Preindustrial and Industrial Urbanization in Spain: An Overview

Posted on Oct 24, 2024 in Geography

Preindustrial Urbanization

Early Cities

Urban nuclei first appeared about 2000 years ago, especially in peripheral areas due to colonization. These locations were defensive and well-connected, introducing an irregular path. The first pre-industrial cities were established between 1100 and 800 BC by the Phoenicians (Gades, Malaka), followed by the Greeks from the 8th century BC (Rhodes and Emporion), and then the Carthaginians (Carthage).

Roman Urbanization

In the 2nd century BC, the Romans arrived and implemented significant urbanization. Their cities followed a regular and planned grid pattern with a hierarchical road system. The main roads were the “cardo” (north-south) and the “decumano” (east-west). Roman cities featured walls and fences for protection against invasions. Major cities included Lugo, Tarragona, Zaragoza, Gijon, and Lyon. These cities were connected by a network of roads and boasted numerous monuments, temples, and decorative elements.

Medieval Cities

Medieval cities were of two types: Muslim and Christian. Muslim cities, established in 711 in the center, south, and Balearic Islands, had an irregular, labyrinthine layout for defense purposes. Key elements included the Alcazar, walls, the souk (market), and the mosque, reflecting the religious nature of the population. Craft and commercial activities played a prominent role. Medium-sized cities included Granada, Seville, Toledo, Valencia, and Madrid.

Christian cities also had an irregular plan, but less so than Islamic cities. They were smaller in size, with examples like Leon, Gijon, Madrid, and Barcelona. These cities featured large defensive walls, a castle, and a cathedral church. Streets were narrow and dark, and the cities had a strong traditional and religious character, with guilds organized by streets.

Modern Age (15th-19th Centuries)

The modern age saw slight urban growth (3% urban population), with planned development mainly in larger cities. New urban elements appeared, such as the star-shaped wall (16th century). Renaissance architecture influenced buildings, and urban areas were renewed with town squares and gardens. Trade relations with overseas colonies increased, but long-distance relationships remained limited, and socio-economic stratification was high. Cities were generally small (5-10 thousand inhabitants).

Industrial City

The industrial city emerged in the mid-19th century with industrialization. This period saw the production of urban land as an economic driver, leading to real estate speculation. Factories and industries appeared, and a working class emerged. The railroad became crucial for communication and facilitated rural exodus, resulting in poor living conditions for workers in overcrowded buildings.

Urban interventions included the demolition of walls for improved communication, street alignment, construction of major routes (French influence), and sanitation improvements. These changes allowed for expansion beyond the city center, leading to extensions (ensanches) in cities like Madrid and Barcelona. These extensions established the structure for the bourgeoisie. The extensions tended to follow geometric shapes, particularly the grid plan (Barcelona), with wider streets and modern infrastructure, including energy, public services, communications, and urban beautification.

The Periphery

In the second half of the 19th century, a new space called the periphery emerged due to several factors:

1. The inability of traditional city centers to expand and meet the demand for urban land, especially in areas with high immigration and industrial activity.
2. High land costs in central areas, pushing industrial activities and worker housing to peripheral locations.
3. Technical and social backwardness.

Other Urban Forms

Garden City: Small settlements on the outskirts of cities, based on Howard’s projects, aimed to integrate natural and rural values into urban planning. These settlements featured single-family houses surrounded by green spaces, well-connected to urban centers, and equipped with specialized services.

Linear City: A project by Arturo Soria on the outskirts of Madrid in 1886, aiming to develop the city while preserving the countryside. The city would grow along a communication axis, surrounded by family houses, gardens, and basic neighborhood facilities.

The Contemporary City

Post-WWII Development

From the second half of the 1950s, a period of significant economic and industrial development known as developmentalism began. This period had a strong impact on cities. The modern approach was challenged, and the General Plan of 1956, the first Spanish Land Law, established three types of land: urban (mostly built), developable (anticipated city growth), and rustic (protected from development). The first policy of massive state housing grants was implemented, leading to increased peripheral growth. These housing projects, known as “slums,” suffered from poor living conditions, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of services.

Many surrounding municipalities became bedroom communities, with residents commuting to work in the city center. Employment and leisure activities concentrated in the center, leading to increased commuting. The rise of tourism in the 1960s had a positive economic impact but also negative consequences for cities, including land speculation, environmental damage, and aesthetic transformations due to hotel construction.

