Urban Transformation: Industrialization’s Impact on Spanish Cities
**The Industrial City: Industrial Revolution and Urban Growth**
During the last decades of the nineteenth century, a strong process of urbanization began in the early stages of industrialization in Spain. The Industrial Revolution transformed the distribution of the population in the territory and the morphology and structure of cities. To understand this process of urbanization, several factors must be taken into account:
- The Industries: The industrial site was one of the key players that led to regional imbalances. The facility benefited urban factories, and there was rapid growth, while other cities were excluded from the industrial process. Some factors of industrial location explain the growth of some urban centers.
- Population Growth: The population increased slowly until the nineteenth century, but thereafter there was strong growth, which affected both urban and rural areas. Poor living conditions in rural areas and economic opportunities offered by the city produced intense migration from rural to urban areas.
- The Railroad: Areas more accessible and well-connected were one of the factors of industrial attraction.
- The Confiscation: The passage of Church property to the State increased building area. These spaces were used by the State or by the bourgeoisie for urban projects of housing, public buildings, and the expansion of roads.
The Structure of the Industrial City
During the industrial stage, two different urban realities came to Spanish cities: planned neighborhoods and neighborhoods that grew wildly.
The Planned City
For the bourgeoisie, the city was an area of investment that could bring great benefits. In the new areas, solutions to urban problems were sought. Works were necessary, such as the demolition of fences and walls, improved road infrastructure and supplies, and transport development. Three areas were most affected by urban planning:
- Extensions: These were planning models for bourgeois neighborhoods, improving living conditions and managing traffic. Through a street grid with a grid plan, better use of soil was achieved, allowing the construction of large housing blocks where shops were located on the lower floors.
- Opening of Major Transport Routes: The disorder of most pre-industrial cities prevented the development of movement, so major avenues were opened to allow more fluidity.
- Garden Cities: The idea did not have the same interest in Spain as in other European countries, although there were some projects. An example is the Ciudad Lineal in Madrid, consisting of a main street where houses would be built on both sides surrounded by gardens, with the center used for circulation. The idea of bringing the country to the city, and the fact that the urban bourgeoisie was reluctant to leave the center of the city, is at the bottom of building garden neighborhoods within the city itself. This led to the emergence of small districts that applied for the promotion of high-quality houses.
The Slums
At the same time as the growing concern for urban planning, a parallel process of growth of slums and self-construction developed in a disorderly way. The massive influx of people to work in industries led the majority of migrants to slums, differing from the spaces planned by the existence of large blocks of housing, lacking basic services, landscaped open spaces, and communication infrastructure. Living conditions were inhumane. Urban growth spread to townships near big cities. Growth occurred on the grounds that roamed the roads that connected the towns. This growth led to the emergence of slums. In these districts, the population lacked the resources to buy a home and built shacks on rural land, along with factories and warehouses.
The Industrial City Until 1970
In the twentieth century, three related phenomena occurred: population growth, industrialization growth, and large urban development. Spanish cities were strengthened during the early years of the century as the most dynamic economically. During the decade of the 1960s, the phenomenon of rural exodus occurred. The migration of people leaving the Spanish countryside to settle in the cities caused a serious imbalance in the distribution of the population. It highlighted the deficiencies of Spanish cities. The people who came needed housing, so there was an elevated stage in construction, rural land was occupied by urban uses, and marginal settlements grew. Shacks were surveyed up to 128,000, housing over 582,000 people. Over time, these towns were consolidated, basic allocations were incorporated, and shantytowns were built into blocks in height, integrating into the urban fabric. Today, these neighborhoods are almost excluded from marginalized groups. This overcrowding and lack of planning led to the intervention of the state. One of the first purposes of this intervention was to stop the spread of shantytowns throughout the city. To prevent this, housing estates of official promotion were built, focused on the so-called targeted villages, towns, and minimum absorption villages. Also highlighted in this period are the dormitory towns, located in nearby towns to big cities.