Since the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, the rejuvenated waterfront area has added an exciting new dimension to the city, transforming the district where the city meets the sea.
It is perhaps ironic that Barcelona, a city on the shores of the Mediterranean with a large industrial port and stong maritime tradition, gained a waterfront, only in the last decade of the 20th century. As the popular saying goes, Barcelona lived with its back to the sea, which meant that although a great deal of the city´s trade depended upon the water, the attitude of its residents was directed inland.
Inevitably, because of the geographical limitation of the sea, the residential and commercial areas expanded inland, first with the construction of the 19th-century Eixample and then by moving further up the hill towards Collserola during the next century. Investment tended to be linked with this movement, and as a result the Old Town and Barceloneta were neglected. Factories mushroomed in the 19th century along the shoreline going north to the River Besos, with only humble housing provided for the workers.
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