During the medieval period, Barcelona had a Jewish neighborhood, Call, located between the current streets of Fernando, Baños Nuevos, Palla and Obispo. Founded in 692, it survived until its destruction in 1391 in a xenophobic assault. It was separated from the rest of the city by a wall, and had two synagogues (Major, currently a museum, and Minor, today the parish of San Jaime), baths, schools and hospitals.[48]

Outside the city walls, the plain of Barcelona was dedicated to agriculture, especially dedicated to supplying the city: it was known as hort i vinyet de Barcelona ("orchard and vineyard"), which produced fruit, vegetables and wine, in an area between the Horta and Sants streams, and between the Collserola mountain range, the Puig Aguilar and the Coll de Codines to the sea.[49] This agricultural development It was consolidated with the construction, in the middle of the century - and probably by Count Miró - of two canals that directed the waters of the Llobregat river "Llobregat (river)") and the Besós to the outskirts of the city: the Besós was known as Acequia Condal or Regomir, and was parallel to the Strata Francisca, a road that was a variant of the ancient Roman Via Augusta, and which was built by the Franks to better bring the city closer to the center of the Carolingian Empire.[50]​.

Once the danger of Muslim incursions was removed, the first settlements outside the city walls took place. Various population centers (vila nova) were created, generally around churches and monasteries: this happened around the church of Santa María del Mar, where a port neighborhood was created; also in the church of San Cucufate del Riego, of an agrarian nature; the San Pedro neighborhood around San Pedro de las Puellas; The Pino neighborhood emerged around the church of Santa María del Pino; that of Santa Ana next to the homonymous church "Monasterio de Santa Ana (Barcelona)"); The Arcs neighborhood was settled around the Portal del Bisbe; and the Mercadal, around the Portal Mayor market. The neighborhood of El Raval (in Catalan it means "suburb") was also gradually formed, initially a suburb populated by orchards and some religious buildings, such as the monastery of San Pablo del Campo (914), the church of San Antonio Abad (1157), the convent of the Calved Carmelites (1292), the priory of Nazareth (1342) or the monastery of Montealegre (1362).[51]​.

The creation of these new neighborhoods forced the walled perimeter to be expanded, so in 1260 a new wall was built from San Pedro de las Puellas to the Atarazanas, facing the sea. The new section was , and included an area of ​​. The enclosure had eighty towers and eight new gates, among which were several enclaves of relevance today, such as the Portal del Ángel, the Portaferrissa or La Boquería. those of Martorell and Castellví de Rosanes, at the entrance to the Llobregat river; those of Eramprunyà (Gavá) and Castelldefels in the delta of the same river; and that of Moncada at the entrance to the Besós River.[53]​.

The medieval urban fabric was marked by various areas of influence, from the aristocracy and institutional power, through the bishopric and religious orders, to the guilds and the different commercial associations. The street network was irregular, and the squares were mere widenings of the streets, or plots of land derived from the demolition of a house, which were usually used to store wheat, wool or coal. The houses used to be of the "artisan type", with a ground floor for the workshop and one or two floors of housing, generally measuring 10-12 wide and 10-12 deep, sometimes with a small garden in the back. The largest buildings were either churches or palaces, along with some institutional buildings, such as the City House, headquarters of the Council of One Hundred - later City Hall - or the Palace of the Generalitat of Catalonia, in addition to some hospitals - such as the Santa Cruz - or buildings such as the Lonja or the Atarazanas.[54]​.

In 1209, one of the first private urban planning operations in the city took place, the opening of Montcada Street, thanks to the concession made by Pedro II to Guillem Ramon de Montcada; A wide, straight street was laid out, which went from the Bòria to the sea, and which was occupied by large stately residences.[55] Another of the few urban planning processes of this stage was the opening of the Plaza Nueva, next to the Episcopal Palace and near the Barcelona cathedral, carried out in 1355 thanks to the demolition of several houses and the reuse of the Bishop's garden.[56]​.

Between the centuries and , the continuous urban growth led to a new extension of the walled enclosure, with the construction of the wall of El Raval, in the western area of ​​the city, which encompassed an area of ​​, with a perimeter of . The new urban area started from the Atarazanas, following the current streets of San Pablo, San Antonio, Universidad and San Pedro, going down the current Lluís Companys promenade to the Santa Clara monastery - in the current Ciudadela park -, and to the sea, along the current Marqués de la Argentera avenue. Currently, only the Portal de Santa Madrona is preserved, in the Atarazanas.[57]​.

With the expansion of the wall, a long avenue known as the Rambla was left within the city limits, occupied mainly by religious institutions. Its urbanization then proceeded, which ended in 1444. In its day it was the largest space in the city, dedicated to walking, leisure or the installation of occasional markets. Deeply renovated between the 19th and 2nd centuries, today it is one of the most emblematic places in the city.[58]​.

Finally, it should be noted that during the Middle Ages an extensive network of roads arose in the plain of Barcelona that connected the city with the various suburbs and towns in the vicinity, as well as other points of interest: farmhouses (Camino de la Torre Melina), mills (Camino de la Verneda), quarries (Camino de la Creu dels Molers), whitewashing meadows (Camino del Teulat), churches or chapels (Camino de San Lázaro), fountains (Camino de la Font dels Ocellets), etc.[59]​.

In this period Barcelona became part of the Hispanic Monarchy, arising from the union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon. It was a time of alternation between periods of prosperity and economic crises, especially due to plague epidemics in the century and social and war conflicts such as the War of the Reapers and the War of Succession between the centuries and , although in this last century the economy rebounded thanks to the opening of trade with America and the beginning of the textile industry. The city was still confined to its walls - the only expansion was on the beach, the La Barceloneta neighborhood -, despite the fact that at the end of the period it had almost 100,000 inhabitants.[60]​.

This era was not one of excessive urban reforms, since the loss of Barcelona's status as capital led to a decrease in large-scale projects. In the first half of the century, the Sea Wall was built, where the bastions of Levante, Torre Nueva, San Ramón and Mediodía were located.[61]​ For the rest, the main urban reform was in the area around the cathedral, where the Plaza de la Seo was opened, in front of the main portal of the cathedral (1546), as well as the Plaza de San Ivo, with a space cut off from the Royal Mayor Palace.[62]​.

Over the centuries, an artificial port was built to finally cover the needs of the important commercial center that was Barcelona: paradoxically, during the heyday of Catalan trade in the Mediterranean, Barcelona did not have a port prepared for the port volume that was common in the city. The old port at the foot of Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)") had been abandoned, and the city only had the beach to receive passengers and goods. Deep draft ships had to unload using boats and porters (bastaixos). Finally, in 1438 royal permission was obtained to build a port: first, a ship loaded with stones was sunk to serve as a base for the wall that joined the beach to the island of Maians; The wall was reinforced in 1477, it was lengthened into a breakwater in 1484. In the middle of the century the port was expanded in response to the campaign initiated by Charles I against Tunisia. At the end of the century, the pier was 12 long and 12 wide.[63]​.

With the construction of the port, the seafront between the Pla de Palau and the Rambla was terraced, thus urbanizing the Paseo del Mar, current Paseo de Colón "Paseo de Colón (Barcelona)"). gutters.[65]​.

In the century the city wall was expanded again with the construction of five new gates (San Severo, Talleres, San Antonio, San Pablo and Santa Madrona, the latter a reconstruction of the one from the century). Streets were also paved, sewers were installed, drinking water fountains were built and improvement works were carried out in the port.[66]​.

