Urban Planning & Geographic Concepts
Agglomeration
A collection of urban settlements or areas. The boundaries between urban and rural are not always clear, but can be defined using three criteria: quantitative, qualitative, and psychological.
Metropolitan Area
An area which contains at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants, in addition to administrative divisions where more than two-thirds of their contiguous population is engaged in non-agricultural activities, or has a population density of at least half that of the urban core, or at least twice the density of the next ring of administrative divisions more remote from the nucleus.
Town
A population nucleus of over 10,000 inhabitants, characterized morphologically by a high density of buildings with a high prevalence of manufacturing. Generally, collective economic activities of the secondary and tertiary sectors dominate, with a more dynamic culture, less traditional social organization, and which conditions the surrounding space due to its ability to influence.
Bedroom City
A city where a large proportion of its population lives and commutes to sleep, but does not work. In Spain, these have developed since the 1960s around major cities.
Garden City
An architectural project by Arturo Soria that attempted to solve the massive rural exodus to Madrid by building integrated structures within nature with easy communication. The project failed due to its ambition, but a neighborhood in Madrid still stands as a witness to this attempt.
Linear City
A model of city organization devised by engineer Arturo Soria, based on the idea of the line. The model proposed the construction of a city 500 meters wide with a central corridor and rural infrastructure on each side.
Satellite City
An urban entity that depends on another larger city.
Conurbation
A continuous urban area formed by the growth of two or more cities joining, with each core maintaining its independence.
Urban Sprawl (Jumps Growth)
A phenomenon of urban sprawl where urbanization extends outside the city centers into different areas.
Widening (Ensanche)
An urban planning element, often a grid, which responds to an influx of immigrants to the city.
Megalopolis
A large city that serves as the center of a large area of influence or hinterland. Megalopolises are developing worldwide. In Spain, only Madrid or Barcelona can be considered megalopolises.
Peri-Urban Zone
An imprecise boundary zone where rural lifestyles and the city mix.
Urban Plan
Defined in Spain’s planning regulations as a basic, integrated land management tool for one or more municipalities. Through it, land is classified, the applicable regime for each type of land is determined, and the fundamental elements of the municipality’s equipment system are defined.
Rehabilitation Plan
Actions aimed at the conservation, recovery, and revitalization of traditional urban areas.
Irregular Plan
An irregular distribution of streets and blocks in a locality, typical of Muslim and medieval towns in general.
Orthogonal Plan
These are derived from the Hippodamian plan. Streets cross at right angles, and buildings are shaped like blocks. It is an expression of a high degree of planning.
Radiocentric Plan
A large-scale map that shows areas of a city organized with radial streets emanating from a center, intersected by others forming concentric rings around that center.
Suburb
Communities or districts located on the periphery of the city, away from its center.
Subsidized Housing
A type of housing with a price subsidized and limited by the Spanish public administration.