Rural vs Urban: Habitat, Economy, and Lifestyle

Posted on Dec 13, 2023 in Geography

RURAL

THE PROCESS OF URBANIZATIONThe urbanization process has been parallel to the industrialization of the country.• Urban growth until the Modern Age.CITIES IN ANTIQUITYThe first cities appearedin Spain in the 9th century B.C. (Cádiz, Ampurias), by the Phoenicianand Greek colonists.oIn Roman times the number of cities grew (Tarragona, Mérida, Barcelona,Sevilla).oUse of the regular grid or checkerboard plan with two large perpendicular streets (cardoand decumano) that intersect in the forum (central publicspace of the city).oThe crisis of the 3rd century AD supposed the decline of cities in the Roman EmpireIN THE MIDDLE AGESIn the Middle Ages two different aspectstook place:oA decline of cities and a ruralization of life as a consequence of the German invasionsandspecially in the Christian area in the north, with a development from the 12th century. Thesecities, by the design of the walls, were almond-shaped(en forma de almedra), and were locatedin a centralarea where religious buildings (cathedrals), palaces, markets, shops,workshops,among others,were concentrated.As they grew, new extra-wall neighborhoods(suburbs) appeared, in which artisan activities or different ethnicalgroups (Jewries and Morerías)proliferated.oIn thesouth, dominated by Muslims, with great development in the 9th to 11th centuries,they transformed cities and founded new ones (Madrid, AlmeríaandMurcia). Most of these citieswere walled and had irregular plans. Its most outstanding buildings were mosques and souks,cathedrals and market squares.IN THE MODERN AGE (XVI-XVII-XVIII CENTURIES)We created many cities thanks to commercial activities, while others lost importance. The mainsquares appeared in many cities and were embellished with tree-linedwalks and gardens.IN THE XIX CENTURY-They created the cities chosen as provincial capitals, and those thatwereindustrialized.-Some knocked down their murals and spread their surface in EXTENSION PLANS.-They made reforms (water connections, sanitation, paving) and large roads were opened.1st HALF XX CENTURY-Most of the population lived incoreof less than 10,000 inhabitants.-Large cities: Madrid, Barcelona,Seville, Bilbao, Valencia and Zaragoza.SINCE 1960Theurbanization process was accelerated thanks to economic development.CURRENT –About 3/4( three quarters)of the Spanish population is urban.-Main cities: Madrid (3 millions) and Barcelona (1,600,000one million six hundredthousand).-Except Madrid and Zaragoza, the big cities are located on the coast.-The urbanization process has been parallel to the industrialization of the country.-They migrate to medium-sized cities and well-connected rural centers, which gives riseto the diffusecity (population dispersion) 

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN THE CITIESCauses• Disproportionate increase in the urban population, particularly in the least developed countries.• Lack of infrastructure and resources to absorb the growing population.• Social and economic inequalities (evictions, marginality, crime).• Environmental problems: atmospheric and noise pollution; solid and waste management.(gestión de residuos y sólidos)Solutions• Investments in infrastructure, especially in the most depressed neighborhoods.• Integration policies and social aid to vulnerable groups(unemployed, children, women,immigrants).• Promotion of renewable energy and bioclimatic architecture; use of acoustic barriers andseparation of leisure areas from residential areas.Environmental problems of the city• Production in factories whosemachines work by burning highly polluting fossil fuels; Urbanpopulation growth; Pressure on theenvironment; Occupation of rural spaces; megalopolis; Landrequalification; fires; Excessive water consumption; Air pollution: acid rain, global warming,respiratory diseases; Water pollution: liquid discharges; From soils: rubble, spills and rubbish.(escombros, vertidos y basuras)

CITY STRUCTURE (FROM INDUSTRIALIZATION TO OUR DAYS)1)Downtown areas• CBD (Central Business District)Downtown area (the main commercial and financial activities are developed here; therefore,they are areas where offices andshops are located, … and, therefore, not many people livein here.• Historic center and older working class neighborhoods.Oldest and most monumental part.-It is also known as the old town for being thecoreorhistorical beginning of the city. In this area are the main historical buildingstake place:cathedrals, palaces, etc. This area used to be walled, although today most of these wallshave disappeared. The main uses were residential, artisanal and commercial. Today the useshave changed and have become commercial areas. It has an irregular plane. Offshoreindustry (deslocalizaciónindusatria)• Bourgeois extensionsFrom the middle of the 19th century, industrialization attracted cities to the ones witha largepopulation that cities were unable to house inside.-Walls were demolished and after them,new neighborhoods known asurban enlargement (ensanches)were built.There are two types:THE BOURGEOIS EXTENSION. Next to the old town, the buildings were built withhigh quality materials, withgrid plan (orthogonal) and equipped with all the necessaryurban services and infrastructure. The bourgeois class lived in these extensions.THE WORKERS NEIGHBORHOODS. Along with factories, railway stations ormarginal areas, the buildings were built withlow-quality materials, with disorganizedplans, and without adequate services and infrastructure. Today many of theseneighborhoods have been incorporated into the city and some have been remodeled andconsequently have been revalued.2)Peripheral areas•Better initial planning. Creation of new facilities: shopping centers, sports areas …• Within them we find three areas:RESIDENTIAL AREAS.Different types depending on the economic level of the residents.From landscaped single-familyhomes for the upper class, to the most common residences are thehousing estates that were made in the 70s and 80s, of large isolated blocks, separated by green andservice areas.INDUSTRIAL AREAS. Industrial estates or technology parks.EQUIPMENT AREAS.It is the external part of the city, where it has grown in recent years, inwhich there are industrial areas, leisure areas (shopping centers), hospitals and residential areas.  

