The Meaningful City

Reading Barcelona's Urban Landscape
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-981-966754-3
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 174 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 371 g

This book presents a new way of examining cities to reveal the many and varied meanings which are written into urban landscapes. As the title suggests, urban areas are full of messages and communications, with signs and symbols incorporated into buildings, structures and plans. Taking the rich architectural and urbanistic chronicle of Barcelona as a model, the author shows how different social groups, consciously and unconsciously, have written their values and interests on to the city. The narrative opens with the forced reshaping by military engineers of the former capital of Catalunya after 1714, and extends up to an analysis of the many competing actors and agencies which attempt to impose their perspectives on the contemporary city. It scrutinizes how deep cultural and social changes such as the Enlightenment, Romanticism, the Industrial Revolution, de-industrialisation and globalisation can be read in the urban environment, as well as more intentional effects of major urban development projects including the Ciutadella fortress, the Rambles, the universal exhibitions of 1888 and 1929, the Sagrada Família, the Barcelona Model of urban renewal, the 22@ innovation district and the sustainability plans. Informed by the approach of critical urban studies, the narrative is written in a clear style to engage readers with many different interests, students, urbanists and design professionals as well as residents and visitors to the city. Drawing on research from varied academic fields published in English, Catalan and Spanish, it is illustrated with colour photographs of many of the buildings and sites that have made Barcelona a global resource for understanding contemporary cities.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Douet, James

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Museumskunde, Materielle Kultur, Erinnerungskultur
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Humangeographie
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Geschichte der Architektur, Baugeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Architektur: Allgemeines
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Architekturtheorie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Bereichsspezifisches Management Marketing
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Travellers’ perspectives.- Chapter 3 Industrialisation and the urban image.- Chapter 4 The invention of the ‘Gothic Quarter’.- Chapter 5 Radical politics and sexuality.- Chapter 6 The expiatory temple.- Chapter 7 Culture-led urban branding.- Chapter 8 Mega events world’s fairs and Olympic games.- Chapter 9 Brand Barcelona and the entrepreneurial city.- Chapter 10 Greening the city.- Chapter 11 Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

James Douet is a historic buildings consultant specialising in industrial heritage, and has worked with various conservation agencies including ICOMOS and TICCIH. He teaches architectural and urban history in Barcelona, and is the author of books on industrial heritage, the architecture of steam, military barracks, water supply and the industrial chimney.