Population, Settlement and Communications in Catalonia

Population, Settlement and Communications in Catalonia

Population Structure and Aging

The structure of the population presents the characteristics of more developed Western societies: a society that tends to age. Two factors explain this: the decrease in fertility in recent decades and the increase in life expectancy. Fertility data place Catalonia among the lowest in the world. Conversely, life expectancy at birth is among the highest in the world.

The Catalan Network of Urban Settlements

The Catalan population is distributed very irregularly. This is the result of various factors: natural, historic and socio-economic. There are several types of settlement according to their history and location:

• Rural settlements concentrated in the Pyrenean area: traditional villages clustered near the mountains.
• Dispersed rural settlements: for example in areas such as Girona and the large population core of Vallès.
• Concentrated settlements in Catalonia Nova: concentrations in the newer Catalan territories.
• Urban areas of relatively recent development: closely linked to industrialization.

The predominance of the urban population is due to industrialization and to the decline of agriculture as the key to the economy. Urbanization increased during the twentieth century with the development of the tertiary and quaternary sectors.

Catalan Urban Hierarchical Structure

The urban network presents a hierarchical structure in Catalonia where the following levels can be distinguished:

The metropolitan area

The metropolitan area plays a central administrative and economic role and exerts important influence throughout the metropolitan region of Catalonia. It can be seen in two parts: the metropolitan crown and the metropolitan core.

Cities of regional influence

Cities that influence economic and social activity beyond the limits of their urban area and into neighboring comarques. We can list the following examples:

• Conurbation — Tarragona
• Tortosa
• Reus
• Girona
• Lleida
• Manresa
• Vic

Regional centers

Cities that influence the territory of their own region.

Subcomarcal centers

Populations that, despite not being the main center, play a role of centrality with respect to surrounding populations. For example: Roses.

Communications Network

The communications network connects and structures the territory. Its functions include:

• Connecting centers: linking various centers, distributors and producers with consumer markets.
• Channeling flows: enabling the movement of people and goods between activity centers and different urban systems.
• Balancing the territory: uniting more developed urban systems with more remote areas and promoting territorial cohesion.