Urban and rural settlements

Urban and rural settlements

1. The population lived in houses that covered all their needs. There were natural environments and economic activities were carried out

2. Traditional architecture is the product of agricultural societies, and consists of buildings that are usually built by the inhabitants themselves using materials from the surroundings.

   • Each region has developed its own traditional architecture. This has enriched Spanish culture and also explains the popularity of rural tourism. The main building material used in traditional architecture is stone . The most typical traditional rural constructions are the barraca, the farmhouse, the hórreo and the farmhouse.

3. The tradicional archiitectur in Spain

4. Rural settlements patterns

   • Rural settlements can be classified according to their size, their main economic activity, their castle (that guards the city) or on terraces on the mountainside.
   • Depending on their shape, rural settlements can be dispersed, concentrated or linear.
   • Types of settlements
     • Dispersed settlements
     • Linear settlements
     • Concentrated settlements

5. Urban settlements in Spain

   • Elements and functions of cities
     • Cities are composed of different elements: buildings (used as homes and for other purposes), streets, road networks, squares and green spaces
     • Cities provide services to their population, as well as to people living in the surrounding area. These include governmental, commercial, educational, cultural, healthcare, legal, recreational and housing services
     • Historical buildings, residential areas, governamental, commercial, educational, cultural, healthcare, legal recreational…
   • Types of urban layout
     • The layout of a city shows the spatial distribution of all of its elements
     • The orthogonal grid layout
     • The circular or radioconcentric layout
     • The irregular layout

6. Spain’s urban problems

   • High-density urban areas with few green spaces
     • One of the main problems in cities is the high population density, which means that high-rise buildings are necessary because they house large numbers of people in a smaller area. This overcrowding causes traffic problems and makes parking difficult, as well as producing air, noise and visual pollution. It also causes problems for the supply of food and energy, sanitation and rubbish collection.
     • In Spain, the main city-centre parks formed a part of royal residences, such as El Retiro , the Reales Alcázares and the Generalife . These help to ventilate the city and provide a space for relaxation. Nevertheless, most new parks and gardens are on the outskirts of the city, where there is more available space.
   • Lack of housing and supplies
     • This has caused cities to expand into zones that are relatively far from the centre. The need for space and high housing costs have forced people to move to zones or urban nuclei that are far from the centre, where land is cheaper.
     • These areas are called shanty towns and are usually located on the outskirts of cities. Nowadays, many of these areas are being cleaned up and the people have been given decent housing.
   • Transport and pollution
     • Because of the high number of commuters and the need to service so many inhabitants, the transport network is one of the most important aspects of a city. Traffic congestion on one of the access roads to Barcelona One way of counteracting these problems is to use public transport or share car travel with other people. Despite these problems, a good transport network has many advantages. It enables the large amount of products that the urban population needs to be delivered and it allows visitors to access the services of the city.