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Architecture & Urban Design in Barcelona
Global Business Consulting Program
Barcelona, Spain
Dates: 1/13/27 - 4/30/27
Architecture & Urban Design in Barcelona
OVERVIEW
CEA CAPA Partner Institution: CEA CAPA Barcelona Center
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Primary Subject Area: Art History
Other Subject Area: Architecture
Instruction in: English
Course Code: ARH360BCN
Transcript Source: University of New Haven
Course Details: Level 300
Recommended Semester Credits: 3
Contact Hours: 45
Prerequisites: Prior to enrollment, this course requires you to have completed one 200 level course or two 100 level courses in art history, architecture, or a related field
DESCRIPTION
This course explores the social, cultural, economic, and political forces that shape the architecture and urban design of global cities, taking Barcelona as a case study. Over more than two thousand years, Barcelona has developed through successive urban forms that together create an exceptionally rich architectural landscape. Students will learn to identify these architectural styles and urban morphologies while examining how power, economy, and cultural expression became materialized in the city's-built environment. The first part of the course traces the evolution of Barcelona's form through key architectural moments and planning models, analyzing how landmarks, infrastructures, and spatial decisions structured everyday life and projected civic or ideological meanings. The second part turns to contemporary challenges such as gentrification, mass tourism, climate adaptation, and the housing crisis, exploring how these pressures reshape public space, intensify social inequalities, and provoke debates over heritage and urban sustainability. By developing skills in visual analysis, spatial interpretation, and critical inquiry, students will gain a deeper understanding of how Barcelona's urban landscape both reflects and produces broader processes of urban change.