Urban Development: A Historical Perspective
1. The Preindustrial City
The Roman City
Rome created a dense urban network and hierarchy, connected by roads. Prominent cities included Emerita Augusta (Mérida), Toletum (Toledo), Tarraco (Tarragona), and Caesaragusta (Zaragoza).
The Medieval City
During the 9th and 10th centuries, while Christians in the north lived in rural areas or scattered villages, the Arabs established numerous cities.
The Modern City
In the 16th and 17th centuries, cities lost political influence due to state centralization. In 1561, Philip II established Madrid as the capital, housing the king, court, and state apparatus.
2. The Industrial City
The Industrial City of the 19th Century
Throughout the 19th century, artisan work transitioned to industrial production, characterized by machinery and wage labor. This production occurred in new, large buildings.
Expansion and Segregation
Cities expanded rapidly, with walls demolished and transportation planned for growth through extensions.
The Industrial City of the 20th Century
Until the 1975 crisis, cities continued growing due to immigration and increased birth rates.
Uncontrolled Growth
Immigration accelerated in the 1950s, overflowing from 1959, exacerbating spatial imbalances.
From City to Metropolitan Area
Immigrants settled in towns near Madrid, Barcelona, and Bilbao, leading to chaotic growth, housing shortages, and infrastructure deficits.
Urban Planning and Public Participation
Functional specialization became common: residential areas, industrial estates, and later commercial and leisure areas emerged. Planning for infrastructure, services, and access became crucial.
3. The Post-Industrial City
The Post-Industrial City in Spain
Spain currently has a dense urban fabric, with over twenty metropolitan areas housing a third of the population in just 1.9% of the territory.
Sustainable Cities According to the European Union
Main objectives include:
- Promoting economic prosperity by controlling land supply and speculation, establishing high-quality public spaces, and modernizing infrastructure, especially transport.
- Promoting social balance by focusing on disadvantaged neighborhoods, strengthening local job markets, and improving educational opportunities.
- Protecting the cultural development of European cities and maintaining consistency between residential, industrial, cultural, and recreational functions.
Cities in a Global World
Control and decisions in the globalized economy are centralized in a few metropolitan areas acting as global cities.
Cooperation
A city’s prosperity depends on technological innovation, initiatives that drive other initiatives, local business networks, strong university research centers, cultural creativity, environmental concern, and social dynamism.
Competition
Adapting to globalization requires essential transport infrastructure and connection to the international telecommunications network.
4. Hierarchy and Urban Networks
The Urban Hierarchy
Spanish cities form a hierarchical urban network characteristic of an industrialized country.
The Area of Influence of Cities
Cities form interconnected relationships, influencing surrounding areas as communication hubs, production centers, and service providers.
The Model of Urban Hierarchy in Spain
Besides population, Spanish cities are classified by functional roles in globalization: global metropolis, national metropolis, regional metropolis, sub-sized cities, and small cities.
Urban Networks: An Integrated Land Network
The European continent is largely urban, with over 50% of the population living in metropolitan areas and large cities. Cities are centers of revitalization and manage political, economic, social, and cultural activities.
Axes of the Spanish Urban System
The Spanish urban system has a core and peripheral areas: the Madrid area, Mediterranean Axis, Cantabrian Axis, Ebro Valley Axis, Galician Atlantic Axis, Andalusian Axis, Balearic Islands, and Canary Islands.
5. Transformation in the Morphology of Cities
City and Social Polarization
Cities have always had imbalances, combining prosperous areas with marginalized ones.
The Dual Spaces of the City
Global cities experience internal inequality, with segregation and ghettos forming based on ethnicity, origin, or social class.
Areas of Over-Centralization
These areas house headquarters of large companies and public institutions.
Gated Communities
Exclusive residential areas built with private capital, separated from the rest of the city.
Gentrification or Upgrading
Wealthy individuals and high-value commercial and artistic activities move into previously degraded neighborhoods.
Degraded Peripheries
Impoverishment often occurs in suburbs, many of which remain underdeveloped.
6. Urbanization in Catalonia
The First Catalan Urban Network
The Roman occupation, starting in 218 BC, developed the first hierarchical urban network in Catalonia, with Tarraco as the capital.
The Medieval and Modern Periods
Despite a largely rural population, a medieval urban network existed, including Barcelona, county capitals, and episcopal cities.
Urban Expansion of the 19th Century
Urban populations increased, with some rural towns becoming cities. By the end of the century, 43% of the Catalan population was urban.
Urban Growth in the 20th Century
Urbanization accelerated, with over 50% of the Catalan population urban by 1930. Barcelona’s population reached one million.