European Union: History, Institutions, and Economy
Need for a European Commercial Block
Creating a European common market was not a new idea. The first proposals were translated into the variables of the Treaty of Rome, signed in 1957 by Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The treaty predicted the prosperity of the European Economic Community (EEC) and saw both economical and political unity, depending on a single internal market. The EEC established policies followed by concrete actions on the free movement of goods,
Read MoreUrban Development and City Morphology in Spain: Focus on Extremadura
Theme City: Geography
Concept of City
A city has the following features:
- Inhabitants engaged predominantly in non-agricultural activities.
- Densely populated urban space.
- Urbanized economic center.
- Services with an important hinterland.
According to the Instituto Nacional de EstadÃstica (INE), a city has more than 10,000 inhabitants. A municipality is a densely populated area. A city is a nucleus occupied by a town, with activities and buildings that are not agricultural. The surrounding space exerts its
Read MoreUrban Development: Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts
Urban Fringe: Industrial Sites, Facilities, and Residential Neighborhoods
The urban fringe forms a large area of nature strips or suburban surroundings of a city and its expansion. In this sector, we can distinguish three main areas:
- Large industrial sites, looking for very cheap land.
- Major facilities: supermarkets, leisure or sports centers, etc.
- Residential neighborhoods, which are basically of four types:
- Slums or shantytowns.
- Private housing developments: tower blocks and flats.
- Social housing.
- Areas
Human Settlements: Urban and Rural Dynamics
**Human Settlements: Urban and Rural Dynamics**
**Settlement**
Settlement is the way to take human settlements in space. Types: rural and urban differ in their dimensions and characteristics.
- Rural settlements include small dimensions, such as villages and towns where the predominant sector is primary.
- Urban population comprises over-sized settlements, cities, and secondary sectors. The population works in the tertiary sector.
**Factors Influencing Rural Population**
- Physical: Relief features, the presence
Economic Evolution in Spain: Franco Era to 1973
Economic Policy During the Franco Regime
After the war, there was a large decrease in population due to fighting (killed and maimed) and repression (prisoners and exiles). Moreover, agrarian and industrial production was much lower than in 1935, gold reserves and foreign exchange disappeared, and the transport network was deteriorating.
The post-war period saw the beginning of autarky, an economic system under which a nation must be able to supply itself and survive, meeting all its needs with minimal
Read MoreSpanish Population: Trends, Structure, and Future Projections
**Real Growth**
We define real growth as the actual growth of a population, taking into account both natural and migratory movements. Since 1998, we have experienced a new upward trend, and the Spanish population has increased by 6.1 million people, with the current population exceeding 46 million.
**Uneven Spatial Distribution**
Population density is the demographic indicator that relates the population to the space it occupies. The Spanish population density is 90.9 inhabitants per km2. However,
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