Urban Concepts and City Dynamics: Key Definitions

Key Concepts of Urban Areas

City Concept

Quantitative: Over 10,000 inhabitants.

Economic Activity: Primarily tertiary sector.

Secondary Sector Level and Influence: Building and construction.

Spatial Criterion: Exercising influence over a territory.

Location

Specific Location: Concrete place where the city is situated.

Relative Location: Location in relation to other places.

Urban Morphology

External appearance of the city.

Urban Structure

Division of the city into areas with distinct morphology, features, and functions:

• Old Town: Part of the city that was urbanized from the outset.
• Ensanche: Growth of the city after the demolition of the walls, leading to a regular plan with wide, straight roads.
• Periphery: Outermost areas of the city.

Urban Functions

Main activity the city performs:

• Commercial: Paris, Cadiz
• Military: Ronda, Avila
• Industrial: Cartagena, Tokyo, Gijon, Bilbao
• Administrative: Madrid, Sevilla, Merida
• Religious: Santiago, Fatima, the Vatican
• University: Salamanca, Granada

Characteristics of Urban Areas

• Centrality: Indicates the capacity for attraction and leadership with respect to another area called the periphery.
• Hierarchy: The order of cities based on their functions and the extent of their area of influence.
• Connectivity: The ability to link dynamically with other parts of the territory.
• Urban Planning: The action of organizing the territory, people, activities, and media, taking into consideration natural and human limitations, aiming to improve living conditions for people in the city.

Definitions

• Metropolitan Areas: Large urban extension surrounding a major city, extending across several municipalities from an administrative point of view.
• Conurbation: Discontinuous urban area formed by the parallel growth of two or more cities until they join, with each city maintaining its independence (e.g., Malaga to Marbella).
• Urban Region: Urban areas comprising discontinuous cities scattered but dense enough to maintain urban characteristics throughout (e.g., Center of Asturias).
• Megalopolis: Consists of various urban elements (metropolitan areas, conurbations, urban areas, small towns). Example: Axis Mediterraneo.

City Issues

Environmental

Urban climate, water pollution, air pollution, increased solid waste.

Other Problems

Housing, saturation and overcrowding, lack of equipment, problems of rootlessness and loneliness, marginalization, lack of communication, insecurity, conflicts between leisure and the right to rest, and traffic jams.