OPEN ACCESS
In 1996, an expanding real estate property cycle of unusual magnitudes began in the Kingdom of Spain, to abruptly cease in 2007. Its economic, social and political logic has been to this day widely studied, but instead the contribution of urban planning as a driver and impeller of proposals of unviable urban overgrowth has received scant attention. In this paper, we shall consider the role played by urban planning with disparate proposals in the so-called construction bubble. By studying relevant case studies, we will evidence the impact that of over planning has had on the environment and natural resources. In 1994, it was approved for the Community of Valencia, a ground-breaking law, that allowed real estate agents to develop areas in which they had not any property even against the opinion and the will of the landowners. The facilities given to developers, in a context of abuse and corruption, have taken their toll after the bursting of the housing bubble. Our goal is to analyse the effects and consequences of these actions: the destruction of the landscape, the consumption of natural resources beyond their capacity for regeneration, the development of areas that today remain vacant, with special emphasis on the latter.
empty city, environmental impact, hegemony in urban development, planning, urban land
[1] Naredo, J.M., El modelo inmobiliario español y sus consecuencias, Icaria: Barcelona, p. 51, 2011.
[2] Gaja i Díaz, F., Reparar los impactos de la burbuja constructora. Scripta Nova. Revista Electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales, 19(517), 2015, availabel at http://www.ub.es/geocrit/sn/sn-517.pdf
[3] Kessler Report, PE 346 773, The European Parliament, 6th July 2004, available at www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/.../dt/.../536421es.pdf
[4] Fourtou Report, PE 362.800v02-00, The European Parliament, 5th December 2005, available at http://www.abusos-no.org/Activities/Fourtou.final.es.htm
[5] Auken Report, PE416.354v02-00, The European Parliament, 20th February 2009, available at http://habitat.aq.upm.es/boletin/n40/auken.pdf
[6] Sostenibilidad en España 2014; Observatorio de la Sosteniblidad en España (OSE), Alcalá de Henares, p. 92, 2015, available at http://www.observatoriosostenibilidad.com/sostenibilidad-en-espana-2014/
[7] European Union, European Environment Agency (EEA). Corinne Land Cover, Copenhagen, available at http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/COR0-landcover
[8] Burriel de Orueta, E.L., El estallido de la burbuja inmobiliaria y sus efectos en el territorio. In eds. J.M. Albertos Puebla & J.L. Sánchez Hernández, Geografía de la crisis económica en España, Publicaciones de la Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, pp. 101–140, 2014.
[9] Vazquez, C., Una bolsa de 80.000 hectáreas de suelo urbanizable sin futuro cierto. El País, 27th January 2013, available at Http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/01/27/valencia/1359313463_322033 .html
[10] Gaja i Díaz, F., Reparar los impactos de la burbuja constructora. Scripta Nova. Revista Electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales, 19(517), 2015, available at http://www.ub.es/geocrit/sn/sn-517.pdf
[11] Valero, D., Aurelio Martínez dice que revertir la ZAL supondría pagarla a precio de Manhattan. Valencia Plaza, 3rd October, 2015, available at http://valenciaplaza.com/Aurelio-Martnez-dice-que-revertir-la-ZAL-supondria-pagarla-a-precio-de-Manhattan
[12] Alvarez, F., Del Salvem La Punta a la defensa de la ZAL. El Mundo, 24th January 2016, available at http://www.elmundo.es/comunidad-valenciana/2016/01/24/56a3be87e2704e752d8b4622.html
[13] Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio ambiente. Espacios Protegidos, ZEPA Marjal de El Moro, ES0000470 available at http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/biodiversidad/temas/espacios-protegidos/red-natura-2000/zepa_cvalenciana.aspx
[14] Olmos, J., ¿Por qué no la ZAL en Sagunto? available at http://www.terracritica.org/articles.php?article_id=248&idioma=_v