Week 1 (POL 130) From Elite Housing to Canvas of Identity; Park Guell

 

Week 1 (POL 130) From Elite Housing to Canvas of Identity; Park Guell

June 8, 2025

From Elite Housing to Canvas of Identity; Park Guell

6/2-6/6

    This is a picture of me at Park guell overlooking the city and the beautiful architecture designed by Antoni Gaudí. Park guell perfectly ties into our theme of how public spaces can express identity, culture, and power. 

Our tour guide explained to us that Park Guell was originally meant to be an elite housing development. The plan failed, but became a cultural public landmark that shows a great example of how cities use architecture to show identity. Park Guell is deeply designed to be Catalan. What I mean by that is the design, the materials, and contrast with the landscape. This is because it was created by Antoni Gaudí who was a Catalan Nationalist and devoted Catholic. He made his work to make a cultural movement to express Catalonia's ideals as work that was distinct from the rest of Spain. 

In Political Science we've talked about how public spaces can reflect different political decisions about cultural history and what is remembered. Park Guell is a perfect example of this because it turned from a failed higher up project into a symbol of Catalan culture recognized across the world. 

Going through Park Guell made me understand a little bit more about how overlooked politics are in the spaces we walk through every day. In Spain, even a public park can spark discussion of identity, culture, and political power.