Procesos de urbanización y artificialización del suelo en las aglomeraciones urbanas españolas (1987-2011)

Abstract

The objective of this work was to qualitatively and quantitatively analyse the urbanisation process that took place in Spain’s urban agglomerations between 1987 and 2011. To do this, we used Corine Land Cover (1987, 2000, 2005 and 2011) as our main data source and obtained more detailed information from Sistema de Información sobre Ocupación del Suelo de España (SIOSE, in its 2011 version). In quantitative terms, it was possible to note a major expansion in the artificial surface area in all of the agglomerations studied, an 84% increase between 1987 and 2011; this tendency was particularly intense during the period corresponding to the property boom. Qualitatively, it is important to highlight several of the results obtained. Firstly, there was the increase in low-density residential spaces, which grew in importance in comparison to more compact residential uses. Even so, it was the non-residential uses that increased most, with them passing from 27% of the artificial surfaces in 1987 to 42% in 2011. Secondly, it should be noted that, in general, the medium-sized agglomerations grew relatively more than the largest ones, while the peripheral municipalities located within the agglomerations were the main protagonists in processes involving land artificialisation. This confirmed a change in model of urbanisation towards a more extensive and dispersed form of urban development.