In the 20th century, Barcelona saw a good part of its autonomy truncated with the victory of Philip V in the War of Succession: the New Plant Decree (1716) eliminated the Generalitat and the Council of One Hundred, which were replaced by a military government, and municipal jurisdiction was reduced to the city enclosure, losing the area of ​​influence that the Council of One Hundred had in the metropolitan environment. At this time there was a notable demographic increase, and the economy became progressively industrialized, leading to the so-called Industrial Revolution.[67]​.

The arrival of the Bourbons generated a series of military engineering works, such as Montjuic Castle and the Citadel fortress.[68]​ For the construction of the Citadel (1715-1751), 1,200 houses in the Ribera neighborhood were demolished, leaving 4,500 people homeless and without compensation, and the Condal Acequia was diverted.[69]​ Work of Jorge Próspero de Verboom, it was a pentagonal walled bastion, with a protective ditch and an esplanade separating the walls and the surrounding buildings. Demolished in the Revolution of 1868, the Ciudadela park was installed within its perimeter.[70]​.

Two new roads that crossed the plain of Barcelona were also of military layout: the Mataró road - coinciding with the current Pedro IV street - and the Creu Coberta road, which connected with the Madrid highway - current Hostafrancs and Sants streets.[59]​.

In 1753 the construction of the La Barceloneta neighborhood began at the initiative of the Marquis de la Mina. Located on a small peninsula of land reclaimed from the sea, its layout was designed by the engineer Pedro Martín Cermeño, with a plot of orthogonal streets and blocks of houses with an elongated plan, which is a clear exponent of academic baroque urban planning.[71]​ In this neighborhood, the Clock Tower, the first lighthouse of the city, was located in 1772; They were followed by the Llobregat in 1845 and the Montjuic in 1925.[72]​.

In 1771, the Worker's Edict was approved, a municipal ordinance aimed at controlling private works in the city, which involved the regulation of the alignment of houses according to the layout of the streets, as well as the supervision of aspects such as street paving, sewage, house numbering, etc. This edict established for the first time the obligation to request a building permit, accompanied by a report and with the payment of the respective fees. Likewise, in 1797 a height limit was established for all buildings.[73]​ During this century there was a change in the typology of private buildings, which went from the "artisan house" of a medieval type to the "multi-family house" with a collective staircase, which definitively separated work from residence.[74]​.

Between 1776 and 1778, the redevelopment of the Rambla was carried out, an old stream that during the Middle Ages marked the western limit of the city, which was populated since the 19th century, mainly by theaters and convents. At this time, the interior wall was demolished, the buildings were realigned and a new landscaped promenade was designed, in the style of the French *boulevard. (1778-1789) which owed its name to Francisco González de Bassecourt, captain general of Catalonia, who had the initiative to create the street.[77] In 1797 the Paseo Nuevo or the Explanada "Paseo de la Explanada (Barcelona)") was also created, located next to the Military Citadel, a wide avenue lined with poplars and elms and decorated with ornamental fountains, which for a time was the main green space of the city, but it disappeared in the urbanization works of the Ciudadela park.[78]​.

During the century, the Borne and La Boquería markets were established as the only two general supply markets, and in 1752 aspects such as weights and measures were regulated for the marketing of food products, in addition to coal.[79]​.

En este período hubo una gran revitalización económica, ligada a la Revolución Industrial —especialmente la industria textil—, lo que comportó a su vez un renacimiento cultural. Entre 1854 y 1859 se produjo el derribo de las murallas, por lo que la ciudad pudo expandirse, motivo por el que se impulsó el proyecto de Ensanche, elaborado por Ildefonso Cerdá en 1859. Asimismo, gracias a la revolución de 1868 se consiguió el derribo de la Ciudadela, cuyos terrenos fueron transformados en un parque público. La población fue creciendo, especialmente gracias a la inmigración del resto de España, llegando a finales de siglo a los 400 000 habitantes.[80]​.

La Revolución Industrial tuvo una rápida consolidación en Cataluña, siendo pionera en el territorio nacional en la implantación de los procedimientos fabriles iniciados en Gran Bretaña en el siglo . En 1800 había en Barcelona 150 fábricas del ramo textil, entre las que destacaba El Vapor "El Vapor (fábrica)"), fundada por José Bonaplata. En 1849 se abrió en Sants el complejo La España Industrial, propiedad de los hermanos Muntadas. La industria textil tuvo un continuo crecimiento hasta la crisis de 1861, motivada por la escasez de algodón debida a la Guerra de Secesión estadounidense. También fue cobrando importancia la industria metalúrgica, potenciada por la creación del ferrocarril y la navegación a vapor. En 1836 abrió la fundición Nueva Vulcano en La Barceloneta y, en 1841, arrancó La Barcelonesa, antecedente de La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima (1855), una de las más importantes fábricas de la historia de Barcelona.[81]​.

La industrialización comportó importantes cambios en el urbanismo de la ciudad, debido a las nuevas necesidades de los sectores económicos de sistema capitalista, que requerían una fuerte concentración de mano de obra y de servicios auxiliares. Barcelona sufrió así un importante salto a la modernidad, caracterizada por tres factores: la migración poblacional del campo a la ciudad, la vinculación entre los avances industriales y los urbanísticos, y una mejor articulación del territorio mediante una amplia red de carreteras y ferrocarriles, que llevará a Barcelona a convertirse en una metrópoli colonizadora de su entorno territorial.[82]​.

Durante este siglo se consolidaron las ordenanzas municipales iniciadas con el Edicto de obrería: en 1814 el Pregón de policía urbana estableció en 84 artículos todas las disposiciones sobre edificación civil, mantenimiento de los espacios públicos y diversas regulaciones sobre seguridad y orden público. En 1839, el Bando general de buen gobierno renovó y amplió estas disposiciones y, entre otras cosas, reglamentó la relación entre la anchura de las calles y la altura de los edificios. Por otro lado, la ley del 8 de enero de 1845 estableció las atribuciones propias del Ayuntamiento en diversos aspectos como el urbanismo, regulando las condiciones de salubridad de los espacios públicos, así como el acondicionamiento de calles, plazas y mercados.[83]​ En 1856 se aprobaron las primeras Ordenanzas Municipales, que reunían y ampliaban todas las disposiciones anteriores, con un código urbano que contemplaba por primera vez todos los aspectos de las relaciones cívicas e institucionales en la ciudad. Por primera vez se instauraba la obligatoriedad de presentar en los permisos de construcción un plano de distribución interior. Estas ordenanzas quedaron enseguida obsoletas debido al nuevo plan de Ensanche, hasta que en 1891 se elaboraron unas nuevas que recogían las nuevas especificidades sobre el Ensanche y nuevos enlaces de la ciudad. Entre otras cosas, se aumentó la superficie de ocupación de las parcelas de un —establecido en el Plan Cerdá de 1859— a un .[84]​.

Entre las principales actuaciones urbanísticas de estos años se encuentran la apertura de la calle de Fernando en 1827, entre la Rambla y la plaza de San Jaime, con una posterior continuación hacia el Borne con las calles de Jaime I (1849-53) y Princesa "Calle de la Princesa (Barcelona)") (1853).[85]​ En 1833 se inició la ampliación del Pla de Palau, que por entonces era el centro neurálgico de la ciudad, con la presencia del Palacio Real "Palacio del Virrey (Barcelona)"), la Lonja y la Aduana. Se amplió la plaza y se construyó el Portal de Mar (1844-1848), un monumental pórtico de acceso a la Barceloneta desde el casco viejo, obra de Josep Massanès, que fue derribado en 1859 conjuntamente con las murallas de la ciudad.[86]​ Massanès fue autor también de un plan de ensanche en 1838 que no llegó a término, que comprendía el triángulo situado entre Canaletas, la plaza de la Universidad "Plaza de la Universidad (Barcelona)") y la plaza Urquinaona, y que ya esbozaba lo que sería la plaza de Cataluña, situada en el centro del triángulo.[87]​.