Post-Franco Era

With the arrival of democracy in the 1980s, the focus shifted to addressing past deficits in housing and infrastructure. General Plans were approved to guide urban growth and land allocation. Urban rehabilitation projects began in historic districts, encouraged by subsidies and low-interest loans. Municipalities restored public spaces, pedestrianized streets, and created ring roads, highways, and improved public transport, enhancing accessibility to city centers.

Problems of Cities

Resource Management

Cities face challenges in supplying energy, water, food, and other products, requiring significant investment in infrastructure. Traffic congestion during rush hour is another problem, particularly in inner cities and areas connecting to the periphery. Solutions include bypass roads, restricting vehicle use in city centers, and investing in public transport. High traffic volume also contributes to air and noise pollution, especially near airports, railways, and industrial areas.

Waste Management

Urban waste treatment is a significant issue, with an average of 1.5 kg of garbage per person per day, in addition to waste generated by economic activities. Treatment is expensive, leading to illegal landfills that pollute soil, air, and water resources. Wastewater treatment is also a concern.

Housing and Municipal Finances

High housing prices force many people with limited resources to live in poor conditions. Municipalities face increasing debt due to the need to provide more services with limited funding. They often sell land and grant planning permission to generate revenue, but building decay can leave municipalities without this income source.

Other Issues

Other problems include crime and social marginalization.

Spanish Urban System

Characteristics of the Urban Network

The Spanish urban network exhibits a peripheral distribution (Mediterranean coastal communities, including Atlanta and Cantabrian), but also a central concentration (Madrid, Zaragoza, and Valladolid). The coast is divided into four areas with high urban concentration (Catalan-Levantine axis, Andalusian, Galician, and Cantabrian), along with the two archipelagos.

Constraints of the Urban Network

Internal Factors:

• Historical evolution of the Spanish socioeconomic system, favoring the growth of selected cities.
• Consolidation of Autonomous Communities, intensifying urban relationships within each community.
• Improvements in transport infrastructure (motorway network, airports, ports), facilitating inter-community relations.

External Factors:

• Globalization and socioeconomic factors, increasing the international prominence of some cities, particularly in tourism and industry.
• Development of new technologies, industries, and services.

Urban System and Subsystems

• Central Subsystem: Organized around Madrid, covering much of Castilla-La Mancha and some cities in Castilla y Leon (Segovia and Avila).
• Southwestern Subsystem: Centered around Seville, including cities in Andalusia and Extremadura, as well as Ceuta and Melilla. It is less mature than the central subsystem and has major cities that rival Seville (Malaga and Granada).
• Northern Subsystem: Includes two distinct but interconnected subsystems. The most important is centered around Bilbao and Zaragoza, extending to other cities in the Basque Country, Aragon, Cantabria, Navarra, and La Rioja. The other subsystem is the Castilian-Leonese (centered around Valladolid) and its extension to Asturias.
• Levantine Subsystem: Highlighting Valencia, it integrates the other communities of Valencia, Murcia, and Albacete.
• Other Subsystems: Catalan, Galician, Canary, and Balearic.

Urban Hierarchy

The urban hierarchy is determined by the type of functions and influence of a city, resulting in six ranks:

• Highly Globalized Metropolis: (Madrid and Barcelona metropolitan areas). They stand out with over 6.3 million urban inhabitants in Madrid and 5.2 million in Barcelona. They are connected to major global economic centers and specialize in the tertiary sector and new technologies.
• Major Domestic Cities: Have significant international projection but less than the metropolis. Some have great economic diversity and are among the most important European cities within their range (Valencia, Bilbao, and Zaragoza), while others are important administrative, commercial, and tourist centers (Seville and Malaga). As capitals of Autonomous Communities, they are service centers, administrative and economic hubs of their communities.
• Regional Urban Centers: Provide highly specialized services and can be defined primarily as “shopping malls” and “service centers.” They maintain flows with major national and regional cities and exert influence over their area and nearby provinces well-connected to major cities. They function as distributors of specialized services in their Autonomous Communities or provinces (e.g., Oviedo, Alicante, Murcia).
• Provincial Capital Cities and Other Medium-Sized Cities: They have between 50,000 and 300,000 inhabitants, and many are provincial capitals. In recent years, they have benefited from support for the distribution of services and a more balanced territorial configuration (e.g., Vitoria, Gijon, Sabadell).
• Small Cities: (25,000-50,000 inhabitants). They have less influence but have strengthened in recent years, improving their industrial economy, trade, and tourism. They specialize in activities related to the primary sector.
• County Seats (<25,000 inhabitants): Play the role of supplying basic services to the districts they preside over. In some cases, they are called villas. These areas with few inhabitants have a rich territorial influence and socioeconomic composition despite their small population (e.g., Navia (Asturias), Jaca (Huesca), Haro (La Rioja)).

