Urban Network and Planning in Catalonia
The Urban Network
The Barcelona Metropolitan Region
This region plays a central administrative, economic, and service role affecting all of Catalonia. Its scope extends beyond the city limits, including Maresme, Vallès Oriental, Vallès Occidental, Barcelona, Baix Llobregat, Alt Penedès, and Garraf, encompassing 5 million people.
Within the metropolitan region are two zones:
- Metro Area: Includes Barcelona and nearby towns like L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Cornellà, Badalona, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Cugat del Vallès, and others.
- Metropolitan Ring: A ring around the metro area and provincial capitals, including Mollet del Vallès, Granollers, Sabadell, Terrassa, Martorell, and Vilanova i la Geltrú, among others.
Cities of Regional Influence
These cities influence social and economic development beyond their districts:
- The Reus-Tarragona conurbation influences the entire Camp de Tarragona area.
- Tortosa serves as a central place for the Ebro lands.
- Lleida is a central nucleus of the west.
- Girona is central to the regions forming the central region of Catalonia.
- Vic is the main focus of the Ter river valley and its communications.
Regional Centers
These cities provide services for their territory and are related to corresponding regional centers. Figueres, Girona, and Olot, respectively, and Balaguer, Mollerussa, and Lleida, respectively. Puigcerdà also belongs to this category.
Subcomarcal Centers
These populations, while not county centers, play a central role. Roses functions as a subcomarcal center for the coastal strip of Alt Empordà. Bellver de Cerdanya also plays this role.
A Well-Integrated Network: An Urban Region
An urban region is where the urban network is dense and almost continuous, with urbanized areas separated by sparse forest or agricultural areas. Urban regions can be of three types: metropolitan area, conurbation, and megalopolis.
- Metropolitan Area: A large city and surrounding smaller cities form a system with a high exchange of people, goods, and communications.
- Conurbation: A large urban area with several central nuclei of equal or similar importance but potentially different functions, like Terrassa and Sabadell.
- Megalopolis: Several conurbations and metropolitan areas interact to form a vast urban area, like the “European metropolis” extending from London to Milan.
Urban Planning and Urban Actors
Urban planning organizes the development of urban areas and their activities. According to the Land Planning Law (March 2002), land is classified into three types:
- Urban Land: Land integrated into the urban fabric with basic urban services: roads, water supply, wastewater network, and electricity.
- Developable Land: Usually urban land designated for population and economic activity growth.
- Undevelopable Land: Land under special protection for natural, agricultural, landscape, or quality-of-life reasons.
The Actors in Cities
- Landowners: Seek to create new urban spaces on their properties for profit.
- Promoters, Real Estate, and Financial Companies: Focus on construction, sale, and rental of housing and commercial/industrial premises.
- Industrial Enterprise Owners: Relocate factories from old industrial areas to the periphery, freeing up land.
- Citizens: Influence urban space formation by advocating for collective housing, education, health, transportation, and leisure needs.
- Public Bodies (Council and Generality): Decide land use as representatives of the city or country.