Otro factor que favoreció el urbanismo de estos años fue la desamortización "Desamortización española") de 1836, que dejó numerosos solares que fueron edificados o convertidos en espacios públicos, como los mercados de la Boquería y Santa Catalina, el Gran Teatro del Liceo y dos plazas trazadas por Francesc Daniel Molina: la plaza Real y la plaza del Duque de Medinaceli.[nota 2]​.

De igual forma, las nuevas disposiciones sanitarias promulgadas en esta época supusieron la desaparición de numerosos cementerios parroquiales, cuyos solares se urbanizaron como nuevas plazas públicas: surgieron así plazas como la de Santa María, del Pino, de San José Oriol, de San Felipe Neri, de San Justo, de San Pedro y de San Jaime.[88]​ Esta última se convirtió en el corazón político de la ciudad, ya que se encuentran allí el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona y la Generalidad de Cataluña.[89]​ Por otro lado, la desaparición de los cementerios parroquiales comportó la creación de un nuevo camposanto situado fuera de la ciudad, el cementerio del Este o del Pueblo Nuevo, basado en un proyecto de 1773 pero que se construyó principalmente entre 1813 y 1819. Le siguió en 1883 el cementerio del Sudoeste o de Montjuic, mientras que ya en el siglo se construyó el del Norte o de Collserola (1969).[90]​.

En 1842 se dio inicio a uno de los más claros factores de modernidad derivados de los nuevos avances científicos, la iluminación de gas. Las primeras calles iluminadas fueron la Rambla, la calle de Fernando y la plaza de San Jaime, concretamente con gas producido por destilación seca de la hulla (gas ciudad). Ese año se creó la Sociedad Catalana para el Alumbrado por Gas, rebautizada en 1912 como Catalana de Gas y Electricidad. En 1856 se consiguió aplicar el gas a cocinas y calentadores domésticos.[91]​.

Uno de los mayores factores de dinamización de la ciudad como capital de un amplio entorno metropolitano fue la llegada del ferrocarril: de Barcelona partió en 1848 la primera línea de ferrocarril de la España peninsular, que comunicaba la Ciudad Condal con la villa de Mataró. Se crearon entonces las estaciones de Francia (1854), Sants (1854) y del Norte "Estación del Norte (Barcelona)") (1862). La capital catalana se convirtió en el centro de una red ferroviaria en forma de 8 —el llamado «ocho catalán»—, formada por dos anillos que se cruzan en la ciudad. En los años 1880 había ya enlaces con Francia, Madrid, Zaragoza y Valencia, además del resto de capitales de provincia catalanas. Operaban en esa época dos compañías: Ferrocarril del Norte y MZA (Madrid-Zaragoza-Alicante), integradas en 1941 en RENFE.[92]​.

En estas fechas aparecieron también los primeros servicios de bomberos y policía propios de la ciudad. En 1843 se creó la Guardia Urbana de Barcelona, encargada de la defensa de la seguridad ciudadana; en 1938 asumieron también el control del tráfico y la circulación urbana.[93]​ Por otro lado, en 1849 surgió la Sociedad de Socorro Mutuo contra Incendios, una empresa privada que en 1865 fue sustituida por la Sociedad de Extinción de Incendios y Salvamento de Barcelona, el primer servicio público de bomberos gestionado por el Ayuntamiento. Su primer jefe fue el arquitecto Antoni Rovira i Trias, y su primer cuartel la casa de Comunes Depósitos, a la que siguieron múltiples cuarteles por toda la ciudad. En 1908 se sustituyeron los vehículos de tracción animal por los de motor, y en 1913 se profesionalizó la figura del bombero, hasta entonces eventual.[94]​.

A mediados de siglo la Diputación de Barcelona se encargó de establecer unos nuevos trazados viarios en el llano de Barcelona: surgieron así la carretera de Sarrià —actual avenida de Sarrià—, trazada por Ildefonso Cerdá y construida entre 1850 y 1853; el camino de Sants a Les Corts (1865-1867); y la carretera de la Sagrera a Horta (1871), actual calle Garcilaso.[59]​ En estos años se acondicionó el puerto, cada vez más importante como llegada de materia prima —sobre todo algodón y carbón—, con la construcción de un nuevo muelle y el dragado del puerto, a cargo del ingeniero José Rafo"), quien presentó su proyecto en 1859.[95]​.

Por otro lado, en 1855 se inició el servicio de telégrafo, con una red de carácter radial centrada en Madrid, que a partir de 1920 se extendió de forma periférica con Valencia, Sevilla y La Coruña. Controlada por el Estado, el servicio fue incorporado al de correos, creándose la Dirección General de Correos y Telégrafos.[96]​.

Cabe remarcar también que en el siglo aparecieron los primeros parques públicos, ya que el aumento de los entornos urbanos debido al fenómeno de la Revolución Industrial, a menudo en condiciones de degradación del medio ambiente, aconsejó la creación de grandes parques y jardines urbanos, que corrieron a cuenta de las autoridades públicas, con lo que surgió la jardinería pública —hasta entonces preferentemente privada— y la arquitectura paisajista.[97]​ El primer jardín público de Barcelona se creó en 1816: el Jardín del General, una iniciativa del capitán general Francisco Javier Castaños; estaba situado entre la actual avenida Marqués de la Argentera y la Ciudadela, delante de donde hoy se halla la estación de Francia, y tenía una extensión de , hasta que desapareció en 1877 durante la urbanización del parque de la Ciudadela.[98]​ En esta época se instalaron varios jardines en el paseo de Gracia: en 1848 se crearon los Jardines de Tívoli, entre las calles Valencia y Consejo de Ciento; y en 1853 se emplazó entre las calles de Aragón y Rosellón los llamados Campos Elíseos "Jardín de los Campos Elíseos (Barcelona)"), que contaban con un jardín, un lago con barcas, un teatro y un parque de atracciones con montañas rusas. Estos jardines desaparecieron pocos años después al ir urbanizándose el paseo de Gracia.[99]​.

Ensanche of Barcelona

In the middle of the century, a momentous event occurred that completely changed the appearance of the city, the demolition of the walls. Over the centuries, the population grew constantly (from 34,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the century to 160,000 in the middle of the century), which led to an alarming increase in population density (850 inhabitants per hectare), putting the health of citizens at risk. However, due to its status as a stronghold, the central government was opposed to the demolition of the walls. A strong popular outcry then began, led by Pedro Felipe Monlau, who in 1841 published the memoir Down with the walls!, in which he defended their destruction to avoid diseases and epidemics. Finally, in 1854 permission was given for its demolition, which provided the way out for the territorial expansion of the city.[100]​.

