The Cerdà Plan was a plan to reform and expand the city of Barcelona created in 1860 that followed the criteria of the Hippodamus plan, with a grid structure, open and egalitarian. It was created by the civil engineer Ildefons Cerdà and its approval was followed by a strong controversy for having been imposed by the government of the Kingdom of Spain against the plan of Antonio Rovira y Trías who had won a competition of the Barcelona City Council.

The Street furniture in Barcelona is managed by the Department of Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility of the City Council of Barcelona. It developed in accordance with the progress made in urban planning of Barcelona as a whole and, in general, with the historical and territorial evolution of the city, and in line with other defining factors of public space such as architecture, urban infrastructures and the adaptation and maintenance of natural or construction spaces. Although their main characteristic has always been functionality, as a general rule they have often been objects of design and aesthetic consideration, since they furnish the public space where urban society develops.