IIW 2023 Welded Art Book

SDG 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

nExhibit “Monument to Ildefons Cerdà”n A work commissioned in 2010 by the Diputació de Barcelona through the Town Council of Centelles, the birthplace of the engineer Ildefons Cerdà, to mark the 150th anniversary of the approval of the Eixample de Barcelona Plan (the plan for the enlargement of the city of Barcelona). In the Plan, Cerdà focused on key needs: chiefly, the need for sunlight, natural lighting and ventilation in homes (he was heavily influenced by the sanitarian movement), the need for greenery in people’s surroundings, the need for effective waste disposal including good sewerage, and the need for seamless movement of people, goods, energy, and information. His designs belie a network-oriented approach far ahead of his time. His street layout and grid plan were optimized to accommodate pedestrians, carriages, horse-drawn trams, urban railway lines (as yet unheard-of), gas supply and large-capacity sewers to prevent frequent floods without neglecting public and private gardens and other key amenities.

Important indicators for this goal are the number of people living in urban slums, the proportion of the urban population who has convenient access to public transport, and the extent of built-up area per person. This includes safe and affordable housing, affordable and sustainable transport systems, inclusive and sustainable urbanization, protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage, reduction of the adverse effects of natural disasters, reduction of the environmental impacts of cities and to provide access to safe and inclusive green and public spaces. This would mean having strong national and regional development planning, implementing policies for inclusion, resource efficiency, and disaster risk reduction in supporting the least developed countries in sustainable and resilient building. One exhibit chosen highlights the vision and foresight of engineer Ildefons Cerdà for Barcelona over 150 years ago, and the second exhibit showcases two architects today in central Barcelona, all meeting the town planning objectives of this SDG.

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Welded Art PHOTOGRAPHIC Exhibition – IIW 2023 Digital Collection