Urbanization Stages in Spain: From the 19th Century to Today
The urbanization process is a reflection of the spatial organization of the economy and society in a given territory. Among the factors that may modify this process include the characteristics of the physical environment, stocking density, type of dominant economy, the state of development, the degree of external dependence, lifestyle, political and administrative organization, and cultural and political territorial factors. In the formation of the urban network of Spain, the first phase marked the process, while the decline represented a phase of de-urbanization. In Andalusia, the Media Center has established itself as an urban spread, following the discovery of America, with urbanization tilting westward. In modern times, the main characteristics of the settlements include a scattered population in the Atlantic, mid-sized cities in the highlands, a major urban area in the valley of the Guadalquivir, and the Middle East retaining the ancient capital. With the implementation of the capital in Madrid (1563), the track layout flows into the capital. During the sixteenth century, there was increased urbanization, which ended with the crisis of the seventeenth century, except in Madrid. In the eighteenth century, the previous model breaks, revealing the contrast between a center in decline (except Madrid) and a periphery with increasing urbanization. This model is enhanced since the late eighteenth century by the end of the commercial boom of the Cantabrian ports, the expansion of Catalan trade, the exploitation of iron in the Basque Country, exports of agricultural products in the Levant, the new transport network favoring Madrid, and attempts to unify the administrative divisions, culminating in the current provincial division, which became the capital and polarizing centers. By the middle of the nineteenth century, there was a hierarchy and functional specialization of cities.
The acceleration of the urbanization process occurs with industrialization, compounded by the influx of large populations coming from rural areas. In the early twentieth century, commercial activities remained the primary cause of urban growth, thus consolidating peripheral development alongside the stagnation of inland areas. In the 1930s, there was massive migration from rural areas to industrial cities, with provincial capitals functioning as secondary sources of concentration, local and well-connected areas. Following the reconstruction phase after the Civil War, the entire territory was incorporated into the processes accompanying industrial development in its final stages. The rapid urban growth in the decade from 1965 to 1975 was due, among other factors, to strong territorial imbalances and intra-urban disorganization. The phenomena that changed urban development plans in recent years included the accumulated growth of Madrid and tourism, leading to the formation of large coastal conurbations. In this context, the Spanish urban network is part of what has been called “first suburbs.”
The postindustrial stage is manifested in the late 1970s, where four different models developed in the post-industrial processes are more evident: subsystems in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria, and Madrid; others developing due to the crisis causing migration flows (Galicia, Castilla, Aragon); tourism-based subsystems (the Balearic Islands, Andalusia); and areas in a pre-industrial phase (marginalized rural areas). Urban system instability has increased in recent years due to changes in the political regime, the structural economic crisis, the process of tertiarization, deindustrialization, the return of emigrants, and finally, political decentralization. The designation of funds has also led to significant transformations, such as the dismemberment of areas organized around Madrid and Basque institutions, accentuating concentration in monocentric systems (Barcelona, Zaragoza) and creating tensions in the bipolar system to place the capital in an intermediate city (Santiago de Compostela), among others.
The urban transition began in 1981, characterized by a decline in the growth of large cities in favor of regional cities, while medium cities are growing, and suburban areas are developing. The growth rate is reduced while the rate of urbanization continues to increase due to rural stagnation.