Urbanization in Antiquity, Medieval & Modern Eras
The Urbanization Process: A Historical Overview
De-urbanization process:
- The conformation of the urban network in antiquity. It is a network of peripheral locations of towns like the Phoenician colonies. The Greeks created colonies along the Mediterranean coasts of Catalonia and Valencia. Small towns began to develop, fortified by the native Iberian population. The Punic presence and the long period of Romanization strengthened a well-connected urban system.
- The Hispanic City. The Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands belong to spaces of more intense Romanization. Tarraco, Augusta Emerita, Corduba, and Carthage were capital cities of the Roman Hispania province. The Roman city is a planned city, often founded by the Romans themselves. There were two main axes: thistle and decumano. The crossing of both was done in the forum, the central space of the city. The settlers razed the city but reformed it according to their urban model. The Roman city was well-equipped. Romans were great engineers and architects. The city had: aqueducts, baths and gymnasiums, basilicas, theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, and a network of sewers. It had strong monumental features. Public Spaces (forum), the large cities had temples, fountains, arches, and a profusion of triumph sculptures, decorative items, and other luxuries. It was a connected city, with an extensive network of roads, like the Via Augusta. The cities also had ports.
- The Medieval City. Medieval urban history shows two religious and socio-economic areas: Christian and Islamic.
- The Hispanic Islamic City. Códoba, through cities like Toledo, Granada, Valencia, Sevilla… Iberia maintained its cultural, social, and economic superiority. The Hispanic-Muslim city is a labyrinthine city, with narrow, twisting streets and dead ends. The wall is completed and the palace or castle is central. The houses have little importance, invisible from the street.
It is a city with a deeply religious component. The most important building is the mosque or Jewish community center. The mosque is the center of the different neighborhoods, next to a medersa or madrassa, a source of water, a bakery, and a bath. The Hispanic-Muslim cities have an important commercial and industrial role. The structure separates the Muslim city’s urban public spaces and private family life.
- The Christian City. It developed north to south. Castile, Catalonia, and the Ebro valley later joined León, Segovia, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza… It is a walled city. The most important elements are the defensive walls, castles, and palaces. The walls served to highlight fiscal borders. In these cities, the growing importance of the Church is reflected. El Camino Santiago is a route introducing architectural styles from central Europe. In the late Middle Ages, monastic orders were consolidated, and much space was occupied by the monasteries. It is a commercial and industrial city with predominantly irregular plans. The growth mode of the medieval Christian city is organic.
- The Modern Town. The increasing size of cities continued to develop without planning. The planned new construction of neighborhoods was scarce, and growth remained the same: expansion and development of suburbs or new neighborhoods outside the walls. A new defensive system was developed. The inefficiency of the walls and the medieval castles resulted in the development of a more complex defensive system based on the presence of citadels. The city is monumentalized in Spanish style. There is commercial and industrial growth. New cities around the Middle Ages:
- New Towns Policy of Pablo de Olavide in Sierra Morena.
- New palatine cities, built to express royal power: Aranjuez, La Granja de San Ildefonso, or El Pardo.