Faculty Profile: Gary McDonogh

Helen Herrmann Chair and Professor of Growth and Structure of Cities Gary McDonogh’s book, Barcelona, takes on one of his favorite cities. As an expert on global Chinatowns, he has become a go-to source for reporters on a growing backlash against Asians: “The question of trying to find someone at fault for a pandemic is a fundamental problem. ... You can look for causes and cures, but you can’t start looking for blame.”

The Question

“Barcelona really has been the point of interrogation of what cities are (and what interests me about them) for decades.”

CAP I CASAL

“The Catalan phrase cap i casal—head and home—sums up the core strengths and tensions in the city. On the one hand, it is a capital and will be the center of whatever Catalunya becomes. On the other hand, it is cultural home, a place of engagement and creativity.”

A PLACE LIKE HOME

“In some ways Barcelona seems like home—my kids have grown up there, and there are favorite restaurants we have been patronizing for 40 years.”

TIME TRAVEL

“Every day I am there, I can walk through a medieval city and a visionary 19th-century city and still see the problems of the 21st century and increasingly diverse people’s quests for identity and justice.”

THE IVORY TOWER

“I think academic authors always wonder who reads our books and why.”

Click here to read more about the book.