General Theory of Urbanization 1867

Description

First translation into English on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the publication of the General Theory of Urbanization 1867 by Ildefons Cerd , an essential work on urban development. In 1867 Ildefons Cerd published his "Teoria general de la urbanitzaci n". In this text, the "science of building cities", understood as a phenomenon, became a new discipline with a broad economic, social and cultural impact on the life of the people of the city. Coinciding with 150 years since its publication, its first translation into English is being presented along with the publishing online at urbanization.org with the statistics transformed into interactive graphics and open data, with the aim of expanding the knowledge of Cerda 's work and encouraging debate on the process of "urbanization" in the future. Co-published with the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in collaboration with the Diputacio de Barcelona, the Generalitat de Catalunya through Incaso l. Bloomberg Philanthropies contributed as a collaborator for the international di usion of the project.

Cerda was born in Centelles, Catalonia, Spain, in 1815. He originally trained as a civil engineer at the Escuela de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, in Madrid. He joined the Corps of Engineers and lived in various cities in Spain before settling in Barcelona in 1848 and marrying Clotilde Bosch. After the death of his brothers, Cerda inherited the family fortune, and left the civil service. He became interested in politics and the study of urban planning. When the government of the time finally gave in to public pressure and allowed Barcelona's city walls to be torn down, he realized the need to plan the city's expansion so that the new extension would become an efficient and livable place, unlike the congested, epidemic-prone old town within the walls. When he failed to find suitable reference works, he undertook the task of writing one from scratch while designing what he called the Ensanche or Eixample, borrowing a few technological ideas from his contemporaries to create a unique, thoroughly modern integrated concept that was carefully considered rather than whimsically designed.