EL BINOMIO URBS/RUR COMO BASE DE LA CONCEPCIÓN TERRITORIAL Y URBANÍSTICA DE ILDEFONSO CERDÀ.

The article seeks to undertake an in-depth examination of the territorial and urbanistic thinking of Ildefonso Cerdà (the designer of Barcelona's urban extension project and recognised as a key figure in the history of modern urban planning) based on the consideration of the meaning this designer attributes to the urbs and to urbanisation on the one hand, and to the rur and to ruralisation, on the other hand, the two main axes on which he built his general theory of the colonisation of the territory and of urban planning. In the context of a synthetic-qualitative methodology, the main source of information is Cerdà's own work, specifically, the three-great works that make up his written legacy: General Theory of Urbanization, GTU (1867), Theory of City Construction, TCC (1859) and Theory of Urban Viability, TUV (1861). As a result, the general implications of his approach from a theoretical point of view but also from the perspective of its direct implementation in the transformation of the city of Barcelona (especially in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first few decades of the twentieth century) are made visible. As a conclusion, the different levels and meanings with which Cerdà's approach can be applied (especially at the territorial level, and in relation to the rur and ruralisation) are highlighted in the context of the challenges, problems and contradictions that arise today in everything that concerns the planning and management of the geographical space, either of rural, urban or rur-urban nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]