Not only tourism: unravelling suburbanization, second-home expansion and "rural" sprawl in Catalonia, Spain. Issue 1 (2nd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cuadrado-Ciuraneta, Sergi; Durà-Guimerà, Antoni; Salvati, Luca
• Is Part Of: Urban geography. Volume 38:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 66
• Page End: 89
• Publication Date: 2017-01-02
• Subjects: Urban growth -- metropolization -- land consumption -- Barcelona -- Mediterranean Europe; Urban geography -- Periodicals; 307.76
• DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2015.1113806
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-3638

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study illustrates multifaceted urbanization patterns and processes in a coastal region of Catalonia (northeastern Spain) as a paradigmatic example of the socio-economic transformations typically observed in the northern Mediterranean basin since World War II. By focusing on the expanding tourism industry, second-home expansion, infrastructural development and sprawl around traditional rural centres, the paper assesses the effects of long-term economic, demographic, social and cultural transformations on rural landscapes in Alt Empordà, the so-called "Catalan Tuscany". The stratification of distinct urbanization waves and the underlying socio-economic processes observed in Alt Empordà reflect population dynamics and settlement morphologies typical of rural districts moving rapidly towards a suburban spatial organization. Recent urban dynamics in Mediterranean rural systems deserve further investigation in order to shed light on latent suburbanization processes involving marginal European regions.