Pamplona’s Urban Development: Old Town to Periphery
Pamplona’s Urban Development: A Comprehensive View
Pamplona has a complex urban plan, in which different areas can be seen throughout the different stages of urban development: the Old Town, the Ensanche (Widening), and the Periphery.
The Old Town: Roman Origins and Medieval Structure
The Old Town has a Roman origin, dating back to the camp established by Pompey on the remains of an old Vascon settlement. It preserves walls rebuilt after the incorporation of Navarre into Castile, which had defensive and sanitary purposes. The property tax in the Old Town is irregular and is organized around three quarters and the castle.
In the plan of this area, squares from later periods are appreciated. The plot is compact because the city has tended to densify growth to maximize space. The traditional building height is low. Remains of historic and artistic medieval buildings and 19th-century houses are higher, with 4 or 5 floors, showing a tendency towards verticalization. In some areas, buildings from recent decades are part of processes of renewal.
The traditional land use was residential, craft, and commercial. Currently, Castle Square is the commercial and business center, with administrative, financial, and all sorts of offices and services. The problems that affect this area are the deterioration of certain buildings and demographic aging. Socially, the resident population is mostly working-class. The solution to these problems is morphological and functional rehabilitation.
The Ensanche (Widening): Bourgeois Expansion and Industrial Districts
The Ensanche arrived in Pamplona with a delay. During most of this century, the growth of the city was walled in by the obstruction of the Citadel, which opposed urban expansion, as the regional economy was still based on agriculture.
We can distinguish between:
- The Bourgeois Ensanche: An orthogonal plot adopted the plan. In the first phase, it had a low density.
- Industrial and Working-Class Districts: These were created in the north.
The Bourgeois Ensanche
During the 1960s and 1970s, renovation and replacement processes were carried out, increasing the pressure on the land. After the Civil War, building height and residential land uses increased for the traditional middle class. Since the 1950s, tertiary uses (commercial, financial, and services) have increased, moving into this area from the Old Town.
The First Industrial and Working-Class Neighborhoods
These neighborhoods, built near the railway station, have a closed plot, low-quality construction, and deficiencies in equipment and services, which must be addressed with urban planning policies.
Garden City Wards
Open plot wards with houses with gardens, primarily for bourgeois residential use, were attached to the Ensanche.
The Periphery: Industrialization and Urban Growth
Urban growth occurred mainly after the 1960s, due to industrialization, which turned the city and its metropolitan area into a major industrial center, with companies in metallurgy, chemicals, and other sectors. Administrative functions as capital and business functions (financial, university, and healthcare) also developed.
Within the periphery, various areas can be distinguished according to land use:
Residential Areas
These are of different categories and morphologies: alternating open and closed frame neighborhoods; neighborhoods with standardized buildings made in series, with others of greater variety and height. The type and quality of the building vary as a function of the value of the land. The middle classes settled in a third urban expansion. The industrial working-class neighborhoods occupied the right bank of the Arga. In the south, industrial implantation was less, but there are working-class neighborhoods near the university and hospital area.
Industrial Areas
These areas are located in the north. Some industrial facilities have also been created in the south (on the bank of the Sadar River).
Equipment Zones
These emerged in the 1960s, looking for cheaper and more extensive space. They were for services such as the planetarium, the football field, and the airport.