Barcelona's urban landscape: The historical making of a tourist product

Barcelona's urban characteristics and its tourist appeal are not merely outcomes of the Modernist period or a recent dramatic urban transformation but rather the result of a long and tumultuous historic evolution. The present article presents an account of relevant historical, political, economic, and social forces shaping Barcelona's urban evolution from the medieval times until the 1970s. The urban history of Barcelona illustrates how the landscape of a fashionable city is the result of urban planning in conjunction with many social, economic, and political events that often produce unexpected results.