Planning strategies for a resilient urban fringe in three medium-sized Spanish cities

Abstract

The fringes between urban areas and their surrounding territory usually concentrate strains of transformation and urban growth. Equally, planning strategies that promote the adaptation of urban development to the identity of territory contribute to the resilience of these urban fringes. This paper aims to illustrate this idea through the analysis of three of Spain’s inland medium-sized cities during the period of intense urban growth that started in the eighties and concluded in 2008. The cases of Vitoria, Zaragoza, and Valladolid clearly show the negative consequences of an expansive urban model in their urban fringes, but also the alternatives that slowly emerged over this period. While the main urban planning tools enabled an unsustainable urban expansion, other planning proposals introduced an alternative approach that mitigated the effects of the real estate boom and have paved the way towards a better future: Vitoria with its green infrastructure, Zaragoza with its integrated development effort that took advantage of an International Exhibition and Valladolid with its coordinated planning. These different tools have a key feature in common: a deep comprehension of their territories as the strongest foundation for conducting urban development in more sustainable ways.