Understanding Urbanization Trends in Spain
Urbanization in Spain: The process of urbanization is the increasing concentration of the city’s population, economic activities, and the most outstanding innovations, along with the dissemination of these processes to the environment. The age of the urbanization process differentiates it into several steps:
The Pre-Industrial Development
It extends from the origin of cities at the beginning of industrialization. The characteristics of this stage are as follows:
- The development is modest.
- The urban population does not exceed 10%, and the urbanization rate remains steady because the urban population growth is parallel to rural.
The factors influencing urbanization now are:
- Strategic-Military: Territorial control.
- Political: Administrative control of territory.
- Economic: Organization and control of environmental resources, along with the installation of commercial and artisanal activities.
- Religious: Cities as seats of religious power.
The stages that can be distinguished in pre-industrial urbanization are as follows:
- From the origins of cities to medieval Spain.
We cannot speak of cities until the colonization by the Phoenicians and the Greeks on the Mediterranean coast from the 8th century BC. These people created commercial factories to exploit mineral resources, agriculture, and crafts, some of which resulted in cities such as Cadiz or Ampurias. The Romanization created numerous cities, which explains why nearly all the Spanish cities of some importance have a Roman origin (Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Zaragoza). The functions of these cities were political-military, administrative, or economic (control of mineral resources). The decline of Roman power and the Germanic invasions led to a phase of de-urbanization from the 3rd century. Many cities disappeared or became rural settlements or medieval urban locations.
The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, there was a new phase of urbanization. In the Muslim space, most of the time, the Muslims took advantage of previous settlements (Zaragoza, Toledo, Malaga, Granada, Cordoba), which revitalized as strategic centers for administration, economy, religion, and culture. With the progress of the reconquest, Muslims were displaced from cities to the Christian domain (initially in the mountainous areas of northern Spain). Urban life was poor, but from the 10th century, it expanded with the reconquest and repopulation of the territory, leading to the creation of municipalities based on new or re-conquered cities from Muslims. From the 12th and 13th centuries, the revival of trade led to redevelopment along major trade routes.
Urbanization in the Modern Age
In the Modern Age, the urbanization process experienced fluctuations based on demographic, economic, and political factors. In the 16th century, continued urban growth was due to increased population, economic growth based on trade with America, and the political-military power of the Habsburgs. In the 17th century, this growth was sealed by an economic crisis and significant demographic and territorial losses. In the 18th century, the urbanization process resumed with the new Bourbon dynasty, due to demographic and economic recovery and the strengthening of royal power.
The Industrial Development
This phase extends from the beginning of industrialization in the 19th century to the economic crisis of 1975. The characteristics of this stage are:
- The urbanization rate experienced significant growth.
- The increase of urban population exceeded that of rural.
The factors for this growth are:
- Administration: The new territorial division into provinces (1833) caused the growth of cities chosen as provincial capitals.
- Economic and Social Capital: Modern industry was born and developed in cities, attracting surplus rural population caused by the mechanization of agriculture and high demographic growth.
The growth stages can be distinguished in industrial development:
- Until the mid-19th century, the concentration of population in cities was still small. The weakness of industrialization caused urban growth to mainly affect chosen cities and provincial capitals in the new administrative division.
- From the mid-19th century to the Civil War (1936), the growth of cities was obvious, with the urbanization rate reaching 40%. Now, it was the industry that produced the largest increases, attracting a growing population from rural areas to industrialized cities.
The old town could no longer absorb urban growth, and cities expanded beyond the old walls in different extensions of the bourgeoisie, hosting industrial, commercial, and worker populations. During the Civil War (1936-1939), the urbanization process was interrupted and did not revive in the postwar period (1939-1959) due to supply problems and degradation affecting cities. Additionally, urban growth was not desired by the Franco regime, as it had little support in the most urbanized areas. However, the adoption of autarkic policies promoted key sectors of the economy, boosting the growth of cities that were installed in these sectors, leading to the formation of the triangle of urban-industrial development in the northeast (Cantabria, Barcelona, and Madrid).
Urbanization Post-Industrial
Since 1975, the economic and industrial crisis caused changes that led to a new economic model, known as a post-industrial society. Regarding these changes, Spain is not among the countries called the center, but in the first periphery or semi-periphery. Because of this change, which came later, it has not been fully localized, affecting only certain areas and accentuating inequalities within the country. The changes that characterize this development are as follows:
- The rate of urban growth falls into two stages: Transition and stabilization.
- The urbanization rate is stabilizing. Spain is at this stage due to reduced natural growth and immigration.
- Stage of de-urbanization or urban decline. Spain has not yet entered this stage, except in the case of large cities or industrial cities in crisis.
Spain is affected by a change in the factors of urbanization: The industry loses importance as a factor of urbanization, partly due to the crisis of 1975, which led to deindustrialization and the decline of industrial cities. Furthermore, there is a new tendency to disperse in space, facilitated by new technologies, allowing industries to locate in areas with no industrial tradition and little urbanization. However, we must consider the facts: In regions of industrial tradition, the industry remains the main factor of development, although with a tendency to diminish. The reindustrialization in high technology sectors attracts these industries to cities, especially large cities, which are better endowed centers of innovation and technology. The problem is that these new industries create few jobs, as they are highly mechanized and require highly qualified personnel, which helps reduce the urban growth rate.
Review of Madrid:
Location: Madrid is located on the terraces of the Manzanares River at the foot of the Guadarrama mountain range.
Urban Structure: The differentiation of unique morphological units, i.e., with its own characteristics. In this plane, we can clearly distinguish:
- The historical (pre-industrial) level is irregular, with narrow streets that define irregular blocks, reflecting the Arab or Muslim origin of the city of Madrid. This historic town was extended several times in succession as Madrid grew.
- The 17th-century baroque urbanism is marked by the square to which a rectilinear street is attached, known as Main Street.
- The bourgeois widening in the second half of the 19th century projected the Castro; these extensions were bourgeois and had to be made following a grid plan, i.e., square blocks defined by wide streets that intersect at right angles. These extensions were inspired by hygienist ideas from intellectuals advocating the need for air, sunshine, and public health principles.
- The Arturo Soria’s linear city: The linear city is now a street in Madrid named after Arthur Soria, which was based on that project. The linear city is an example of an organized garden city on both sides of a broad line of communication through which a railway line and a road would pass, with houses on both sides and gardens. Arturo Soria projected a linear city of 50 km, but his death left the project reduced to 5 km.