Thus the Barcelona Expansion process began: in 1859 the City Council appointed a commission to promote a competition for expansion projects, which was won by Antoni Rovira i Trias; However, the Ministry of Development intervened and imposed the project of Ildefonso Cerdá, author of a topographical plan of the Barcelona plain and a demographic and urban study of the city (1855). The Cerdá Plan (Plan of the surroundings of the city of Barcelona and the project for its improvement and expansion, 1859) established an orthogonal layout between Montjuic and Besós, with a system of rectilinear streets oriented northwest-southeast, 20 meters wide, cut by others oriented southwest-northeast parallel to the coast and the Collserola mountain range. Thus, a series of square blocks were delimited on one side, of which Cerdá planned to build only two sides and leave the other spaces for gardens, although this point was not fulfilled and in the end practically all the buildable land was used; The buildings were designed with an octagonal plan characteristic of the Ensanche, with chamfers that favored circulation.[101] The plan provided for the construction of several main avenues: the Diagonal "Avenida Diagonal (Barcelona)"), the Meridiana, the Parallel, the Gran Vía and the Paseo de San Juan; as well as several large squares at their intersections: Tetuán, Glorias, Spain "Plaza de España (Barcelona)"), Verdaguer, Letamendi and University "Plaza de la Universidad (Barcelona)"). It also provided for the opening of three large avenues in the old part of the city: two that would connect the Ensanche with the coast (Muntaner and Pau Claris) and another in a perpendicular direction that would connect the Citadel with Montjuic (Cathedral Avenue). Pedro.[103]​.

Cerdá's project was quite innovative for the time, especially in relation to the delimitation of green spaces and service areas, taking into account both functional aspects as well as recreational and healthcare aspects. The buildings had to have a height of 16 meters (ground floor and four floors), and a depth of 10 to 20 meters. The distribution of the Ensanche would be sectors of 20 x 20 blocks, divided into districts of 10 x 10 and neighborhoods of 5 x 5. Each neighborhood would have a church, a civic center, a school, a daycare, a nursing home and other care centers, while each district would have a market and each sector, a park. It also had industrial and administrative facilities, and on the outskirts there was a slaughterhouse, a cemetery and three hospitals. However, most of these provisions were not carried out, due to the opposition of the City Council, upset by the imposition of Cerdá's plan compared to that of Rovira that had been approved in the competition, and also due to real estate speculation, which led to the blocks being built on all sides and not only on the two planned by Cerdá.[104]​.

Interior renovations

The Cerdá Plan was developed mainly outside the city walls, due to real estate speculation, leaving aside the improvements necessary for the conditioning of the old part of Barcelona. The need for an "interior reform" project was then raised, with the aim of modernizing the old core of the expanding city. One of the first was that of Miquel Garriga i Roca, author of a joint alignment plan "Plan of Barcelona by Miquel Garriga i Roca (1856-1862)") (1862), the first exhaustive plan of the city, at a scale of 1/250. Garriga's project provided for the realignment of streets as a basic method of a broad reform of the interior of the city, but the difficulty of its execution and the absence of expropriation mechanisms paralyzed this first project.[108]​.

A more elaborate project was carried out by Àngel Baixeras in 1878, who presented an expropriation bill in the Senate, which was approved in 1879. Baixeras' project envisaged a profound remodeling of the old city, and its most notable aspect was the opening of three large roads - initially called A, B and C - to make the old center more passable, following the old Cerdá project. However, the project was not approved until 1895, and it still had to wait until 1908 for its execution, which was partially carried out, since only track A was built, renamed Vía Layetana.[109]​.

From this period it is also worth highlighting the introduction of the tram for urban transport. In 1860, a bus line had been opened that ran along the Rambla, but the slowness of the carriages made this means of transportation unviable. In 1872, rails were installed for traction, which made transportation easier, with imperial model cars—of English origin—drawn by two or four horses. The line was extended from the port (Atarazanas) to the town of Gracia, and later from Atarazanas to La Barceloneta. One of the first lines to operate was the English Barcelona Tramways Company Limited. In 1899 the trams were electrified.[110]​.

In these years, urban furniture also grew, especially since the appointment in 1871 of Antoni Rovira i Trias as head of Buildings and Ornamentation of the City Council, as well as his successor, Pedro Falqués, who put special effort into combining aesthetics and functionality for this type of urban decorations. The increase in elements such as streetlights, fountains, benches, kiosks, railings, planters, mailboxes and other public services was favored by the rise of the iron industry, which allowed their mass production and resulted in greater resistance and durability.[111]​.

In the 1880s, the installation of electric lighting began, which gradually replaced gas lighting on public roads. In 1882 the first streetlights were placed in the Plaza de San Jaime, and between 1887 and 1888 the Rambla and Paseo de Colón were electrified. However, the generalization of electric light did not occur until the beginning of the century, with the invention of the light bulb, and was not completed until 1929.[112]​.

World's Fair of 1888

At the end of the century, an event was held that had a great economic and social as well as urban, artistic and cultural impact for the city: the Universal Exhibition of 1888. It took place between April 8 and December 9, 1888, and was held in the Ciudadela park, land previously belonging to the Army and won for the city in 1868. The incentive of the fair events led to the improvement of the infrastructure of the entire city, which gave an enormous leap towards modernization and development.[114]​.

The remodeling project of the Ciudadela park was entrusted to Josep Fontserè in 1872, who designed large gardens for the recreation of citizens, and together with the green area he planned a central square and a ring road, as well as a monumental fountain and various ornamental elements, two lakes and a forest area, in addition to various auxiliary buildings and infrastructure, such as the Borne market, a water tank - currently the Pompeu Fabra University library -, a slaughterhouse, a iron bridge over the railway lines and several service booths.[115]​ He also designed the urbanization of the new Borne sector, made up of a hundred plots, which would present a common stylistic seal, although in the end it was only partially carried out.[116]​.

In addition to the Citadel, the Hall of San Juan (current Lluís Companys promenade) was remodeled, a long avenue 50 meters wide that served as the entrance to the Exhibition, at the beginning of which the Arc de Triomphe, designed by Josep Vilaseca, was located. On this walk, the wrought iron balustrades, the pavement mosaics and some large street lamps stood out, all designed by Pedro Falqués.[117] Most of the buildings and pavilions built for the Exhibition disappeared after its completion, although the Castle of the Three Dragons and the Martorell Museum (both integral parts of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona), the Greenhouse and the Umbracle survived, while a part of the enclosure of the park was later occupied by the Barcelona Zoo.

For the event, numerous works and improvements were carried out throughout the city: the urbanization of the entire seafront of the city was completed, between the Ciudadela park and the Ramblas, through the remodeling of the Paseo de Colón "Paseo de Colón (Barcelona)") and a new pier, the Fusta dock; Plaza de Cataluña began to be urbanized, a process that would culminate in 1929 thanks to another Exhibition, the International Electrical Industries Exhibition "International Exhibition of Barcelona (1929)"); The Riera d'en Malla was covered, giving rise to the Rambla de Catalunya; Parallel Avenue began; and the San Juan promenade was extended towards Gracia and the Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas towards the west. they endure.[119]​.

At the end of the century, it is worth highlighting Pere Garcia Fària's project to regulate the city's sewage system (Barcelona subsoil sanitation project: sewage, drainage, urban waste, 1891). It was a project that placed special emphasis on hygiene, with innovative criteria that are still in force today: it established a visitable sewage network, wide by high, maintained by a municipal brigade that still fulfills its functions. It is a unitary system of rainwater and wastewater, which works mainly by gravity —except for some small pumping stations—, which makes the presence of large collectors in the lower part of the city necessary. Thanks to this project, the sewer network was expanded in a few years from to .[120]​ Around this time, the streets also began to be urbanized with tile sidewalks and cobblestone roads, replaced in the 1960s by asphalt.[121]​.

