Urbanization in Spain: Pre-Industrial to Post-Industrial Cities
Urban Settlement and the Concept of a Town
Defining the city space is complex and involves both quantitative and qualitative criteria:
- Quantitative criteria are based on population figures. In Spain, the National Statistics Institute (INE) considers municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants as urban.
- Qualitative criteria define the city based on morphological, functional, sociological, and spatial aspects.
- The morphological criterion considers the formal aspect of the city.
- The functional approach is based on urban economic activities.
- The sociological criterion defines the city by having greater social diversity and more impersonal and anonymous relationships.
- The spatial approach is based on the city’s ability to organize space.
The Process of Urbanization in Spain
Pre-Industrial Urbanization
At this stage, the urbanization rate was modest and stable. Factors that favored urbanization were strategic-military, political-administrative, economic, religious, and cultural. The legacy of this period is concentrated in the old city:
- Nearly all were surrounded by defensive walls for fiscal and health reasons.
- The plan used to be irregular.
- The urban fabric was closed, and the building was dominated by low-rise detached houses, with gardens and yards.
- Land uses were intermingled, with housing, workshops, shops, warehouses, and public buildings.
These common characteristics unite the contributions of each pre-industrial society:
Ancient City
The origin of cities in the peninsula dates back to Phoenician and Greek times. These peoples established trading posts on the southern Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts to exploit mineral, agricultural, and artisanal resources.
Roman City
It is characterized in its interior space by a series of straight roads or highways. The cities were characterized by the existence of several infrastructures. The decline of Roman power caused a depopulation of large cities, which was accelerated with the great invasions and continued at the time of the Visigoths.
Middle Ages
A new phase was divided into two parts:
Muslim City
With the arrival of the Muslims came a reactivation of urban life. Its interior plan was labyrinthine and lacked the grid plan of the Roman cities. The streets were narrow or winding. It highlighted a series of sectors such as the central souk or market, the medina or administrative area, etc.
Christian Medieval City
At first, it was a small area where small cores emerged and grew around a castle or a church. Its plan was irregular. From the late Middle Ages, it began to grow slightly with the proliferation of unions and bourgeois commerce.
Urbanization During the Late Middle Ages
It experienced fluctuations in demographics, economics, and politics. Each period created new neighborhoods with a regular plan beyond the ancient gates, as well as squares and then the city council.
Industrial Urbanization
This period was marked by generalized growth. Most cities benefited from the location of certain government services and institutions. The arrival of strong immigration resulted in the need to tear down the old walls. Orthogonal expansions appeared. These geometric-plan expansions were dedicated to the residence of the emerging commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. At the time of its creation, a regular rectilinear grid plan was used with wider streets than the old hull. Around the hull, industrial expansion areas began to emerge, as well as slums on the urban periphery. The first landscaped neighborhoods also appeared. The pre-industrial city suffered prominent changes (old town) in the plane. In the first third of the 20th century, reforms were favored by secularization, which allowed for the opening or widening of streets and squares and correcting winding paths with straight ones. The plot intensifies to make more building space and experiences changes. Land use of the old town experienced a progressive outsourcing.
The Post-Industrial City
The following changes occurred:
- The rate of urban growth decreased.
- The factors of urbanization changed.
- The growth process of large cities slowed down in favor of small and medium-sized cities, and even nearby rural areas.
Spanish cities are characterized today by the appearance of metropolitan areas, other conurbations such as conurbations, urban areas, and megacities. In relation to other areas of the city, today the following is revealed:
- In the old town, integrated rehabilitation policies are carried out.
- The expansion area is modernized.
- Working-class suburban neighborhoods have been fully incorporated into the city.