Ildefons Cerdà

He's the Barcelona planner who made grid-pattern streets functional and desirable. Formerly a civil engineer in Madrid, he came to Barcelona to help with the Eixample district. With the taste of Madrid's congstion and disease fresh in his memory he designed a street pattern that would relieve urban stresses.

Ildefons Cerdà was mentioned in a Gaurdian article, "Reach for the Skies." The piece is about the artists and architects of this Catalan city such as Gaudi, Dali, Domenech i Montaner, and Puig i Cadafalch.