 | Urban Policies - Spain Introduction
With the approval of its Constitution in 1978, Spain was transformed from a
centralised administration into a territorial organization based in 17
Autonomous Regions and 2 Autonomous Cities, Ceuta and Melilla. The Autonomous
Regions, in their territories, assumed competences over a wide range of issues,
among others, housing, urban an spatial planning. Besides, in Spain there are
more than 8,100 municipalities which have a local autonomy constitutionally
recognized and wide functions in urban planning matters, so that they can define
their own urban model through the elaboration of urban planning documents.
Finally, the General State Administration, through the appropriate ministerial
departments, develops urban policies, mainly on the areas of housing and land,
transport and communications or urban environment.
In this way, there are three levels of government involved in the design and
implementation of urban policies: national, regional and local.
Historical Background
Spain has experienced a rapid population growth, especially from 1960-1970
and 1970-1980, encouraged by the increase in industrialisation of the
metropolitan areas of large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao
and Saragossa. From 1960-1970 all of these urban areas had annual population
growth rates of more than 3%, and in Madrid’s case over 4%. 1970-1980 also had a
rapid population growth but at a reduced rate, 2% (Madrid) or less. Population
growth declined considerably in the decades which followed, bottoming out
towards the end of 1990-2000.
Since 2000, the intense migration has contributed to reach annual population
growth rates of 1.82% during the period 2001-2006.
Spain has a population of 46,157,822 (2008) with a density of 91.5
inhabitants/km2, placing it halfway in the European ranking between the more
densely populated central European countries and the less populated nations to
the north.
Above-mentioned rapid population growth from 1960 to 1980, concentrated in
the metropolitan areas of large cities, produced a serious shortfall in
infrastructure, housing and facilities, and a consequent deterioration in urban
quality. From the mid-1970s this combined with industrial decline in places such
as Bilbao and the central area of Asturias, home to the iron and steel sector
and to the mining and shipbuilding industries which went into crisis throughout
Western Europe.
Since the new Constitution came into force, the decentralisation of
government has helped to improve the quality of urban life throughout Spain,
with the allocation of more resources for municipalities and autonomous regions,
economic improvement and the nation’s commitment to providing infrastructures,
communications, facilities and to develop housing and land policies.
The housing development growth rate from 2000-2007 reached unprecedented
levels in Spanish history, but it was coupled with sharp housing price increases
making very difficult for a large percentage of the population to buy a home.
The reduction in the household sizes, the constant increase in migration and the
second home phenomena in the coast generated new housing demand.
Since 2008, it has been produced a significant slow down of the construction
sector activity that in conjunction with the effects of the global financial an
economic crisis, has caused a sharp drop in the production and a severe price
adjustment.
Basics of the Urban System
Spain’s urban population is concentrated in four major urban areas each with
more than 1,000,000 inhabitants (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville) and
located, with the exception of Madrid, on the peninsula’s periphery; 10 urban
areas of between 500,000 and 1,000,000 inhabitants (Malaga, Bilbao, the central
area of Asturias, Saragossa, Alicante/Elche, the Bay of Cadiz, Murcia,
Vigo/Pontevedra, Las Palmas in Grand Canary and Palma de Mallorca); 40 urban
areas of between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants; and 29 urban areas of between
50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. There are thus 83 urban areas throughout Spain
with more than 50,000 inhabitants.
Physical characteristics, communications, the location of industrial enclaves
and coastal tourist settlements all mean that the population is unevenly
distributed and concentrated particularly in the Spanish coast and the Madrid
metropolitan area, which is situated in the sparsely populated centre of the
country.
Nowadays, apart from the Madrid metropolitan area which is witnessing high
growth rates, the populations of the medium size urban areas such as Malaga,
Alicante/Elche and in particular Murcia and Palma de Mallorca are also growing
fast. The growth trend in the outlying regions of the peninsula (in the tourist
areas along the Mediterranean coast) and the central area around Madrid thus
remains constant.
Legal framework of urban policy
The Autonomous Regions have in their territories wide power to design urban
policies, with the legislative capacity to approve their own laws on urban and
spatial planning. Town councils at the local level also participate in the
design and implementation of urban policies through the urban planning and
management instruments.
The General State Administration also develops its own urban policies in
accordance with its powers in areas such as housing, land, communications,
transport and the protection of the publicly owned water and seafront.
