Population Distribution in Catalonia: Rural, Urban, and Suburban Areas
Population Distribution in the Region
This document examines the distribution of population across different areas: rural, rurban, suburban, and urban. Population distribution, or how the population is located within a territory, is known as “poblament”. A useful metric for determining population distribution is population density, calculated by dividing the number of inhabitants by the unit area, usually square kilometers.
Rural and Urban Population: Blurred Boundaries
The traditional distinction between urban and rural populations has become increasingly blurred and obsolete in developed countries. Population growth, economic development, and social modernization have led to settlement forms that don’t fit neatly into these categories. It’s increasingly common to find areas that appear rural but are dedicated to urban or industrial uses. Consequently, the boundaries are vague, necessitating new categories to define both the form and function of the occupied territory and the population’s activities within it.
If the population is mainly grouped in a single core, it’s considered a concentrated rural settlement. If the population lives in isolated houses or very small towns scattered throughout the area, it’s referred to as a dispersed rural settlement. A rurban space is an area that was originally rural but now incorporates uses more typical of industrial or urban areas. Rurban areas are a relatively recent phenomenon, but their increasing prevalence demonstrates that the old rural/urban dichotomy is no longer valid for understanding territorial settlement.
The area forming the core of a city is called the urban area, where most of the population resides and tertiary sector activities are concentrated. In suburban areas, urban elements and lifestyles predominate, with large sets of townhouses or detached houses in residential developments (“urbanitzacions”). Peri-urban areas are characterized by a shift towards large service centers, stadiums, etc., used by residents of the urban area.
Urban Characteristics
- High population density and compact appearance (forming a continuous built-up area).
- Presence of different urban areas.
- Great variety of activities.
Urban Morphology: Dense, mixed-use urban space, multi-family housing, high-intensity activities.
Peri-urban Characteristics
Space outside the city but maintaining a very intense relationship with it, as people live or work in the city due to housing, urban services, or industrial activities.
Peri-urban Morphology: Less dense urban fabric, single-family homes, private sector economic activities, presence of large shopping centers or recreational facilities.
Suburban Characteristics
- Low population density area, generally located outside urban centers.
- Specialized in residential use.
- Socially homogeneous.
- Inhabitants rely on private transport for daily trips.
Suburban Morphology: Low-density urban fabric, garden city model, strong presence of private green spaces and, to a lesser extent, public ones.
Rurban Characteristics
- Space away from the city, more or less rural, where rural activities coexist with urban or industrial activities.
- Close to major roads.
Rurban Morphology: Low-density urban fabric, individual homes, coexistence of old and new urban communities.
Rural Characteristics
- Low population density in relation to the urban space.
- Settlement can be dispersed or concentrated.
- Characterized by the presence of activities related to land production and agriculture.
Rural Morphology: More or less dense urban fabric, single-family or multi-family houses.
Different Types of Population in Catalonia
A series of factors have caused a very uneven distribution of settlements in Catalonia. Frequent settlement types include:
- Concentrated rural population in the Pyrenees and the western and northern sectors of the country.
- Dispersed rural population, especially in northeastern Catalonia, north of the Llobregat River.
- Large population centers concentrated in newly developed areas, such as the city of Lleida.
- Relatively recent urban development closely linked to economic changes like industrialization and the growth of the service sector (“terciarització”), many of which are located in cities surrounding the most important ones.
- Rurban areas where the boundary between urban and rural areas is quite blurred.
- Central coastal metropolitan area formed around cities like Barcelona, Mataró, Terrassa, including Badalona and L’Hospitalet, with around 200,000 inhabitants each.