Urban Development and City Morphology in Spain: Focus on Extremadura

Posted on Dec 20, 2024 in Geography

Theme City: Geography

Concept of City

A city has the following features:

  • Inhabitants engaged predominantly in non-agricultural activities.
  • Densely populated urban space.
  • Urbanized economic center.
  • Services with an important hinterland.

According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), a city has more than 10,000 inhabitants. A municipality is a densely populated area. A city is a nucleus occupied by a town, with activities and buildings that are not agricultural. The surrounding space exerts its influence.

The process of urbanization is transforming the rural environment into urban areas. This leads to changes in geography, demographics, and economics.

The Preindustrial City

The Greeks and Phoenicians established cities along the Spanish coast, but the Romans founded real cities. The Roman city is formed by two main streets: the Cardo (N-S) and the Decumanus (E-W). In the 5th century AD, there is a process of ruralization.

The Christian Area

There were no large cities, while in the Muslim area, cities thrived, especially those from Western Europe. Muslim cities are political-administrative, religious, economic, and cultural centers. Some existed in the past, but it was the Muslims who made them important.

The Muslim City

It is built around the mosque, where the administrative and commercial activities are. It is a walled area; near the exit is the market. This city has an irregular plan, narrow streets, and houses with few exterior windows.

In Christian Spain

The city is important from the 11th century due to the recapture and commercial development. Here the plane is irregular and walled; it is situated around a castle, temple, or road. The main streets radiate from the center, or it is centrally located. In northern Spain, along the Camino de Santiago, pilgrimage cities are linear, with a central street and surrounding villages.

The Renaissance

Town squares and palaces arise.

In the Baroque

Perspective is given to cities to demonstrate their greatness, such as a city hall and the Plaza Mayor.

In the Neoclassical

Emphasis is placed on uniformity, straight roads, regular squares, monumental gateways, and trees.

The Industrial City

Industrial development takes place in Spain in the 19th century. The factory is the main element, and around it, the workers’ quarters are located unplanned. Sewerage works are initiated, water supply is improved, and the linear city of Arturo Soria is created. Extensions were also created by knocking down large inland walls. This allowed connection of the extensions to the historical centers. After the civil war, the construction of housing was accelerated through laws such as Social Housing, Housing Subsidy, or Subsidized Housing, creating neighborhoods with homogeneous architectures and low quality. The Land Law and Urban Land introduced rationality in the urban planning process. In the 1960s, the transfer of populations from rural to industrial areas accelerated. The National Housing Plan led to the creation of parks on the outskirts of cities. The polygons have many services, but they were of poor quality. The big cities are filled by immigrants, and as a result, marginal neighborhoods are created, along with uncontrolled constructions of buildings on the beaches, destroying ecological zones.

Postindustrial City

From 1973, building enlargement decreases. From the 1980s, drivers change. In 1975, a comprehensive rehabilitation policy was initiated in the old town, widening streets, creating gardens in the squares, and making many streets of the old town pedestrian. There are also grants for the rehabilitation of private homes and historic buildings. Since the 1980s, communities have acquired skills in planning, urbanism, and housing. The General Urban Plan becomes the basic tool. Since the 1990s, urban planning reflects the desire of some cities in crisis to find solutions and increased competition among cities to attract investments. It is characterized by:

  • Industry leaves the city, and its place is occupied by service areas.
  • The new areas are planned as garden areas.
  • Remodeling of cities for events such as the Expo occurs.
  • Congestion occurs in core areas, and residential areas and bedroom cities increase.

Urban Morphology

The external morphology is the appearance presented by the city. It is influenced by:

  • The location: the concrete space that the city sits on. It depends on the physical environment and the purpose for which the city was created.
  • The situation: it is the relative position of the city with respect to a wide geographical area. It is related to the role of the city towards the environment.

