Urban Structure: Old Town, Expansion, and Periphery in Spanish Cities
Urban Structure of Spanish Cities
As a result of the long process of urbanization, Spanish cities with complex plans can be structured into three distinct areas: the old town, the expansion (ensanche), and the periphery.
1. The Old Town
1.1.1 The Origin
- Location of the city in relation to a wider geographical area (e.g., confluence of rivers or roads, along a communication axis) and its relation to the functions of the city on the surroundings (e.g., political or military control of an area, a region’s economic control, control of trade routes).
- Particular location or space on which the city sits (e.g., hill next to a river, channel of communication, sea) and justification for its choice (e.g., defensive reasons, commercial advantages).
1.1.2 The Layout and Type
- Urban plot or layout types: irregular, radio-centric, grid, or linear. Identify the physical elements that condition the layout.
- Modification level:
- Opening of large and regular spaces (in the Renaissance, Baroque, or 19th century).
- If the wall was torn down, discuss its old location and the further use of the space occupied by it (e.g., boulevards or ring roads).
- If wide, long, and regular channels were opened in the second half of the 19th and first third of the 20th century.
- Renovations of the old town in the 1960s.
- The urban fabric: Layout and width of streets and squares, open or closed. The layout of the buildings.
1.1.3 The Building
- Historic buildings: Discuss the location of the main historical and artistic monuments of the city and their degree of attention and care.
- Building types: Individual or collective use. Degree of conservation or if it has experienced a clear process of verticalization or renewal.
1.1.4 Uses and Functions
- Traditional and current uses: Commercial, business, cultural, tourism, services, communications, industrial.
1.1.5 Current Problems and Possible Solutions
- Problems of physical deterioration of streets and houses, social deterioration (marginality), and environmental issues (congestion of people, traffic, noise, pollution).
- Current policies for physical and social improvement.
2. The Ensanche (Expansion)
1.2.1 Its Different Parts
(For each part, the origin, type of layout, plot, and building will be discussed)
- Bourgeois Ensanche:
- Purpose: Settlement of the bourgeoisie.
- Layout type: Grid (a desire for order and economic benefit).
- Plot type: Blocks with progressive densification.
- Building type: Five to six floors, with progressive verticalization.
- Land use: Residential-tertiary.
- Working-Class/Industrial Neighborhoods:
- Purpose: Industrial/proletarian housing.
- Layout type: Often irregular.
- Plot type: Closed.
- Building type: Small size and low quality.
- Land use: Residential-industrial.
- Garden Neighborhoods:
- Purpose: Naturalistic and hygienic ideas.
- Layout type: Regular.
- Plot type: More or less dense, depending on whether it is bourgeois or proletarian.
- Building type: Single-family, free-standing, or attached.
- Land use: Residential.
1.2.2 Uses, Current Problems, and Possible Solutions
- Problems of physical deterioration of streets and houses.
- Lack of services in working-class neighborhoods.
- Congestion and deterioration of industrial areas and possible reuse.
3. The Current Urban Periphery
1.3.1 Its Different Parts
(For each part, the origin, type of layout, plot, and building will be discussed)
- Suburbs: Urban slums, public housing, privately developed estates, single-family homes.
- Industrial areas: Industrial estates from the 1950s and 1960s, new industrial areas of low quality (small polygons) or high quality (business and technology parks).
- Service areas: Commercial, healthcare, educational, administrative, and other services.
1.3.2 Uses, Current Problems, and Possible Solutions
- Physical deterioration, poor planning, and inadequate service provision.