The Visionary Urban Design of the Eixample District, Barcelona

In 2008, when I first moved to Sant Antoni, a neighborhood in the Eixample district (pronounced ‘eshampla’) of Barcelona, I was overwhelmed by the endless blocks and blocks of buildings. And on each block, everything looked the same – fruit stands, bakeries, supermarkets, banks. Then more fruit stands, more bakeries, more supermarkets, and more banks. Barcelona urban planning seemed boring.

Barcelona Urban Design

I didn’t think much of the fact that I could buy my groceries, make a bank deposit, select a decent public school, or have my kids play at a park all within a five- to ten-minute walk. But that’s just it. The proximity of community shops and services is just one of the genius elements of the city grid that makes urban living convenient and easy in the Eixample neighborhood. But there’s more…

Barcelona Urban Planning History

In the mid-1800s, Barcelona’s old city (Ciutat Vella) was densely populated and still surrounded by walls. With severe overcrowding, increased epidemics and a high mortality rate, it was time to create urban solutions for healthier, more livable conditions for the people.

City developers were looking to create the “Eixample” of Barcelona, which in Catalan, translates to “extension”.

The godfather of Eixample’s city grid was the engineer and urban planner Ildefons Cerdà. He believed in healthier everyday living through basic needs, including sunlight, ventilation, greenery, and ease of movement.

Elements of Eixample’s Urban Design

1. Eixample is a grid of parallel and perpendicular streets.

The uniformity and continuity of squares were intended to give neighborhoods more equal access to light, air, and services. Cerdà believed in sanitary conditions for all social classes.

It didn’t transpire that way. An affluent residential area emerged around Passeig de Gràcia, and the social distinctions Cerdà hoped to avoid took shape. Today, Passeig de Gracia continues to be expensive real estate.

Critics of Cerdà’s plans claimed the uniformity was too monotonous. They felt the buildings looked identical and that the grid lacked distinctive landmarks.

2. Each city block has chamfered corners, or xamfrà.

These quadrangular blocks with shaved-off corners, or peculiar octagonal blocks, serve a purpose. The 45º corners create more space at intersections. Cerdà designed them to make it easier for horse-drawn vehicles to turn and to improve visibility. That extra space still makes turning easier today.

Perhaps the disadvantage is for pedestrians. The placement of crosswalks sometimes obliges walkers to zigzag across an intersection instead of continuing in a straight line.

Today, drivers take advantage of these chaflanes to park (and double park) their vehicles. A few chamfered buildings make interesting angles:

3. The grid was oriented to improve access to sunlight and ventilation.

The buildings are arranged to benefit from sunlight and ventilation. Below, the images in the two columns on the right represent street intersections in the winter and summer and how the sun hits the buildings.

You can see how different orientations affect the sunlight reaching the buildings.

The yellow areas in the illustration show how sunlight reaches the buildings through the day. Standard Eixample streets are about 20 meters wide, giving light and air room to pass between blocks.

In winter, sunlight can make apartments brighter and more comfortable. In summer, the buildings cast shade over parts of the streets. And let’s not forget the psychological benefits of the glorious sunlight.

4. Buildings were originally supposed to be limited to 16 meters in height.

Originally, buildings were supposed to be constructed until the height of the yellow square as shown above. The sunlight would penetrate all the buildings, including the bottom floor.

Cerdà’s original building limits were gradually relaxed. Buildings became taller and blocks more densely built, reducing the light and ventilation he had planned for.

5. The original plan was to build on only two sides of each block.

As seen in the first image, the block was supposed to be built only on two sides. Having this space ensured ventilation and sunlight, leaving generous space for gardens and greenery in between.

Throughout time, you can see the constructed development of the city block — many became completely enclosed.

6. And the interior of the blocks was supposed to have an inner courtyard.

These were meant to be shady, intimate recreational spaces for the neighbors. Today, the interiors consist of workshops, shopping centers and car parks. A few green interiors survive or have been recovered, including Jardins de la Torre de les Aigües.

Luckily, some of these interiors have been recovered as public gardens. The former municipal company ProEixample helped lead that effort, and Barcelona continues to restore and improve green spaces inside the blocks. It’s a slow process in a neighborhood where most of the land is already built up.

7. Barcelona’s superblocks and green axes

One urban experiment is the “superilla,” or superblock, which typically groups nine city blocks in a 3×3 arrangement. Through-traffic is restricted within the area, while necessary vehicle access remains possible at low speeds. It’s meant to minimize car pollution and noise pollution, foster more walking, outdoor events, and day-to-day neighborhood activity like ping pong tables, benches, and race tracks on the street.

One of Barcelona’s first modern superblocks was introduced in Poblenou in 2016. Not everyone was on board because cars have to drive around the perimeter of the superilla, making it inconvenient for drivers. Sant Antoni has pedestrian-priority streets around the market, and the idea has gone further in the Eixample. Consell de Cent, Girona, Rocafort, and Comte Borrell now have green axes with more room for people, trees, and little squares where there used to be traffic. See Barcelona City Council’s guide to the Eixample green axes.

 

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Eixample is an emblem of the city: its grid brings schools, hospitals, and marketplaces within easy reach, adding up to a high quality of life. And while much of Cerdà’s original ideas were quashed, his layout prevails. And that is enough for people to call it an urban design model.

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