Industrial Expansion Zones in Spain: Types and Features
Industrial Expansion Areas
Features
These are areas in which industry is established for different reasons. We can distinguish various types:
Metropolitan Crowns
They are in the urban periphery and have declining industrial areas undergoing restructuring, such as lower Llobregat, the left bank of the River Nervión in Bilbao, and the south of Madrid.
Suburban Fringes
They are transition zones between the urban and rural. In general, the industries are small, thinly capitalized, and in need of unskilled labor. They are devoted to traditional products such as wood and clothing. Polygons are typically installed in small, craft-attached areas.
Lines of Industrial Development
Located along the main roads, such as the Ebro Valley, the heart of the Mediterranean (Gerona-Cartagena).
Rural Areas
Industries are small, thinly capitalized, and in need of unskilled labor. Workshops are usually small, with traditional production, urban enterprises relocated, or companies promoted by businessmen from the area to use the resources of the environment. Sometimes innovative companies are due to the support of local government and cooperation between companies, as in Castilla-La Mancha, the Ebro Valley, the Mediterranean coast, or isolated areas such as Medina del Campo.
Metropolitan Crowns
They are in the urban periphery and have declining industrial areas undergoing restructuring. On the one hand, the capture crowns innovative companies in technology parks are installed (Tres Cantos, Madrid). In other cases, they are traditional industries relocated from metropolitan core areas, seeking to reduce costs and benefit from the sale of urban land they occupied. They are located in industrial estates along the main roads.
Industrial Development Axes
The main growth area nationally is located in the Ebro Valley and the Mediterranean. They are equipped with a motorway network that connects with the main national and southern European areas, attracting national and multinational industries. Cities are also related to industrial or handicraft tradition and a cottage industry of products processing the environment. A regional and county-level network has developed around some axles in Madrid. This extends to the neighboring provinces of Castilla-La Mancha, and the interior, such as the railcar axles Tordesillas/Valladolid/Palencia.
Declining Industrial Areas
Asturias, Cantabria, Ferrol, Puerto Llano, or Cadiz. They are specialized areas in declining industries such as metallurgy, shipbuilding, and petrochemicals. The labor market is lower-middle quantification. The SMEs are limited and dependent on large companies. The environment is irrevocably damaged by industrial activity, urban settlement increased, low-quality housing, and abandonment of land and buildings. There are major constraints to production and employment. There is rising unemployment, falling profits, and a reduced contribution to GDP.
Areas of Induced Industrialization: Issues and Features
They are in Aragón (Saragossa), in Castilla y León (Valladolid and Burgos), and Andalucía (Sevilla, Huelva, and Cadiz). In the 1960s, industrial enclaves were created by concentrating investment, production, and employment. However, they were unable to spread to areas around the industry, generating overall imbalances. These areas also have some industries in the provincial capitals and traditional industries.
Areas of Low Industrialization: Issues and Features
They are Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, the Balearic and Canary Islands. Large industries are timely and largely non-competitive traditional sectors in small and medium enterprises. However, Castilla-La Mancha is changing its position because of the spread of Madrid’s industry, more connected to the provinces with the capital.