Analyzing the Structure and Morphology of Spanish City Plans

Spanish cities typically exhibit complex urban plans, which can be categorized into three primary areas for analysis:

• The Old Town (Casco Antiguo)
• The Widening (Ensanche)
• The Periphery (Periferia)

A. The Old Town (Casco Antiguo)

Site and Situation Analysis

• Determine the location and relate it to the functions that initially led to the city's establishment.
• Determine the city's status in relation to the functions it performs for its surrounding environment.

Analysis of the City Plan

• See if the old town is or was surrounded by a wall, and explain its function. If the wall was demolished due to urban growth in the second half of the nineteenth century, note if its site created ring roads or round trips.
• Determine the type of plan: irregular, grid (checkerboard), or radiocentric, and describe their characteristics.
• Note if later changes are evident, such as the opening of streets and squares with a regular layout.

Analysis of the Plot

• Indicate the type of frame (compact or closed) and their causes (urban growth and the confiscation of intramural properties in the nineteenth century).

Analysis of the Building Stock

This cannot be measured directly on the plan, but it can be assumed that historical monuments are located in the old city. Housing has undergone progressive vertical integration, decay, and renewal.

Analysis of Land Use

• Indicate traditional land use and its evolution towards tertiary (service) uses.

Current Issues and Solutions

• Physical deterioration: Streets and houses, social deterioration (aging population and marginality), excessive outsourcing, and environmental degradation.
• Current Policies: Physical and social rehabilitation programs.

B. The Widening (Ensanche)

Determining Causes of Urban Expansion

• Population growth
• Election as a provincial capital
• Industrialization

Distinguishable Areas of Widening

Different areas can be distinguished, indicating for each: purpose, plan, plot, building type, and land use.

• Bourgeois Widening Districts (Ensanche Burgués)
• Industrial Worker Neighborhoods (Barrios Obreros)
• Garden Neighborhoods (Barrios Jardín)

Current Problems and Possible Solutions

• Working Class Neighborhoods: Impairment and lack of services. (Solution: Provision of services.)
• Industrial Areas: Dysfunction, obsolescence, congestion, and deterioration. (Solution: Possible reuse and rehabilitation.)

C. The Periphery (Periferia)

Causes of Growth in the Urban Fringe

• Population growth, industrialization, and rural-urban migration.
• The current trend towards suburban residence and economic decentralization.
• Problems at the rural-urban boundary.

Differentiation of Periphery Areas

Areas are differentiated by indicating for each: causes of creation, plan, plot, and building type.

• Residential Areas:
  • Slums (Chabolismo)
  • Official promotion districts and private developments
• Areas of Activity:
  • Industrial areas
  • Equipment areas (infrastructure and services)

Current Issues in These Areas and Possible Solutions

• In Residential Areas:
  • Slums: (Eradication, social housing).
  • Official promotion and private districts: Physical deterioration and lack of services (Rehabilitation and provision of services).
• In Areas of Activity:
  • Deterioration (Rehabilitation, reuse).
  • Lack of services (Supply provision).