THE CITIES OF CASTILLA-LA MANCHAIn Castilla La Mancha, concentrated habitat predominates with small or medium-sizedcities.And the habitat is more dispersed in the provinces of Guadalajara and Cuenca.The urbanization process • In Antiquity, the Romans developed the first cities. Toledo, Segóbriga among other.• During the Middle Ages, Visigoths, Muslims and Christians shaped the urban centers of themain cities of Castilla La Mancha.• During the 19th century, the arrival of industry and the railway made many cities grow.• During the 20th century, the cities of Castilla-La Mancha have grown considerably.Characteristics of the settlement.The main characteristic of our communityItis the irregular distribution of the population in the territory. The most populated are theprovincial capitals and others such as Talavera de la Reina, Puertollano,Tomelloso, Alcázar deSan Juan, Illescas, Valdepeñas, Hellín, Almansa and Seseña.The most populated areas are La Mancha and the metropolitan area ofAlbacete, Campo deCalatrava, Vega media del Tajo, La Sagra, corredor deHenares, corredor deAlmansaor losCamposde Hellín, are the areas where the growth and consolidation of themost importanturban centers havetaken place.We find the most important cities in the center and south of the Community The urban system of La Mancha• La Mancha urbansystem is conditioned by its relief, being in the flat areas where we find themost important urban centers.• There is no large city, which is why Madrid, due to its proximity, plays the role of the dominantcity over our Community. From Madrid the main urban corridors emerge: Madrid-La Sagra-Toledo-Talavera de la Reina. Madrid-Guadalajara.• In the plainof La Mancha we find a large group of cities between Ciudad Real and Albacetethat constitute an autonomous subsystem with cities such as:Tomelloso, Socuéllamos,Villarrobledo andValdepeñas 

 FUNCTIONS OF THE CITIES• Politics:National or regional capitals that concentrate political and administrative institutions:Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona,…• Economic:Commercial (markets, fairs, commercial surfaces …): Madrid, Barcelona,Valencia,Seville o Investment or credit finance companies (stockExchange( bolsa), banks…): Madrid,Barcelona.Industrial:The industrial estates are located on the outskirts and attract workers: Madrid,Barcelona,Zaragoza andBilbao.• Tourist, cultural, leisure:-Tourist: beach, mountains, culture, gastronomy …: cities on the coast; with ski ports … (in Spainthere is a great variety because tourism is oneof the bases of our economy)-Cultural: museums, monuments, art, music and traditions: Madrid, Barcelona,Toledo, …-Leisure: parties, cinemas, theaters, casinos, theme parks: Madrid, Tarragona, Valencia, ...• Religious:Pilgrimage, processions, pilgrimages( romería), shrines(santuario):Santiago deCompostela; cities with Easter tradition.• Educational: o Prestigious universities, colleges, libraries, research centers …: Madrid, Barcelona,Seville ...• Sanitary:Hospitals and specialized clinics: Madrid, Barcelona,Pamplona …• Residential:Urban enlargement (ensanche), working-class neighborhoodsin the center, luxuriousneighborhoods on the periphery, middle-class neighborhoods, substandard housing.Dorm cities(ciudades dormitorio)

EMPLACEMENT, LOCATION AND FUNCTIONSThe emplacementis the specific physical space where the city is located. It depends on the functionthat the city originally had:oIN THE PAST.Foundedcities with defensive functions were located in higherareas and strategic places easier to defend. Thefoundedcitieswith commercial functions,were located in well-connected areas such as coasts or major roads.oCURRENTLY.The functions are more varied. There are those that have aneconomic function, other political-administrative ones. In general, cities are nowmultifunctional.