El siglo estuvo condicionado por la convulsa situación política, con el fin de la monarquía en 1931 y la llegada de la Segunda República, finalizada con la Guerra Civil y sustituida por la dictadura franquista, hasta el restablecimiento de la monarquía y la llegada de la democracia. Socialmente, este siglo vio la llegada masiva de inmigración a la ciudad, con el consecuente aumento de la población: si en 1900 había 530 000 habitantes, en 1930 casi se habían doblado (1 009 000 hab), para llegar entre 1970 y 1980 al pico máximo (1 754 900) y a finales de siglo a 1 500 000 habitantes.[125]​.

Con el cambio de siglo se abrió un nuevo escenario político marcado por la pérdida de las colonias en América y Asia y el auge de la Lliga Regionalista, dirigida por políticos como Francisco Cambó, Enric Prat de la Riba y el arquitecto Josep Puig i Cadafalch, quienes manifestaron su deseo de situar a Barcelona en la primera línea internacional, al nivel de ciudades como París, Nueva York, Berlín o Viena. Es el modelo de la «Barcelona Imperial» planteado por Prat de la Riba, o de la «Nueva París del Mediodía» comentada por Puig i Cadafalch. Surgen en ese sentido proyectos de mejoras de las infraestructuras, los ferrocarriles, los transportes y los equipamientos, la creación de un puerto franco, la atención a las necesidades de una sociedad cada vez más industrializada, la búsqueda de mecanismos para acoger el aumento de la población y satisfacer aspectos hasta ahora poco atendidos como la educación, la cultura y los espacios verdes.[126]​.

Municipal aggregations and Links Plan

The beginning of the century was marked by the geographical expansion of the city: in 1897 Barcelona annexed six neighboring towns, until then independent: Sants, Les Corts, San Gervasio de Cassolas, Gracia, San Andrés de Palomar and San Martín de Provensals. [note 3] Likewise, in 1904 San Juan de Horta "Horta (Barcelona)" was annexed); in 1921, Sarrià and Santa Cruz de Olorde (a small piece of land in Collserola segregated from Molins de Rey); in 1924, Collblanc and the Hospitalet Marina, where the Free Zone "Zona Franca (Barcelona)" was created); and, in 1943, El Buen Pastor "El Buen Pastor (Barcelona)") and Barón de Viver, segregated from Santa Coloma de Gramanet. The city went from to , and from a population of 383,908 inhabitants to 559,589.[127]​.

The annexation of the new municipalities raised the need for a city link plan, which was put out to public competition in 1903 (International Competition on preliminary projects for links of the Barcelona Expansion Zone and the added towns among themselves and with the rest of the municipal area of ​​Sarrià and Horta), in which the French urban planner Léon Jaussely was the winner. The integration of the new municipalities added with Barcelona and between them was sought, with a predominance of organizational aspects over expansive ones, in an attempt to reformulate the Cerdá Plan, frowned upon by the modernist generation.[128] The Jaussely Plan was based on a structural scheme, with a differentiated treatment of the various urban fabrics, which recalls the Beaux-Arts "Beaux Arts (architecture)") type layouts in vogue in the environments. international standards of the time.[129]​ His proposal was based mainly on three criteria: a road scheme with main axes (five radials and two ring roads), the zoning of activities and the systematization of green spaces.[130]​ The project envisaged large road infrastructures (boulevards, large squares, promenades, diagonals, promenades), parks and gardens, railway links - with the interior lines buried -, public and collective buildings. at the central points of road layouts, equipment and service areas. The project was only partially carried out, and in 1917 it was reformulated with the so-called Romeu-Porcel Plan;[83]​ However, the innovative nature of its ideas left a deep mark and inspired Barcelona urban planning for much of the century.[131]​.

The most important action in these years was the opening of the Vía Layetana, which connected the Ensanche with the sea, projected with the letter A in the Baixeras Plan of 1878. The works were finally carried out in 1908, with joint financing between the City Council and the Banco Hispano Colonial, the first concerted operation in Barcelona. noucentista, with a certain influence of the Chicago School "Chicago School (architecture)." (1918), Joaquim Vilaseca (1932, Renovation Plan, urbanization and link between the unique points of the Old Town) and Soteras-Bordoy (1956, Partial Planning Plan for the Old Town of Barcelona).[109][note 5]​.

Also in the first years of the century, the slopes of Tibidabo were urbanized, with a wide avenue that linked San Gervasio Avenue with the mountain, which was occupied by single-family houses in the style of English garden cities.[note 6]​[136]​ For transportation, a tram was installed on the avenue and a funicular to ascend to the top of the mountain (1901), where the Amusement Park of the Tibidabo.[137]​ In 1906 the Vallvidrera funicular was also opened.[138]​.

An interesting urbanization project was that of the Can Muntaner estate (1900-1914), at the foot of Mount Carmel "Monte Carmelo (Barcelona)"), in the La Salud neighborhood "La Salud (Barcelona)"), also designed as a garden city of single-family houses. The promoter was the industrialist Eusebi Güell, and the architect Antoni Gaudí was in charge of the layout. The project was not successful, since only two plots were sold, and in 1926 the land was transferred to the City Council and converted into a park, known today as Park Güell.[139]​.

During the first years of the century, an expansion of the port was carried out, with a project prepared by Julio Valdés") and carried out between 1905 and 1912: the east dock was extended and a counter breakwater and the interior docks were built. These works gave the port practically its current appearance, except for the construction of the south dock and the interior dock in 1965.[140]​.

The turn of the century brought the general electrification of the city, both at the public and private levels. In 1911, the Barcelona Traction Light and Power company—better known as La Canadiane—was founded, which opted to take advantage of the hydraulic resources of the Pyrenees, building reservoirs in Tremp (1915) and Camarasa (1920). He also built the Fígols and San Adrián de Besós thermal power plants. Thanks to electrification, Barcelona began to stand out in sectors such as metallurgy, chemicals and automobiles, consolidating itself as an industrial and commercial center.[141]​.

During the first decade of the century, public urinals called vespasianas were installed, made of metal with a circular body with capacity for six people, on which rose a hexagonal section intended for advertising, crowned by a small dome. In the 1910s they were removed, and in the future it was established that all urinals had to be underground.[142]​.

In these years the tram network was expanded, thanks to companies such as Les Tramways de Barcelone Société Anonyme. The expansion of the city with the aggregation of neighboring municipalities increasingly required a broad and fast transport network, whose progress was favored by the electrification of trams, a fact that also lowered its cost and allowed the service to become more popular: from seven million passengers in 1900 it rose to 17 million in 1914.[143]​.

At the beginning of the century, the first buses also appeared: in 1906 the first line was created between Plaza de Cataluña and Plaza de Trilla, in Gracia, operated by the La Catalana company, with five Brillié-Schneider cars. The service was suppressed in 1908 due to the protests of the tram companies, for which it was clear competition, but in 1916 some suburban lines appeared, which ran between Barcelona and San Justo Desvern, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Hospitalet, Badalona, ​​El Prat, San Baudilio, Gavá and San Clemente de Llobregat. In 1922, urban buses were reestablished, run by the Compañía General de Autobuses de Barcelona (CGA), which was later absorbed by Tranvías de Barcelona, ​​which began to operate both transports.[144]​.

Also at this time the first taxis appeared: in 1910 the first 21 vehicles were licensed; In 1920 there were already a thousand taxis, with 64 stops throughout the city. In 1928 the green light was incorporated as a "free" signal, and in 1931 the color black and yellow was established as the city's distinctive color.[145]​.

