Evolution of Spanish Urban Landscapes and City Structures

Major Urban Types of Spanish Cities

As a result of the long process of urbanization, the current Spanish city has a complex structure. In conventional cities or those individualized from the surrounding countryside, these areas include the old town (corresponding to pre-industrial urbanization), the widening of the industrial era, and the current periphery.

The Old Town and Historic Centers

These areas correspond to the urbanized part of the city from its beginnings to the industrial era. Many of these cities were founded to serve a military function and were surrounded by walls. Although they now occupy a small area, modern cities maintain a noble business of personal and public administration and tourism activity, which is very important in Spanish historical cities.

The layout of most historic city centers is characterized by an irregular plan, due to the winding routes and changing widths of the streets. The blocks and urban fabrics take varied forms and are very closed. Besides unique buildings such as:

• Cathedrals
• Mosques
• Convents

And positions of significant heritage value like squares and markets, the rest of the built-up area consists of single-family homes with yards and gardens. These are interspersed among other uses: trade shops, craft workshops, and warehouses.

The Ensanche: Urban Widenings

In the late nineteenth century, populations underwent major urbanistic operations aimed at addressing the problems of the pre-industrial city: overcrowding, insalubrity, and circulation. Its development is related to the demolition of the walls, which had lost their defensive function. In all cases, a regular grid plan of rectangular or square blocks was adopted, sometimes chamfered to facilitate movement. To the residential function, intensive business functions and services (offices, shops, etc.) have been added.

Spanish widenings represent the main contribution to contemporary urbanism, giving rise to a new type of urban landscape. Today, they remain the most important spaces in the city because of their size and the role they play in urban life.

The Linear City (Ciudad Lineal)

The Linear City is a planned urban form organized along a central axis. It is wide and elongated, with public and fast transport circulating through the middle; in the initial project, this was a railway or tramway. The intention was to bring the city to the countryside and vice versa: to ruralize the city and urbanize the countryside.

The project established isolated building townhouses. These included houses with large gardens facing the main street, and smaller plots with basic housing for employees and workers.

The Garden City (Ciudad Jardín)

Developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the characteristics of these urban spaces are manifested in the layout of streets, plot sizes, and building types. The plots are large, and the single-family home dominates the architecture.

Garden cities were conceived as residential spaces with high environmental quality, heavily featuring gardens. While these towns maintain their residential function today, they may have attracted some services such as consulates and clinics.

Conclusion: Slow Cities

In conclusion, these developments represent the evolution toward modern urban living.