The level of the city is the graphic representation of the free surfaces and the built environment. It is classified by shape:

  • Irregular: a plane without a warrant. Narrow streets. Central dead-end streets.
  • Radio-centric: it has a center from which the streets leave. It may be irregular or not. In the center is the cathedral, a square, or a town hall.
  • Grid: they are parallel streets that intersect perpendicularly at right angles.
  • Linear: the streets are part of an elongated axis.
  • Mixed: a combination of the previous forms. All current. You can see the historical evolution of the city.

The construction:

  • The plot: arrangement of buildings. It can be closed if the buildings are next to each other, or open if there are spaces between each building.
  • The building: collective and high-rise, such as blocks, or individual, such as townhouses.

Land use: is determined by the function of the city. We can classify the three main areas:

  • City Center:
    • Old Town: the historical center, the oldest part of town, where the historic buildings, ramparts, and old neighborhoods are located. In many cities, this center is used for tourism. In others, it is not.
    • Business Center: where the centers of tertiary activities are located. It is an easily accessible area where most skyscrapers are, and the price of land is very expensive.
  • Residential Areas:
    • Neighborhoods: the old town is usually inhabited by people of low purchasing power, except when rehabilitated, which are more expensive. There are neighborhoods built for workers.
    • Urbanization: with the generation of the car and the creation of rapid communication channels, as well as increasing living standards, some people live in high-quality urban areas.
  • Outskirts:
    • Industrial areas: are areas of factories, workshops, and warehouses, located in industrial estates. These are areas with good infrastructure.
    • Large areas: are the big supermarkets; they need large spaces, easy access, and parking.
    • Bedroom cities: neighborhoods are built near large cities, in cheaper land areas, where housing is more affordable.

The Urban Facilities

A well-equipped city has good transportation, gardens, spaces for leisure and recreation, and so on. Many occupy buildings that already existed with other functions, and some have been placed in new places.

The Urban Agglomerations

Some cities have grown to connect with other cities. There are several types:

  • Conurbation: when two cities that were initially independent join, maintaining trade, administrative, or cultural relations, but retaining individual autonomy.
  • Metropolitan areas: a major city that rules over nearby cities.
  • Urban region: consisting of cities dotted around an area but scattered, forming a unitary space.
  • Megalopolis: arises when the level of urbanization reaches above the regional level. It is composed of various urban elements with distinct functions that grow to form a discontinuous urban network.

Extremadura: Urban Development

Urban development has been slow compared to other Spanish regions.

The Network and Urban Hierarchy

Extremadura has an urban network (Badajoz, Cáceres, Mérida, Plasencia, Don Benito, Villanueva, and Almendralejo) and 7 other semi-urban areas (Navalmoral, Montijo, Zafra, Villafranca, Coria, Jerez, and Olivenza). The economic power is in Badajoz, Cáceres, and Mérida. Badajoz has also influenced Portugal at a lower level. Other locations are exceeding 20,000 inhabitants. They are cities with economic activities, especially food industries and services. The base of the urban hierarchy is formed by semi-urban centers that support their development, in some cases, by progressive economic development and remoteness from urban centers.

Characteristics of the Cities in Extremadura: Origin and Evolution

Almost all major towns have a Roman or medieval origin, hence the historical remains. The main historical circumstance that has defined the urban layout of the region was the creation of the two provinces, and their capitals grew steadily in population, urban infrastructure, and other cities in Extremadura. They owe their strong economic growth and their privilege over key territories to the county.

The Interior of the Central Cities

  • Sector “Old Quarter”: narrow, paved streets, irregular shape. There are monuments. In some cases, it is degraded, and in others, it is not.
  • Business Center: major retailers. Special importance in Badajoz and Cáceres.
  • Working-class neighborhoods: the expansions had little development. Working-class neighborhoods appeared close to old factories and businesses.

Outskirts

The inner city began to depopulate, and the suburban outlying areas grew, better equipped, designed, and communicated. We distinguish:

  • Residential District: consisting of new districts drawn with vertical and squared buildings and bedroom neighborhoods.
  • Industrial estates around them, like the industrial estate”La Pa” in Badajoz.