CITIZEN BUILDINGS Urban buildings are distinguished by:a) The DISPOSITIONof buildings that can be closed (next to each other) or open (separatebuildings)b) The SHAPE of buildings that can be individual and low-rise, or collective and with variousheights.

THE URBAN PLANE-The planeis the graphic representation at scale of the builtspaces ( neighborhoodblock) or freespaces of a city: houses, monuments, streets, etc. that allows to know itshistorical evolution.-Two types of plane are distinguished: The disordered one (irregular plane) and theplanned one (orthogonal, radiocentric, linear and garden city planes).TYPES OF PLANE:IRREGULAR PLANE.Typical of the medieval city, both Muslim and Christian, and today it survives in the old partof the cities or the old town. It ischaracterized by having narrow andcurved streets, sometimeswith no exit, made without planning, forming compact blocks with no defined shape (Toledo,Córdoba, Cáceres, etc.).GRIDPLANE.(PLANO EN CUADRÍCULA)Theplanned city is made up of straight streets that cross perpendicularly forming square blocks. It ischaracteristic of the urban planning of Greeks and Romans. Currently it exists in cities with extensions suchas Barcelona,Zaragoza, etc.RADIOCENTRIC PLANE.It is usually the result of population growth from a central nucleus. This configuration appears in the MiddleAges due to the shape of the wall, the existence of a castle, a church, a monastery or a market, around whichthe urban plane wasdeveloped. The streets form circles or semicircles until it configuresa radial structureand radial streets are cut(Vitoria, etc.). Nowadays, its advantageis the easy communication with theperipher 

 ANALYSIS OF AN URBAN PLANE• Aspects to take into account to analyze them:Plane shape: irregular, grid or radiocenter.Geographical environment:itindicatesif the city is close to a river, the coast, a mountain, or if anearby population is observed.Parts that make up the city:itindicatesthe central area (CBD, historic center and extensions) andthe periphery (residential neighborhoods, industrial estates, …)Road network(red viaria):Itpointsout the direction of the main avenues and streets.It alsoindicatesthe roads, highways( autopistas)and railway lines that connect the city with other towns.Distribution of buildings and areas of importance:Itlocatesthe most important monuments(cathedrals, churches, museums, …), theirsquares, parks and garden areas

CORRECTED COMMENT:URBANPLANE(TOLEDO)1-Various types of plane are observed. The irregular (corresponds to the historiccenter) andthose that tend to orthogonal (corresponds to the neighborhoods that surround the old town: SantaBárbara, Santa Teresa, Palomarejos, Poblado de Fábrica de armas) and others that are alsoirregular such as Covachuelas or San Antón.2-The geographical environment is theTajo river that surrounds the city.In addition,the old townis locatedin some hills 3-The old town is distinguished, in which buildings of medieval origin are located such as thecathedral, the Monastery of San Juan delos Reyes among others, the adjacent neighborhoods arearound the old town; the railway station is to the rightsideof the old area.4-There are several bridges that connect the central area ofToledo with other peripheral areas suchasSanta Bárbara neighborhood andPolígono de Santa María de Benquerencia, which is locatedon theeast of the old town.And on thewest with the Cigarrales area  

THE URBAN AGGLOMERATIONSThey are the result of the union of severalcities and present different types.

• Metropolitan areas, formed by the union of a main city (metropolis) and other nearby urbancenters (satellite cities) that depend on the metropolis and to which it is related through adense network of transport and communications (Madrid and Barcelona) . Great and variedinfluence throughout the country. They are connected with other cities and with theeconomic centers of the world.

• Conurbations, created when two or more neighboring cities come togetherdue tothegrowth, although eachcitymaintains its administrative and functional independence.(Conurbation of cities on the Costa del Sol in Malaga).

• Megalopolis, arising when urbanization exceeds the regional character. In Spain the axisof the Mediterranean coast could be considered from Barcelona to Cartagena (Murcia).

In theSPANISH URBAN NETWORKdifferent levels are distinguished, butanyurbanareabecomea megalopolis:

• National areaCities that act as administrative, commercial centers … beyond theirAutonomousCommunities.Cities: Bilbao, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, etc.

• Regional metropolisesThey influence intheirregion: Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Palma deMallorca, Las Palmas, Bilbao …Cities that act as administrative,commercial centers… in their Autonomous Communities

• Medium-sized cities (provincial capitals)Cities that act as administrative, commercial centers … in their province.Algeciras, Vigo, Mérida, Avilés, Teruel, Alcoy, Soria, Jaca, Ibiza …

• Local orregional (small) citiesBenavente, Talavera de la Reina, Puertollano, Llanes, Pozoblanco …Cities that act as administrative, commercial centers … in their region. They arecities with little extension