In the 1920s, urban transportation was improved with the construction of the Barcelona Metro. Work began in 1920 with the installation of two lines: line 3 (Lesseps-Liceo), inaugurated in 1924, and line 1 (Cataluña-Bordeta), put into service in 1926. The network was progressively expanded, and Barcelona currently has 12 lines. Initially it was operated by three companies: Gran Metropolitano de Barcelona (L3), Metropolitano Transversal (L1) and Ferrocarril de Sarrià a Barcelona (current Ferrocarriles de la Generalidad de Catalunya);[146]​ the first two merged in 1957 into the company Ferrocarril Metropolitano de Barcelona, which together with the bus company Transportes de Barcelona formed the company Transportes Metropolitanos de Barcelona in 1979. (TMB).[147]​.

It should also be noted that during the first decades of the century, public schooling was significantly promoted, thanks above all to the initiative of both the City Council and the Provincial Council and the Commonwealth of Catalonia. In 1922, the City Council created the School Board, which promoted secular, bilingual education and pedagogical renewal,[148] and promoted an ambitious plan for school buildings, among which those built in the Noucentista style by Josep Goday stand out (Ramon Llull, Collaso i Gil, Lluís Vives, Milà i Fontanals, Baixeras and Pere Vila schools).[149] After the Civil War, public education was assumed by the central government, until with the arrival of democracy, the powers passed to the Generalitat.[150]​.

In these years, growing importance was also given to the issue of green spaces, which was raised in 1926 by Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, director of the Parks and Gardens service of Barcelona: with the text The problem of free spaces, presented at the XI National Congress of Architects, he proposed the placement of a series of green spaces in the form of concentric semicircles between the Besós and Llobregat rivers, along the entire length of the Sierra Collserola, with small enclaves in the inner part of the city in the style of London squares.[151] He proposed four levels for the city: interior parks, among which would be the Citadel and Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)"), as well as three smaller ones (Letamendi, Sagrada Familia and Glorias); suburban parks, among which would be the Hipódromo, Turó Park, Turó Gil, Font del Racó, Vallcarca, Guinardó and Park Güell; outdoor parks (Llobregat, Pedralbes, Vallvidrera, Tibidabo, Sant Medir, Horta and Besós); and the Collserola nature reserve. Rubió's project was not executed, except in small portions, but little by little the city gained green land: from 1910 to 1924 it went from .[152]​.

International Exposition of 1929

In 1929 the International Exhibition "International Exhibition of Barcelona (1929)") was held in Montjuic "Montjuic (Barcelona)"). For this event, the entire area of ​​the Plaza de España "Plaza de España (Barcelona)"), Avenida de la Reina María Cristina and Montjuic Mountain was urbanized, and the pavilions that currently host the Barcelona Fair were built. One of the main architects of the project was Josep Puig i Cadafalch, and it was one of the main test beds of Noucentisme, the successor style of modernism.

On the occasion of the Exhibition, a good part of the Montjuic mountain was landscaped, with a project by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier and Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí, who created a complex with a marked Mediterranean character and classicist taste: thus the gardens of Laribal, those of Miramar and those of the Greek Theater were created.[155]​.

As happened in 1888, the 1929 Exhibition had a great impact on the city at an urban planning level, not only in the Montjuic area, but improvement and conditioning works were carried out throughout the city: the squares of Tetuán, Urquinaona and Letamendi were landscaped; the Marina bridge was built; Plaza de Cataluña was urbanized; The Diagonal "Avenida Diagonal (Barcelona)") was extended to the west and the Gran Vía to the southwest, as well as the Paseo de Gracia and San Juan in the sections surrounding Gracia. Various public works were also carried out: the paving of streets and sewage was improved, public toilets were installed and the replacement of gas lighting with electric lighting was completed.[156]​.

Finally, the city's communications were improved, with the construction of the Prat Airport in the 1920s, the reform of the Francia Station, the improvement of links with the peripheral neighborhoods, the elimination of level crossings within the city, the burying of the train tracks in the urban interior - in streets such as Aragón "Calle de Aragón (Barcelona)"), Balmes and Vía Augusta "Vía Augusta (Barcelona)") - and electrification of the public trams.[157]​ A funicular was also built to access the top of the mountain - with a second section to ascend to the castle that in 1970 was replaced by a cable car -, as well as a cable car to access it from the port of Barcelona, a work by Carles Buïgas that, due to a delay in the works, was inaugurated in 1931.[158]​[159]​.

All these public works led to a strong demand for employment, causing a great increase in immigration to Barcelona, ​​coming from all parts of Spain. This increase in population led to the construction of various working-class neighborhoods of "cheap houses", such as the Eduardo Aunós group in Montjuic (disappeared), the Ramon Albó group in Horta (current Can Peguera) and the Milans del Bosch groups (current Buen Pastor "El Buen Pastor (Barcelona)") and Barón de Viver in Besós.[160]​ However, one of its worst effects was the rise of barracks, since many of the immigrants who could not access housing resorted to self-construction, with precarious buildings made with waste materials (cane, wood, brass), in unique spaces for the family of some. In 1930 there were about 15,000 barracks in Barcelona, ​​mainly in San Andrés, Montjuic mountain and the beaches of Barceloneta and Pueblo Nuevo, where neighborhoods such as Pequín "Pequín (Barcelona)"), Perona and Somorrostro "Somorrostro (Barcelona)") are still remembered.[161]

Second Republic and Plan Macià

The arrival of the Second Republic favored the creation of various urban projects, in a city that in 1930 had reached one million inhabitants, and that was deficient in infrastructure, housing, transport and equipment such as schools and hospitals.[163]​ In 1932 the Generalitat commissioned the brothers Nicolau and Santiago Rubió i Tudurí with a zoning project for the Catalan territory (Regional Planning), which would be the first attempt at joint planning of all the lands of the Principality. The project included a region of Barcelona, ​​which included the city's plain, the Bajo Llobregat and the group of towns around the Tibidabo mountain.[83]​ The Regional Plan included all considerations about the territory, both urban and natural, as well as aspects such as agriculture and livestock, mining, industry, tourism, health and culture.[164]​.

Another territorial structuring project was carried out in 1936, the Territorial Division of Catalonia, based on a work commissioned by the Generalitat in 1932 to Pau Vila. The project sought a spatial organization based on administrative public services, which resulted in a division into 9 regions and 38 regions. The City of Barcelona remained the capital of the Barcelonés region, which included Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, ​​Santa Coloma de Gramanet and San Adrián de Besós. At that time, Catalonia had an area of ​​2,920,748 inhabitants and 1,070 municipalities.[165]​.

In these years, an interesting urban project was generated, the Macià Plan (1932-1935), prepared by the GATCPAC architects, with Josep Lluís Sert at the head, in collaboration with the French rationalist architect Le Corbusier. The project provided for a functional distribution of the city with a new geometric order, through large backbone axes and with a new maritime façade defined by Cartesian skyscrapers, in addition to the improvement of equipment and services, the promotion of public housing and the creation of a large park and leisure center next to the Llobregat delta.[166]​.

The Plan presented Barcelona as a political and administrative capital, of a working-class and functional nature, which would be structured into various areas: a residential zone, a financial and industrial zone, a civic and service zone, and a recreational zone, which included parks and gardens and beaches; Links and communications and transportation were also carefully studied. The backbone would be the Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas, a wide strip that would go from the Llobregat to the Besós. Meridiana and Paralelo avenues were also promoted, which would converge at the port, where a city or business center would be located, moving the port facilities to the Free Zone "Zona Franca (Barcelona)"). For the residential area, they proposed the creation of 400 x 400 m modules—equivalent to nine blocks of the Ensanche—with large housing complexes and social facilities. The recreation area was designed through green spaces located in these residential modules and a large strip of land in the coastal area, between Barceloneta and the Pueblo Nuevo "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"), as well as the creation of a vast complex for leisure called Ciudad de Soso y Vacaciones, which would be located on the beaches of Viladecans, Gavá and Castelldefels.[167]​.

