From Cerdà to the Future of Catalonia: Director of the School of Civil Engineering, Esther Real, Calls for a Strategic Vision for Infrastructure.

Civil engineering is once again at the heart of the country’s strategic debate. Coinciding with the commemoration of the Cerdà Year, a group of prominent sector professionals—including Esther Real, Director of the Barcelona School of Civil Engineering—has published an opinion and analysis article in La Vanguardia. These press publications urgently call for an ambitious modernization of Catalan infrastructure, featuring a joint "Tribuna" column that advocates for reclaiming a 50-year forward-looking national vision, emulating the transformative character and territorial foresight that Ildefons Cerdà championed in his time.

The manifesto issues a call to action to address the most critical structural challenges threatening Catalonia’s economic, social, and environmental future. Among the priorities outlined by the experts are the imperative advancement of the energy transition, securing water safety against climate vulnerability, improving public transport and freight interconnection, and resolving complex interfaces such as the connectivity of the port-airport hub.

The Defining Theme for the Class of 2026 This ambition and responsibility toward the territory extend far beyond the press headlines. At the School of Civil Engineering, we have embraced Ildefons Cerdà's legacy, making it the backbone of this year’s Graduation Ceremony, which will take place on June 16 and 17 at the Vèrtex Building Auditorium. Consequently, the academic event marking the transition of the new graduating classes into the professional world will be conceptualized around the imperative of engineering resilient, innovative, and long-term solutions. The Cerdà Year commemoration will serve to mirror the transformative capacity of the School’s new engineers, who are tasked with executing the connectivity, energy, and sustainability projects demanded by civil society and the professional sector.