Barcelona, which is a city rich in ideas, has produced little documentation on the Eixample's interior courtyards. There are not many published projects or plans about the block courtyards. I have found some interesting academic documents, such as final degree projects (Marta Cos Espuny's is worth highlighting) and doctoral theses (Xavier Solsona's on the galleries is essential) in the online library of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. I liked these two works because, rereading them, I recognized myself in them.
When I had to choose a topic for my Final Degree Project, I became obsessed with the interior courtyards and even interviewed those responsible for the AVE works in Barcelona (then under construction) to guide me on a crazy idea I had: that the high-speed train should have a connecting station with the FGC railways in the center of Barcelona, specifically, in the interior courtyard at Mallorca with Rambla Catalunya, connected to the Provença station. An infrastructure manager kindly attended to me, but it was also a very instructive meeting: it was an academic idea that had no real-world viability. It was a good learning experience. That whims do not combine with political decisions, and that it was better to choose another topic if I didn't want to make a fool of myself developing an idea that was not in the plans of any ministry, department, or public agency. A good dose of humility.
But years have passed and the Eixample's block courtyards continue to fascinate me. As I said at the beginning, in Barcelona, many investments have always been made in the Eixample's streets, but practically no investment has been made (or could be made) in the interior courtyards. For example, the book Urbanisme a Barcelona, published by the City Council in 1999, indicates that until that year, streets such as Gran Via, Aragó, Passeig de Sant Joan, or the eastern sections of Provença, Rosselló, Còrsega, or Marina had been completely redone. And, until 2004, the remodeling of Paseo de Gràcia, Avenida de Roma, Carretera de Ribes... was planned. At that time, works were done to facilitate traffic, while now works are being done again on the same streets for exactly the opposite to happen (Balmes, Consell de Cent, Diagonal, Paseo de Gràcia, etc…).
These redevelopments also had a positive economic impact. According to the same publication, "in 1995, private investment in rehabilitation in the Eixample was 1,957 million pesetas. In 1998, it was 4,500 million pesetas." That is, public spending on improving the appearance of the streets managed to mobilize the savings of the owners of neighboring buildings to invest in improving the facades. At that time, the city signed agreements with private developers and operators who ceded part of their property as public space, because they trusted that improving the quality of life in the surroundings would also help them sell the renovated apartments. This is how several block interiors in the Eixample were recovered. Until the invention of AirBnB, things worked quite linearly. I fear that if the City Council now knocks on a owner's door to ask them to cede the ground floor patio, a lot of tact will be needed to obtain such concessions. But, is anyone trying?
It does not seem that the new Urban Master Plan will include any formula for the city of Barcelona or metropolitan municipalities to reactivate the block interiors. So, only the path of incentives remains. What would make the owners of shops or restaurants in the Eixample decide to open their plots all the way and allow pedestrians to enter the block interior? Most patios are quite level and would be perfect places to go down for a few hours with children or grandparents, in a neighborhood where there are few parks. If we talk about optimizing resources, it makes no sense that 30% of the 700 inhabitants of an Eixample block who do not work every day (children, elderly people, sick or unemployed people) cannot even go down for a while to sunbathe in the interior patios they see every day from the galleries. The block interiors are already made, it is enough to invent ways to access them.
Spend some time looking on Google Maps at what is in the middle of the Eixample blocks. There are outdoor parking lots, swimming pools, sports courts, churches, palm trees... and many Catalan-style tiled rooftops or completely arid patios, where there is not even a chair or a sad bush.
It makes no sense that 30% of the 700 inhabitants of an Eixample block who do not work every day (children, elderly people, sick or unemployed people) cannot even go down for a while to sunbathe in the interior courtyards they see every day from the galleries.Perhaps the mistake is to think that we live in a time of abundance and that someday the City Council will have money to expropriate everything. It is a very convenient excuse to keep postponing interventions.In my opinion, it's not so much about tearing everything down as it is about opening up what already exists.Limit yourself to allowing walkers to reach the bottom of the plots. Encourage owners who want to landscape their plot, in exchange for allowing visits for a few hours. It would cost little money, and would be very successful.