Eixample

An aerial photograph of Barcelona’s Eixample district stopped me in my tracks. At first glance, all I could see was astonishing density—thousands of people living in an orderly grid that stretches to the horizon. Yet the longer I studied the image, the more questions it raised. Why can I find endless aerial photographs of Eixample, but almost no street-level views? What does life actually feel like inside those blocks and hidden courtyards? And what does this remarkable city reveal about our own assumptions regarding space, community, and how human beings should live together?