Barcelona the City

One night I chanced to hear a radio interview of Jane Jacobs.  I was already interested in the topic of what makes for a lively and interesting city, and she was so knowledgeable about it, I felt compelled to find out more.  Jacobs passed away in 2006 at the age of 90, but her book, 'Death and Life of Great American Cities' has become a primary reference for city planners, even though most of what's built in North America reflects the needs of automobiles more than the needs of humans.  

Jacobs had been an architectural writer, and in the late 50's helped fight and win a battle to save New York's Greenwich Village from the plans of parks commissioner Robert Moses to build an expressway through the area. She wrote her book in a trenchant style, sarcastic towards the great visionaries of the day who wanted to tear down older, 'slummy' districts in cities to build freeways, housing projects and civic centers.   She observed that these grand schemes never worked as their designers envisioned, and devoted herself to observing and recording what actually did work in cities, documenting what it was that made cities interesting, lively places (or not).

Some of what Jacobs railed against I see in parts of modern Barcelona.  You can find urban parks, complete with benches and other amenities, at the center of of traffic circles where no one ever seems to be found (for obvious reasons).   There are districts where block after block of monotonous, ugly housing towers resemble old-style housing projects in the US (though they didn't seem dangerous).

But the Eixample, a large part of Barcelona built up around the old, walled city in the 19th century, seems almost lifted from Jane's prescription for a good city:
* housing density, perhaps not quite at her 100-250/net acre prescription, but far higher than a typical city in North America, with 5-6 story apartments atop continuous ground floor retail.
* diversity of use and building age, with an area serving multiple primary functions, with people coming at different times for different reasons.  Certainly housing is a primary function in the Eixample, but shopping is also intense, with mixed retail, small groceries, market pavilions, bakeries, and specialized stores all within walking distance.  Tapas bars, art galleries and some theater action at night replace some of the daytime commercial activity.
* short blocks make the entire area generally accessible.  This accessibility is greatly augmented by a feature I'd add,
* a great and comprehensive public transport system,  which includes buses and underground light rail, but also well-organized vehicular traffic management, pedestrian safety features, separated bicycle lanes in many areas.
* Wide sidewalks, along some streets, 50 or 60 feet, provide plenty of room for restaurants, news stands, public protests against austerity (evident during my visit) and gawking tourists.  They also beveled the corners of blocks, providing four triangular sections on each quadrant for parking and public trash receptacles.  This gives each corner the openness of public plazas such as are found throughout the old parts of the city.

How did they get it so right?