Polycentric and Reticular Nature of the Urban and Infrastructural Settlement Systems of the Territory of the Lower Guadalquivir: Method and Applications

Abstract

In this paper a procedure is proposed to recognise the polycentric and reticular nature of the urban and infrastructural settlement systems based on a morphotypological analysis. We locate the precedents in the foundations and the methodology developed by the Italian Territorialist School. The territory of the lower Guadalquivir around the city of Seville is used as a case study to exemplify the procedure and the possible benefits of its application to urban and regional planning. Applying the method to a case study also allows us to detect its limitations and to recognise future lines of research.