The Franco dictatorship and the Regional Plan

The years of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975) were characterized by urban developmentalism, which consisted of the unbridled construction of cheap housing, largely officially protected, to absorb immigration from the rest of the State. In two decades, the population went from 1,280,179 inhabitants in 1950 to 1,745,142 in 1970.[173]​ However, although subsidized housing was promoted, this did not stop speculation.[174]​ The new housing was developed mainly on the outskirts of the city - an area of about , double that of Ensanche -,[175]​ with three models main ones: neighborhoods of suburban expansion, neighborhoods of marginal urbanization or self-construction, and mass housing estates.[176]​ The construction of housing was carried out, in many cases, without prior urban planning, and using cheap materials that, over the years, would cause various problems such as aluminosis. The construction fever caused the creation or expansion of new neighborhoods, such as El Carmelo, Nou Barris, El Guinardó, El Valle de Hebron, La Sagrera, El Clot or Pueblo Nuevo "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"). Esplugas de Llobregat), which in turn grew enormously, a fact that led Mayor Porcioles to coin the concept of "Greater Barcelona".[178]​.

Real estate speculation was favored by the reform of the Municipal Ordinances carried out in 1942, in which the height of the buildings was increased with respect to the width of the streets: thus, in streets between 20 and - average width of the Ensanche - heights of up to , equivalent to a ground floor and six floors, were allowed, while in more than the height it could reach (seven floors). This increase in buildability caused notable differences between buildings built in different periods, and caused the presence of numerous party walls that made the urban space ugly, a problem that the city still suffers from despite several projects to correct it, such as the Barcelona get pretty campaign.[179]​.

The post-war urban renewal was led by the person responsible for urban planning of the new authorities, Pedro Bidagor, who in 1945 promoted the creation of the Provincial Planning Commission of Barcelona, in charge of preparing a planning project for the city and its surroundings.[83] Thus arose the Regional Plan of 1953, developed by Josep Soteras, an attempt to integrate the city with the neighboring municipalities in order to satisfy the strong demand for housing in the years of massive immigration arrival, while trying to stop real estate speculation and improve the urban environment.[180]​ The Plan was accompanied by a legislative change, the Land and Urban Planning Law of 1956, which sought to provide rationality to urban development, although it encountered numerous difficulties in its application.[181]​ The project differentiated between expansion, suburban or garden-city areas, applying a polarized distribution of the territory; Thus, in Barcelona he identified three areas as growth areas: Levante, Poniente and Diagonal Norte. It also reserved large areas for infrastructure, equipment and green spaces; Among the latter, the boundary of the Collserola mountain range as a large metropolitan central park stood out.[182]​.

Democracy and the General Metropolitan Plan

The end of the dictatorship and the arrival of democracy marked a new development in the architectural and urban panorama of the city, increasingly immersed in international avant-garde currents. The new socialist town councils of Narcís Serra and Pasqual Maragall opted for urban planning and architecture as hallmarks of the city, and began an extensive program of urban reforms, which culminated with the celebration of the 1992 Olympic Games. The new public commissions were reflected in the increase in facilities such as schools, parks and gardens, roads and urban spaces, civic, cultural and sports.[207]​.

A good part of the municipal actions consisted of the acquisition of urban land, a fact favored by the relocation of factories and industrial complexes that were moved out of the city. This policy was favored by the new council, which appointed Oriol Bohigas as delegate of Urban Planning, which began a period of strong public investment in the city that led to a radical change in the urban physiognomy and a new projection of Barcelona at an international level, whose launch took place with the Olympic Games.[208]​.

The municipal actions of those years focused on reconstruction versus expansion, on public versus private initiative. Against the vision of the city as a unitary entity, the concept of the sum of realities was opposed, in which attention to local needs was prioritized. The aim was to alleviate both quantitative and qualitative deficits, in which each intervention in public space served as an engine for urban regeneration, compensating the peripheries with a "monumentalization" of their environment.[209]​.

One of the driving factors of urban change was industrial restructuring, promoted by the Reindustrialization Plan for the center of Barcelona, ​​which resulted in the creation of an Urgent Reindustrialization Zone (ZUR). The new industrial development was based on factors such as R&D, and the commitment to new technologies.[210]​.

The new urbanism was reflected in the General Metropolitan Urban Planning Plan (1976), written by Joan Antoni Solans, an attempt to stop speculation and rehabilitate the most degraded urban spaces, placing special emphasis on social, healthcare and cultural facilities. For this purpose, the Barcelona Metropolitan Corporation was created, which encompassed the capital and 26 surrounding municipalities. Three general lines of action were drawn up: one of small-scale urban rehabilitation, such as the opening of streets and squares, the creation of parks and gardens and the restoration of buildings and artistic monuments; another on urban restructuring, focused on aspects such as road reorganization (ring belts), new central areas and land reclassification; and another of morphological reorganization, which was reflected in the current administrative division of the city into ten districts (1984), the majority coinciding with the old municipalities added to Barcelona.[211]​ One of the main tools for these interventions would be the Special Plans for Interior Reform "Interior reform of the cities of Spain") (PERI).[212]​.

1992 Olympic Games

Another of the profound transformations of Barcelona came on the occasion of the 1992 Olympic Games. The event involved the remodeling of part of the Montjuic mountain "Montjuic (Barcelona)"), where the so-called Olympic Ring was located (1985-1992), designed by Carles Buxadé, Joan Margarit, Federico Correa and Alfons Milà,[221]​ a large venue located between the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium and Plaza de Europa, which houses several sports facilities, among which the Palau Sant Jordi stands out.[222]​.

To accommodate the athletes, a new neighborhood was built, the Poblenou Olympic Village (1985-1992), with a general layout of the Martorell-Bohigas-Mackay-Puigdomènech team.[223]​ The planning of the Olympic Village was complex, and various aspects had to be adapted: the coastal railway had to be buried; Treatment plants had to be built and the discharges that until then went directly to the sea had to be channeled; a new port (Olympic Port) was built; new beaches were established and regenerated; and new road axes - such as Icaria Avenue - and transport routes were laid out.[224] Various facilities were also installed in the area, such as the Telephone Central (1989-1992, Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora) and the Meteorology Center (1990-1992, Álvaro Siza). On the other hand, the construction of two large skyscrapers (Hotel Arts and Torre Mapfre) changed the appearance of Barcelona.[225]​.

Another area of ​​action was the El Valle de Hebron neighborhood, organized according to a project by Eduard Bru") (1989-1991), which combined green areas with sports facilities. The Olympic Press Village was located in this area (1989-1991), the work of Carlos Ferrater.[226]​.

The Olympic Games also involved a process of creating new parks and gardens, such as the Mirador del Migdia, Poblenou, Carlos I parks and three designed by the Martorell-Bohigas-Mackay firm: the Cascadas park, the Olympic Port park and the Nueva Icaria park.[227]​.

