The study of urban form in Spain

Abstract

This paper traces the history of the study of urban form in Spain, paying special attention to the work of geographers. A periodization is established in which Spanish contributions are related to the growth of towns, urban innovations and foreign intellectual influences. The first period lasted from the second half of the nineteenth century to the Civil War (1936-39) and preceded the emergence of academic lines of investigation. The second period lasted from the Civil War until the early 1970s, years of great urban growth with little consideration for the historic past of the town. The 1970s were a decade of reorientation. Many important foreign contributions were assimilated, especially those derived from French urban sociology, Anglo-Saxon urban geography, and Italian architecture and urban history. Since the early 1980s a more interdisciplinary perspective has emerged. The most important long-term change has been the development away from an initial dependence on French research to a greater acceptance of other foreign ideas. The study of urban form has become established as an important field among Spanish scholars.