Cerdà's Grid ~ Fascinating Barcelona Eixample!

Gaudi's Sagrada Família in Barcelona is in the middle of a fascinating district, the Eixample...

"...characterized by long straight streets, a strict grid pattern crossed by wide avenues, and square blocks with chamfered corners (named illes in Catalan, manzanas in Spanish). This was a visionary, pioneering design by Ildefons Cerdà, who considered traffic and transport along with sunlight and ventilation in coming up with his characteristic octagonal blocks, where the streets broaden at every intersection making for greater visibility, better ventilation and (today) some short-stay parking space. The grid pattern remains as a hallmark of Barcelona, but many of his other provisions were unfortunately ignored: the four sides of the blocks and the inner space were built instead of the planned two or three sides around a garden; the streets were narrower; only one of the two diagonal avenues was carried out; the inhabitants were of a higher class than the mixed composition dreamed of by Cerdà. The important needs of the inhabitants were incorporated into his plan, which called for markets, schools, hospitals every so many blocks."

I especially like the octagonal blocks with each corner at an angle allowing for building aesthetics like these... And even high-angled ends where the diagonals cut thru...There are pitfalls, of course, including the inaccessible inner courtyards, frequent intersections, monotonous over-similarity, and inadequate planning for parking and transit. But on balance, there's a lot to learn from this plan! In any case, check out more about the vibe of Eixample and the city generally from these videos from Barcelona...