On the occasion of the Games, the Old Port (Port Vell) was also remodeled, with a project by Jordi Henrich") and Olga Tarrasó. The new space was dedicated to leisure, with the creation of the Maremagnum leisure center, linked to land by the Rambla de Mar, a pivoting bridge designed by Helio Piñón and Albert Viaplana.[228] A Coastal Plan was also instituted for the event with a view to the regeneration of the beaches of the city, quite eroded until then, and which were completely renovated and reclaimed for the enjoyment of the citizens. Beaches such as those of San Sebastián, Barceloneta, Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella and Nova Mar Bella were cleaned and filled with sand from the seabed, treatment plants were built in the Besós and Llobregat rivers and underwater rocks were placed to favor flora and fauna.[229]​ On the other hand, the The Llobregat River was diverted in its final stretch to the south, allowing the port to be expanded in that direction.[230]​.

At the turn of the century, the city continued to focus on innovation and design as future projects, along with the use of new technologies and a commitment to environmental sustainability. In 2000, the Urban Strategies Advisory Council was created, in charge of assisting the City Council on urban planning issues and strategic decision-making issues for the city and its surroundings. Initially it was composed of Oriol Bohigas, Dominique Perrault, Richard Rogers, Ramon Folch, Jordi Nadal and Antoni Marí.[241]​.

One of the first urban projects of the new millennium was the creation of the 22@ district, thanks to a modification of the General Metropolitan Plan carried out in 2000. Its objective is the reformulation of the industrial land of the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"), a traditionally industrial sector that at the end of the century entered into certain decline due to the relocation of the majority of companies to land outside the city. The conservation of the productive business fabric of the area was then promoted, betting on companies dedicated to new technologies, in line with the private sphere and the daily activities of the area. The area of ​​action is , which made it one of the areas of greatest urban renewal in Europe at the beginning of the century.[242]​.

One of the most notable events of the new millennium was the celebration of the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, which allowed for new urban changes in the city: the entire Besós area was recovered, until then populated by old disused factories, the entire Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)") was regenerated and the new Diagonal Mar neighborhood was built, while the city was provided with new parks and spaces for leisure. citizens.[243]​ The venue was designed by Elías Torres and José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, of which a multipurpose esplanade stands out, culminated at one end by a large photovoltaic panel, which became one of the emblems of the event.[244]​.

The urban planning of the new millennium has reinforced the polynuclear grid structure promoted since the 1990s, which has favored the appearance of new urban centers such as the Forum, 22@ and La Sagrera.[245]​ In 2025 the new Plaza de las Glorias Catalanas was inaugurated after several years of works, in which traffic was buried and a new park was installed for the enjoyment of citizens.[246]​.

Communications have improved with the arrival of high speed, which links the Catalan capital with Madrid and Paris; The Mediterranean Corridor line is being planned, a strategic transportation line between the peninsula and the European continent. The port and airport of El Prat have also been expanded, with the aim of turning Barcelona into the logistics center of southern Europe. The metro network has been expanded, with the extension of several lines (3 and 5), and the creation of some new ones (9, 10 and 11), some of them fully automated. In 2012, an orthogonal reorganization of the bus network began, to create a rapid transit bus network.[247] The construction of a fourth ring road is also planned to improve communications in the metropolitan area,[248]​ as well as the connection between the Bajo Llobregat and Besós trams through Diagonal Avenue.[249]​.

In recent years, numerous infrastructures have been installed in the city to promote pedestrian traffic in high and difficult-to-access areas, mainly elevators and escalators. A clear example is the Carmelo neighborhood, where a collapse also occurred in 2005 due to the extension works on line 5 of the metro, which caused the demolition of several buildings and the relocation of hundreds of neighbors. [250] Due to this, the Generalitat declared El Carmelo as an Extraordinary Area of Comprehensive Rehabilitation (AERI), with a program of intervention and promotion of public works, rehabilitation of buildings and improvement of equipment. public.[251]​.

As for green spaces, among the most recent ones built it is worth mentioning: the Nou Barris Central Park (1997-2007), by Carme Fiol and Andreu Arriola, which in 2007 received the International Urban Landscape Award in Frankfurt (Germany);[252]​ the Diagonal Mar Park (1999-2002), by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, a modern design park where presence of water;[253]​ and the Poblenou Center park (2008), by Jean Nouvel, divided into various thematic spaces, with avant-garde design.[254]​ In 2016, the first large park for dogs was opened, a 700 m² space located in the Nou Barris district, which has a watering hole and play elements for pets.[255]​.

A new impulse for urban planning began in 2015 with the beginning of the drafting of the new Urban Master Plan (PDU) of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, whose approval is scheduled for 2021. The PDU must complement the General Metropolitan Plan of 1976 in order to promote the urban and social transformation of the metropolitan area of the Catalan capital, made up of 36 municipalities and 3.5 million inhabitants.[256] Among the objectives of the new plan are: classify the metropolitan land and establish its urbanization criteria, establish building regulations, delimit the areas of urban transformation and its sustainable development, preserve the environment, respect forest and agricultural lands, and guarantee correct mobility of people and transport. According to Ramon Torra, manager of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, «the PDU has two conceptual objectives: the definition of a metropolitan urban model that integrates current diversity, ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially cohesive; and the methods and tools necessary to carry it out."[257]​.

In September 2016, a pilot test began to adapt certain groups of blocks in the city as "superblocks", intermediate spaces between the block and the neighborhood, with restricted vehicle traffic to promote pedestrian traffic, bicycle circulation and public transport, also gaining spaces for leisure and public facilities. The first test was carried out in a set of nine blocks in the Pueblo Nuevo "Pueblo Nuevo (Barcelona)"), where the vertical and horizontal signs were changed to indicate the area. Traffic is prohibited in a straight line, so vehicles can only turn at intersections, and is limited to 10 km/h. This leaves the interior space between blocks free, which will be used for public spaces, for which an ideas contest has been organized among Architecture students.[258]​[259]​.

After this pilot test, in 2020 a new phase of creating superblocks began in the Ensanche district, with the aim of establishing 42 new axes and green squares within a period of ten years, until 2030. The first axis of action would be Consejo de Ciento street, where the creation of four new agoras is planned in Rocafort, Conde Borrell, Enrique Granados and Gerona. According to the forecast, one in every three streets in Ensanche would prioritize pedestrianization and public and sustainable transport. Unlike the pilot tests, now action is taken by axes instead of blocks, with the subsequent creation of new squares on the intersection axes. Private traffic will be restricted to residents, with a maximum speed of 10 km/h. A budget of 37.8 million euros is planned for these actions. The start of construction is scheduled for 2022. These changes seek compliance with the sustainable development goals (SDG) promoted by the United Nations.[260]​.

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in December 2019 worldwide led to various urban changes in the city, some temporary and others that became permanent. On March 14, 2020, the Spanish Government decreed the entry into force of the state of alarm throughout the national territory, with the obligation of citizens to confine themselves to their homes except for essential services.[261] To keep distances with the aim of avoiding contagion, numerous spaces were enabled for pedestrian crossing, gained at the expense of road traffic roads. These areas were marked with colored paint according to their use: blue for bicycles and yellow for pedestrians, together with the use of temporary elements such as pivots and concrete blocks. In many of these spaces, areas such as terraces for bars and restaurants were set up, with the aim that customers could have drinks outside, a more conducive space to avoid contagion. These measures, initially conceived on an ephemeral basis, were defined by the Councilor for Urban Planning, Janet Sanz, as "an example of tactical urbanism".[262] Over time, many of these provisional changes became permanent, such as the spaces enabled for terraces of hospitality establishments, which were regulated in September 2021 through a new ordinance that established new criteria for permanent street furniture, specifically seven new platform models to integrate the elements of said establishments. (tables, chairs, umbrellas) in the surrounding space.[263]​.

• - Barcelona official website Archived December 23, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.