Current Issues
Spain experienced a very slow natural growth rate from 1990 to 2000 as well
as one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, well below the European Union
average. In 1996 Spain’s average number of children per woman was 1.16 against
1.44 in the rest of the EU. Population ageing raises many problems such as the
provision of retirement pensions, health care and a greater demand in facilities
and social services.
However, the continued increase in emigration since 2000 has caused a growth
in the fertility rates and produced diverse effects: on the one hand a
rejuvenation of the population, more young workers in the job market and
consequently more contributions to the social security system, while on the
other hand it increases demand for facilities and housing and raises some social
integration issues.
Housing is one of the biggest problems for citizens, since some sectors of
the population do not have enough income to buy a home in the market, even
though there is currently enough housing to meet the demands of the entire
population. One of the housing occupancy characteristics in Spain is the low
percentage of rental properties (11% according to the 2001 census), well below
the European average. Apart from home ownership assistance, the new National
Plan 2009-2012 on Building and Urban Renovation and Housing, encourages
occupancy of rental properties, favouring groups with low incomes and special
needs, with a particular focus on the young.
Of particular importance is the issue of second homes, strongly connected to
tourism, which is mainly concentrated on the Spanish peninsula coast, especially
along the Mediterranean. The construction activity during the period 2000-2007
exerted a huge pressure on the environment and extensive land use with severe
effects on the landscape but also on economic efficiency and social cohesion. It
is therefore vital to promote active policies, based on urban planning
instruments and observance of the law, to assure long-term sustainable urban
development; more importance should thus be placed on the renovation and
revitalisation of the present urban structure.
Significant effort has been made in recent years with the building of major
transport infrastructures, the creation of new facilities and the regeneration
of city centres, all of which have markedly improved the urban environment.
Central, regional and local government have all played a part in carrying out
these large-scale operations.
The Ministry of Housing is the department responsible for urban policies at
national level. These policies are mainly developed through the following
instruments:
Revised Text of the Land Act approved by Legislative Royal
Decree 2/2008, of 20th June: This law, inside the framework for functional
competences of the national level, establishes the regulation of certain issues
which affect urban development such as the basic rules for land, basic
conditions on equality in exercising constitutional rights, such as the right to
private property, to participate in political and public issues, the right of
free enterprise, the right to environment and, especially, the right to decent
and adequate housing that the Spanish Constitution links to land use regulation
(article 47).
National Plan 2009-2012 on Building and Urban Renovation and
Housing: This Plan has two main objectives: on the one hand to
facilitate access to housing for more vulnerable people, but also for medium
income earners, and on the other hand to make urban renovation one of the
strategic axis of the public actions, through physical interventions on housing
and urban areas –including for the first time in the framework of the National
Plan, the rural areas—, and actions addressed to improve the energy efficiency
and promote the use of renewable energies. The Autonomous Regions have the
responsibility of implementing the National Plan in their territories, in some
cases, with complementary regional aids.
Land Policy. The Ministry is developing the state-owned land
management policy for land not currently being used by the government, to set it
aside for facilities and subsidised housing. Management of this is agreed with
the Autonomous Regions and local authorities. Much of this land formerly housed
old Ministry of Defence military installations and disused Ministry of Public
Works rail and port facilities. Other cases involve land acquired by SEPES (a
public body specialising in land development and reporting to the Ministry of
Housing) for development of housing estates or business parks. The
implementation of this policy has produced significant results, such as the
volume of committed land, the volume of subsidized housing and the development
of relevant actions at regional and local level.
Urban Information System (Sistema de Información Urbana -
SIU): The Ministry of Housing has developed, in a close cooperation
with the Autonomous Regions, an information system using statistical
socio-demographic statistical variables to understand the urban and territorial
realities. This system will be used to help produce reports and monographic
studies, urban policy decision-making processes and, particularly to satisfy its
main objective: increasing transparency in urban planning and land policies. One
of the first results of the SIU is the publication of Statistical Atlas of the
Urban Areas in Spain, that can be accessed through Internet.
Summary
The definition and implementation of urban policies addressed to reach the
objectives of sustainability and quality of life in our cities, implementing the
recommendations of the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities (adopted
in 2007), adapting them to the characteristics and peculiarities of the
different urban areas, is a key challenge for Spain, especially in the current
situation marked by the end of a high-intensity urbanisation of land, but it is
a challenge also for all the urban and diverse Europe. However, it is a
challenge that has to be achieved on a fruitful collaboration and coordination
basis between all the levels of government, and this constitutes one of the main
principles of the different actions and measures of the urban policies in Spain.
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