BARCELONA
The city we are going to analyce is located in Catalonia (Spain) and it's called Barcelona.
A city is an inhabited place of greater size population or importance than a town or village.
The origin of the earliest settlment is unclear, the ruins that have been found date to early than 5000 B.C.
The city was found by the Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who supposodely named the city Barcino, in the 3rd century.
Barcelona was also inhabited by the Romans and some important vestiges are displayed in Plaça del Rei underground, also grid plans are visible in the layout of the historical centre, the Gothic quarter, and finally Roman walls have been incorporated into the Cathedral (Basilica la Seu).
In the medieval period was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, becoming for a few years the capital of Hispania. After being conquered by the arabs in the 8th century, it was conquered by Louis in the year 801, who made Barcelona a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona.
In 1137 Aragon and the County of Barcelona merged in dynastic union by the marriage of Ramon Berenguer and Petronilla of Aragon. Their territories were later be known as the Crown of Aragon.
In the first place, the Historic centre has an irregular urban layout, made up of narrow winding streets. This type of layout is found in old cities as in this case, Barcelona.
The medieval city was sorrounded by an outer wall like I said before, that was made by the Romans. The main buildings of this part of the city are the ones made by the Romans and some more which I will shortly explain. The Gothic Quarter is located in the Ciutat Vella district (the old city).
The quarter encompasses the oldest parts of the city of Barcelona, and includes the remains of the city´s Roman wall and several notable medieval landmarks, for example the Roman and Medieval walls, remains of a Roman Temple, Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, Church of Santa Maria del Pi, Plaça of Sant Felip Neri, Basilica of la Mercé and the City Hall.
Some functions in the Historic centre are commercial, because it has a street where the shops are. It has also residential function because people lives there. The cultural function is defined by the existence of museums, palaces... and it can also be religious because it has lots of cathedral and chucches. Political function, because here is the Town Hall and some government buildings.
The main problems affecting this zone are that there is a lot of traffic, that causes pollution and in some cases illnesses in people, so in my opinion, a good solution could be pedestrianize all the center of the city and in some streets only buses and taxi can drive. Another problem is that some historic buildings are ver old, so a possible solution is the building restoration, although that is an espensive proposition.
The expansion zone has an octogonal layout, it´s the most common layout in history because it´s very easy, is fairly regular grid in which streets usually run at right angles to each other. It was also used when building expansion zones in the 19th and 20th century.
The economic recovery that began in the late 18th century and industralization in the 19th century led Barcelona to become an important political, economic and cultural center.
The city was able to demolish its walls and annexed in 1897 six neighbouring municipalities, which allowed it to grow and plan its urban and industrial development led by the innovative plan of the Ensanche by Cerdá.
In the early 20th century both economic growth and the proliferation of new idelogies received by large sections of population, especially the workers, were highlighted.
One of the most important relevant buildings in this area is the Holy Family by Gaudí, nowadays it hasn´t been finished. Gaudí also made another important buildings in Barcelona.
Some other important buildings in this zone are the Batlló house, the Milá house, the Auditorium of Barcelona, the Robert Palace...
The main functions in this area are commercial, cultural and residential. There are a lot of buildings for university people, and many shops.
The main problems affecting this area are the traffic and the pollution, a possible solution could be provide bikes to the residents of the communities, so they don´t use too much the car.
The outskirts of Barcelona have an irregular layout made up of narrow and short streets.
The suburbs were created to cover the demand of the rural exodus that took place in the 1960-70s.
The people from the villages went to the cities to work, they installed in the suburbs of the city, at this moments this areas are called "Working - class neigbourhood".
This zone is largely residential. Once they werw country areas, annexed over the years by the city's continuing sprawl.
Thus there are a handful of notable buildings thar once stood in a village or country estate. The Barri of Sarriá, has retained a particularly aunthentic villagey feel. Located at the foot of Tibidabo, it's a pleasant place to wander and take in some clean air.
There are also industrial and business areas located in the outskirts, such as for example big popular companies. We can also find malls, shopping centers, hospitals such as Vall d'Hebrón, Sant Joan de Déu and beautiful and big gardens.
The main transportation networks find in this areas are railroads, roads to the city center and highways that are connected with other cities.
Some problems affecting this areas are the distance to the city and the poor access to public transportation. A solution to both problems could be putting more metro stops, so people could go more to the city center. Another problem is that the garbage truck does not go as often as in the center, so sometimes the trash accumulate in the containers.
The quarter encompasses the oldest parts of the city of Barcelona, and includes the remains of the city´s Roman wall and several notable medieval landmarks, for example the Roman and Medieval walls, remains of a Roman Temple, Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, Church of Santa Maria del Pi, Plaça of Sant Felip Neri, Basilica of la Mercé and the City Hall.
Some functions in the Historic centre are commercial, because it has a street where the shops are. It has also residential function because people lives there. The cultural function is defined by the existence of museums, palaces... and it can also be religious because it has lots of cathedral and chucches. Political function, because here is the Town Hall and some government buildings.
The main problems affecting this zone are that there is a lot of traffic, that causes pollution and in some cases illnesses in people, so in my opinion, a good solution could be pedestrianize all the center of the city and in some streets only buses and taxi can drive. Another problem is that some historic buildings are ver old, so a possible solution is the building restoration, although that is an espensive proposition.
The expansion zone has an octogonal layout, it´s the most common layout in history because it´s very easy, is fairly regular grid in which streets usually run at right angles to each other. It was also used when building expansion zones in the 19th and 20th century.
The economic recovery that began in the late 18th century and industralization in the 19th century led Barcelona to become an important political, economic and cultural center.
The city was able to demolish its walls and annexed in 1897 six neighbouring municipalities, which allowed it to grow and plan its urban and industrial development led by the innovative plan of the Ensanche by Cerdá.
In the early 20th century both economic growth and the proliferation of new idelogies received by large sections of population, especially the workers, were highlighted.
One of the most important relevant buildings in this area is the Holy Family by Gaudí, nowadays it hasn´t been finished. Gaudí also made another important buildings in Barcelona.
Some other important buildings in this zone are the Batlló house, the Milá house, the Auditorium of Barcelona, the Robert Palace...
The main functions in this area are commercial, cultural and residential. There are a lot of buildings for university people, and many shops.
The main problems affecting this area are the traffic and the pollution, a possible solution could be provide bikes to the residents of the communities, so they don´t use too much the car.
The outskirts of Barcelona have an irregular layout made up of narrow and short streets.
The suburbs were created to cover the demand of the rural exodus that took place in the 1960-70s.
The people from the villages went to the cities to work, they installed in the suburbs of the city, at this moments this areas are called "Working - class neigbourhood".
This zone is largely residential. Once they werw country areas, annexed over the years by the city's continuing sprawl.
Thus there are a handful of notable buildings thar once stood in a village or country estate. The Barri of Sarriá, has retained a particularly aunthentic villagey feel. Located at the foot of Tibidabo, it's a pleasant place to wander and take in some clean air.
There are also industrial and business areas located in the outskirts, such as for example big popular companies. We can also find malls, shopping centers, hospitals such as Vall d'Hebrón, Sant Joan de Déu and beautiful and big gardens.
The main transportation networks find in this areas are railroads, roads to the city center and highways that are connected with other cities.
Some problems affecting this areas are the distance to the city and the poor access to public transportation. A solution to both problems could be putting more metro stops, so people could go more to the city center. Another problem is that the garbage truck does not go as often as in the center, so sometimes the trash accumulate in the containers.
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