Metropolitan Areas

Metropolitan areas are urban ensembles with municipalities exceeding 300,000 inhabitants. They generate significant employment, real estate activity, and shopping opportunities. However, they also face challenges such as waste generation, water purification, urban planning complexities, and transportation issues. This requires them to adopt more complex planning approaches (transport agreements, waste disposal, land use plans).

Depending on the number of inhabitants and management complexity, four types of metropolitan areas can be distinguished:

• The largest and most globalized: Like Madrid and Barcelona, they face significant management challenges due to population growth and the need to maintain or improve services.
• Those formed in the 2nd half of the 20th century: With over 1 million inhabitants (Valencia and Seville), major cities in eastern and southern Spain, including Malaga, with coastal municipalities focused on tourism.
• Medium-sized metropolitan areas: (0.5-1 million inhabitants) can have a clearly dominant central unit (e.g., Bilbao, Zaragoza, and Murcia) or a complex system of cities (e.g., Asturias, Vigo, Pontevedra, and Alicante-Elche).
• Minor metropolitan areas: (300,000-500,000 inhabitants). Some have complex territorial management (Granada, Cadiz Bay, and Palma de Mallorca), while others have simpler management (e.g., Valladolid, A Coruña, San Sebastian).

Urban Forms and Concepts

Center/Old Town: The oldest part of a city, characterized by its cultural heritage, irregular plan, low-rise buildings, and compact urban fabric.

Garden City: Small towns on the outskirts of cities, based on Howard’s ideas, aiming to integrate rural and natural values into urban planning. While intended to include all city functions, industries were located in less disruptive areas, and these cities were well-connected. In Spain, garden cities were built for workers and as defense mechanisms, but they were more successful among higher classes.

Linear City: A project by Arturo Soria on the outskirts of Madrid, aiming to integrate the city with the countryside. The city would grow along a communication axis, surrounded by family houses, gardens, and well-connected facilities.

Conurbation: A group of cities and towns that grow and eventually merge, forming a single agglomeration but remaining administratively and economically independent. Connections often develop along transportation routes and are favored by natural elements like coastlines, rivers, and valleys. A conurbation can encompass several cities and may form a megalopolis.

Ensanche: Urban areas developed in the 2nd half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, typically following a grid plan.

Megalopolis: The union of several conurbations and metropolitan areas with strong interconnections and interdependence. There are no megalopolises in Spain.

PGOU (General Urban Development Plan): An urban planning document aiming to guide the growth of Spanish municipalities. It governs land classification (urban, developable, and undeveloped) and zoning (industrial, commercial, residential), establishes communication networks, determines land use, promotes economic development, and defines measures for protecting natural and cultural resources.

Urban Region: A highly urbanized area dominated by a single city. It is characterized by a dense communication network and well-developed transportation systems.

Metropolitan Area: An urban area formed by several interconnected municipalities with a population exceeding 300,000 inhabitants. They function as a single unit in terms of real estate, employment, and transportation.

CBD (Central Business District): The central area of a city where the most select services are concentrated. It is characterized by good accessibility, high land prices, high traffic volume, and tall buildings. It is typically located in or near the historic center or urban expansion areas (e.g., Wall Street, New York).

Urban Structure: The way different parts of a city are organized according to their functions and distribution in urban space.

Urban Hierarchy: The classification of cities based on their importance within the urban network, considering their relationships with other cities in their region or country.

Metropolis: Large cities with significant influence on the urban network as business and financial centers. They are connected to major global economic centers and concentrate the most economically advanced sectors.

Technology Park: An urban space where innovative technology companies are concentrated to benefit from economic and communication advantages. They are typically located in metropolitan areas and receive significant public support.

Industrial Estate: An urban space created to accommodate industries, often associated with development in the 1960s and 1970s. They are often located near residential areas to facilitate worker commutes and receive tax incentives to attract companies.

Urban System: A set of interconnected cities linked by economic, trade, and transportation ties. It consists of several subsystems. In Spain, there are eight subsystems (Central, Southwest, Northern, Levantine, Catalan, Galician, Canary, and Balearic).