Antoni Durà Guimerà

La transformación de los asentamientos en el litoral turístico catalán: análisis cartográfico y estadístico del Alt Empordà

This article presents part of the results achieved in a research focused on settlement changes in the coast of Catalonia, during the second half of twentieth century. Specifically, the analysis refers to the plain of Alt Emporda county (Girona) as an example of urban dynamics in Mediterranean littoral areas. This territory is considered emblematic because it has conserved equilibrium between urbanization and environmental protection. Therefore, the text describes the theoretical context designed by the contributions of different authors, and then it analyzes the evolution of some variables (urbanized surface, houses, tourist infrastructure, population and mobility) that have been considered significant to research purposes. The analysis has been organized by the municipalities of the plain as a whole, by coastal lines aggregations, and for individual cases too. Attention has been directed to the first transformations linked to tourism, and to the recent transformations caused by new socio-economic dynamics, which gradually advance from the coast to the inland territory. As a result, these areas configure a new urbanization pattern, which means also an increase of the land occupied.