Barcelona is regarded as a prototype of a European Mediterranean city with a long urban tradition. It has undergone a specific process of historic formation: density and compactness of urban form, evolution by extension rather than by reform.

A history of urban planning necessarily includes a summary of the territorial and urban experience, the physical dimensions of the city that condition its cultural and economic development.

This book centers on the construction of Barcelona, taking as its basis the most important planning operations and city projects, and drawing from diverse sources and phases. The local scale of many of the projects contrasts with the cosmopolitan aspirations that have made these interventions so innovative; including major projects for special events, such as the 1888 (World Exhibition), 1929 (Electrical Industries Exhibition) and 1992 (Olympic Games). New prospects are emerging from the recent European institutional framework, particularly changes in the economic system to a post-industrial phase. The urban planning history of Barcelona shows how the city has overcome major contradictions.