Sant Martí (district) in the context of Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona

41°25′18.99″N 2°11′12.65″E / 41.4219417°N 2.1868472°E / 41.4219417; 2.1868472

Avinguda Meridiana (Catalan pronunciation: [əβiŋˈɡuðə məɾiðiˈanə]) is a major avenue in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, spanning parts of the Sant Andreu, Nou Barris and Sant Martí northern districts of the city. Originally planned by Ildefons Cerdà in 1859 to be one of the two most important thoroughfares in Barcelona, its actual role has not been exactly so but still has become a much transited route linking Parc de la Ciutadella with northern parts of Barcelona, crossing Plaça de les Glòries in its way, where it meets other two major avenues: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Avinguda Diagonal. It absorbs the traffic coming from the AP-7 motorway, which makes it a densely transited area. The avenue goes through the following neighbourhoods of Barcelona: El Clot, Navas, La Sagrera, Sant Andreu de Palomar, El Congrés i els Indians, Vilapicina, Porta, La Prosperitat, La Trinitat Nova, Trinitat Vella and Vallbona, largely working-class areas of the city.

22@ (read in Catalan: vint-i-dos arrova [ˌbintiˌðozəˈrɔβə]), also known as 22@Barcelona and Districte de la innovació (Innovation District) is the corporative name given to an urban renewal area in Barcelona's formerly industrial area of Poblenou, in the district of Sant Martí, nicknamed "the Catalan Manchester" in the 19th century. Its aim is to convert Poblenou into the city's technological and innovation district, as well as to increase leisure and residential spaces. Centered on Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, it is part of one of Europe's biggest urban regeneration schemes, begun during the 2000s and still ongoing, spanning 115 blocks (198.26 hectares (489.9 acres)). The plan was approved in 2000 by the city council when the new 22@ land designation was introduced, replacing the 22a designation, used in city zoning.

The 22@Barcelona model is already being applied in other areas of the city and is a benchmark in urban, economic and social transformation in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Istanbul and Cape Town. It is a compact and diverse city that, instead of applying a territorial specialization model, employs a mixed model that favors social cohesion and fosters balanced and sustainable urban and economic development.