100 likes | 117 Views
The anatomy of urban sprawl in the Mediterranean region: the case of the Girona districts (1979-2006). J uli VALDUNCIEL University of Girona SPAIN. 1. Introduction. Analysis of the urbanisation process in the Girona districts from 1979 to 2006
E N D
The anatomy of urban sprawl in the Mediterranean region: the case of the Girona districts (1979-2006) Juli VALDUNCIEL University of Girona SPAIN
1. Introduction • Analysis of the urbanisation process in the Girona districts from 1979 to 2006 • The Spanish way towards globalisation was sustained by growth of the tertiary sector as well as the real estate boom ("housing bubble“) • Analysis of zone development plans, the documents that deploy the local plan in each new area of developable land • Interpretation was based on two complementary scales: the regional level and the scale of place (morphological typologies)
2. The study area: Girona districts -Area: 5,500 km2 -700.000 inhabitants -208 municipalities Girona
3. The planning scenario • In 1979 the Generalitat assumed the authority for urban planning and then the main municipalities of the Girona districts began revising their local plans • Local plans aimed at moderating growth and resolving the deficiencies inherited from the desarrollismo • The new Government after the 1980 regional elections did not implement regional land use plans. They believed that planning was only a municipal affair • Municipalities begin designing plans according to their own expectations
4. The urbanisation model The temporal frame: zone development plans approved, 1979-2006 522 zone development plans 5,930 ha 70% of the developed land consisted in new plans 30% were illegal projects regularised
5. The morphological typologies 3. Industrial and business parks 1. Urban extensions 2. Low-density housing estates New suburban centralities “Strips”
6. Conclusion • The magnitude of the process was striking: 522 zone plans were approved and nearly 6,000 ha • Dual reality: • -Growth of core cities in urban areas starting from compact layouts • -New suburban expansion and hyperspecialisation in second-home housing estates along the coast • Planning played an ambivalent role: a new development practice of compliance with the law was imposed. Nonetheless, the model was altered in 4 ways: • -Inertia of the physical characteristics of the previous period • -Plans oversized • -Strategies aimed at modifying plans according to the needs of developers • -Lack of land use planning at the supramunicipal and regional level