Urban Development and Societal Dynamics: A Comprehensive Study
Unit 8: What Is a City?
Defining a City
Several factors define a city:
- Population Size: The most common factor. In Spain, any population center with over 10,000 inhabitants is classified as a city.
- Economic Activity: Primarily focused on secondary and tertiary sectors.
- Habitat Concentration: Compact morphology and high population density.
- Centralization of Activities: Cities are well-connected hubs that centralize the flow of people, goods, capital, and ideas. Urban life is fast-paced, anonymous, cosmopolitan, tolerant, and dynamic.
The Urbanization Process
Roman Cities: Adopted a regular form derived from military camps, with two main streets: the North-South Cardo and the East-West Decumanus. They had pipes for water, bridges, entertainment buildings, roads, etc.
Medieval Cities: Emerged as economic centers and served as refuges. Walls provided safety from external attacks. Streets were narrow, winding, and maze-like. A central square was typically surrounded by important buildings.
Modern Age Cities: Experienced changes as old medieval quarters became insufficient. Extramural suburbs were incorporated, and new neighborhoods were built beyond the walls.
Industrial Cities: Arose with the Industrial Revolution. Factories and railroads led to increased urban populations. Cities expanded, demolishing walls to urbanize surrounding land. New residential areas appeared, with workers’ quarters on the periphery and spacious, well-urbanized districts for the bourgeoisie (urban extensions).
Post-Industrial Cities: Located in developed countries, they are characterized by the transfer of industrial activities outside the urban core. Cities become de-industrialized, focusing on tertiary activities and housing.
Urban Morphology
Irregular Urban Layout: Features an irregular shape with narrow, winding streets. Found in cities with historic centers.
Orthogonal Grid Layout (Square or Rectangular): A regular grid with streets intersecting at right angles. The most common layout in history due to its simplicity.
Radial or Concentric Urban Pattern: Organizes the city around a central point, resembling a spider’s web.
The Geometry of a City: Historic Center, Expansion Zone, and Outskirts
Cities are typically divided into:
Historic Center: A network of winding streets in the city center.
Expansion Zones (Ensanches): Planned areas of urban expansion on a grid plan with straight, wide streets.
Outskirts: Located at the city’s edge, not always fully integrated.
Urban Functions
Residential Function: Occupies a large area of urban land.
Industrial Function: Developed due to the large workforce, access to raw materials, and distribution and consumption of products.
Commercial and Financial Function: Requires specific locations (shops, banks, hotels) and additional services, including transport and communication networks.
Urban Spaces in Spain
The Hierarchy of Spanish Cities
National Cities: Madrid and Barcelona, with national and international influence, sophisticated communication networks, and significant cultural, economic, and political vitality. Home to important public institutions and large companies.
Regional Cities: Populations between 500,000 and 1.5 million. Well-connected cities like Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, and Malaga.
Sub-Regional Cities: Between 200,000 and 500,000 inhabitants. Offer important services, such as universities and large hospitals. Examples include Valladolid and Vigo.
Small Cities: Between 50,000 and 200,000 inhabitants. Most are provincial capitals.
District Capitals (Capitales Comarcales): Towns with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants.
Unit 9: Definitions
Sustainable Development (SD): Meeting present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own needs.
Global Warming: An increase in Earth’s average atmospheric temperature, causing climate changes due to the greenhouse effect.
Salinization: Seawater penetrating the subsoil, contaminating freshwater and soil.
Over-Exploitation: Excessive use of a resource.
Natural Resources: Materials or substances in nature exploited for economic gain.
Acid Rain: Acidic rainfall caused by atmospheric pollution, harming forests and lakes. Primarily caused by industrial burning of fossil fuels.
Sustainability: Balance between economic development and the environment.
Environmental Awareness: Based on the three”R”: Reduce waste, Reuse items, and Recycle by sorting and separating for collection.
Atmospheric Pollution: Introduction of particulates, biological molecules, or harmful materials into Earth’s atmosphere, causing harm to living organisms and the environment.
National Park: A park used for conservation, created and protected by national governments. Often a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land.
Nature Park: A designation for a protected landscape with long-term planning, sustainable use, and agriculture. Preserved and promoted for tourism.
Unit 7: The Organization of Human Societies
Key factors in social organization:
Political System: State institutions, political organizations.
Economy: Organization of production and distribution of wealth.
Culture: Language, art, and religion.
Technology
Values: Shaping the way of life and social relations.
Social Diversity: Differences identifying individuals or groups based on characteristics, origins, or lifestyles.
Cultural Diversity
A key element is linguistic diversity. Over 7,000 languages are spoken globally, in two situations:
Official Languages: Recognized, protected, and promoted by the state.
Unofficial Languages: Many are small and endangered, facing dominant languages. Languages are a cultural heritage that must be preserved.
The Diversity of European and Spanish Societies
Most European societies are democratic.
European Society: The service sector employs most of the labor force. It is an urban society with a very high life expectancy, one of the highest in the world. It has an aging population and a low birth rate, both the lowest on the planet, compensated by an abundant influx of immigrants.
Cultural and Ethnic Diversity
Spanish Society: The Spanish population is concentrated in urban and metropolitan areas. Nuclear, single-parent, and single-person households are becoming more common, replacing traditional extended families. 21st-century Spanish society is multiethnic and multilingual.
The Human Development Index (HDI) indicates a country’s welfare level, reflecting health, income, and education. It is expressed on a scale of 0 to 1.
Migration Today
Around 230 million international migrants exist globally, 3% of the world’s population. Flow direction is determined by geographical proximity or historical links, such as those between former colonies and their former colonial metropolises.
Causes of Migration
Economic and Demographic: Population growth without corresponding economic development.
Political Reasons: Persecution, war, exile.
Refugee Camps: Due to conflicts like the Syrian war.
Natural: Droughts, floods, earthquakes.
The Effects of Migration
Economic Effects: Immigrant workers transfer savings to families in their home countries, providing an important income source. Immigrants increase labor supply and boost the economy. They are young people who revitalize the labor market and consumption, and they contribute through taxes.
Social Effects: Some immigrants have high professional or academic qualifications, benefiting the receiving country but impoverishing the sending country. They can alter demographic patterns, as seen in many European countries with aging populations. They tend to have more children, increasing the birth rate. In many developed cities, immigrant groups from a single region may concentrate in certain neighborhoods, hindering integration.
Cultural Effects: Migration involves challenges related to integrating new citizens. Society benefits from greater cultural diversity.
Multiculturalism: Maintains precise limits, highlights differences, and hinders the relationship of these groups with the rest of the population.
Interculturalism: Emphasizes interaction between different cultures in the same territory.
Spain: A Country of Emigrants and Immigrants
External Migration: Massive in the second half of the 19th century, when steamboats facilitated large-scale transport. In the mid-20th century, there was significant labor migration to wealthy, industrialized European countries like Germany, Switzerland, and France. The 1973 economic crisis ended this emigration and led to the return of some migrants.
External Migration: During the economic crisis (2008-2015), Spain became a country of emigrants to other European states. Spanish citizens residing abroad increased by over 6% in 2015 compared to 2014.
Spain, a Country of Immigrants: In the first decade of the century, Spain had one of the highest immigration rates globally. However, the situation has changed, and the number of immigrants is now decreasing.