This paper investigates the impact of the city’s urban spatial structure in shaping population density distribution over time. This research question is relevant in Barcelona because urban population grew at a sustained pace in various decades due to intense immigration inflows. When the urban spatial structure fails to behave as the backbone of population density distribution, population distribution can suffer from polarization problems. We conduct our empirical study using an urban monocentric framework, tracking the different spatial distribution patterns of the overall population and a few selected urban communities in light of the degree of attractiveness of the central business district (CBD). To this end, we construct an original database by each district in Barcelona from 1902 to 2011 and perform an econometric analysis. Our results reveal that the urban spatial structure continued to be a crucial determinant over time for shaping the overall population distribution in Barcelona and in almost all selected communities. However, its importance fluctuated over time, bottoming out in the 1950s–1960s, and whose resurgence was mostly driven by the political initiative to create a new centrality in the urban periphery. This policy reinforced the attractiveness of the CBD, resulting in the de-facto avoidance of urban polarization.

本文研究了城市空间结构对塑造人口密度随时间推移的影响。在巴塞罗那，这个研究问题很重要，因为由于大量移民涌入，城市人口在不同的十年中持续增长。当城市空间结构不能充当人口密度分布的骨干时，人口分布就会遭受两极分化问题的困扰。我们使用城市单中心框架进行实证研究，根据中央商务区（CBD）的吸引力程度，跟踪总人口和一些选定城市社区的不同空间分布模式。为此，我们从1902年至2011年在巴塞罗那的每个地区构建了一个原始数据库，并进行了计量经济分析。我们的研究结果表明，随着时间的流逝，城市空间结构仍然是决定巴塞罗那和几乎所有选定社区的总体人口分布的关键因素。但是，其重要性随时间波动，在1950年代至1960年代触底，其复兴之势主要是由在城市边缘建立新中心地带的政治倡议所驱动。这项政策增强了中央商务区的吸引力，实际上避免了城市两极化。其复兴之势主要是由在城市外围建立新中心地带的政治倡议所驱动。这项政策增强了中央商务区的吸引力，实际上避免了城市两极化。其复兴之势主要是由在城市外围建立新中心地带的政治倡议所驱动。这项政策增强了中央商务区的吸引力，实际上避免了城市两极化。