Rubén Camilo Lois González

Cultural tourism and urban management in northwestern Spain: the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

The fast growth of cultural tourism in the last few years has dramatically altered the way the architectural heritage of Spanish cities is perceived and preserved. This change in outlook has affected both the local population and the political and economic authorities. The revival of an old medieval pilgrimage road – the Route to Santiago – in the 1990s has entailed the rise to cultural prominence of a number of northwestern Spanish cities and towns. The reassessment of the notion of tourist potential has turned parts of the heritage that used to be neglected into valuable assets. Thus, due to the emergence of cultural tourism the Camino has become an important source of economic growth in northwestern Spain. This paper focuses on the analysis of four case studies: León, Astorga, Sarria and Santiago de Compostela. All of them have recently offered a programme of events related to the pilgrimage, although with very different degrees of success. These examples illustrate the way that cultural tourism has generated a new space and economic dynamics. The scenarios they have created are perceived as a renovated sign of identity by both the local community and the potential visitors.

Los regímenes de tenencia en Galicia (España): el caso de las provincias interiores

The provinces of Lugo and Ourense are the most rural of Galicia. With the study of the land possesion, we check the prevalence of the “property owner” in our country. The last decades this prevalence becomes more established.

La ciudad de Vigo en el centro de los análisis de geografía urbana en Galicia

Investigations about Urban Geography have a very recent origin in Galicia, because only works published in the last fifteen years are accounted. There are important studies about the city of Vigo. Generally, the theme use to be centred in towns, villages and country divisions.

Historic city, tourism performance and development: The balance of social behaviours in the city of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

Santiago de Compostela is an iconic place. From the 9th century through to the present day the city has acted as the final destination of a major pilgrimage route named after it. In the article we ask ourselves how the contemporary reinvention of the pilgrimage and pilgrimages on the Way of St. James has boosted tourism development in the city. Development has been concentrated in the historic city centre and in the area around the cathedral. The importance of tourism has transformed the significance of the city itself, which acquires a magical component as a place of arrival and encounter for all kinds of visitors. The historic city has been set up in the 20th century as a destination for the Way and for cultural tourism. The buildings, particularly those connected with the pilgrimage route, become highly attractive and symbolic places and tourists carry out a number of rituals in them. They travel and enjoy Santiago as a unique experience. The study of tourism and of the tourist transformation of Santiago de Compostela is undertaken using a qualitative and quantitative method. The article analyses the heritage and symbolic value of the historic centre, together with the growth of its tourism activities. Numerical data are also provided on the perceptions and behaviour of visitors using surveys carried out by the citys Tourism Observatory.

The Historic Centre in Spanish Industrial and Post-Industrial Cities

The congestion of the city area within the walls along the 19th century and the economic and social crisis of historic centres during most of the 20th century led to their deterioration. The theoretical conceptualization and practical implementation of domestic improvement and reform programmes have changed with time. With the beginning of the new century, urban dynamics in a globalized space are making historic places into real scenes for economic exploitation related to massive and residential tourism with a cultural brand design, as well as to property for well-to-do population. As a consequence, the social component took a secondary place in town planning theory. In this context, our essay is aimed at studying the response of town planning to the recovery of a historic city fully sharing the dynamics of a postmodernist and global metropolis. In the last few decades, the structure and morphology of the Spanish city have undergone dramatic changes. Spatial processes from the Anglo-Saxon world have an influence on the building of the contemporary Spanish city. In the global information society, film images of shopping malls, crowds in edge cities or theme parks are the best publicity for the building of these new urban landscapes (1), which are a reality in almost every city. The dense city developed until the 70s was followed by a dispersed city built with new elements from counterurbanization and suburbanization. The city organized around its heritage and the centrality of the pre-industrial city were followed by a new kind of city promoted by means of large heritage containers which -in too many ocasions- can even hide the importance and quality of the old town. In such a situation we wonder if a resident of Bilbao can feel more identified with the whole postmodern landscape built around the Guggenhaim Museum than with the Casco Viejo (historic core of the city) or the interesting 19th- century Ensanche de Poblacion (urban extension). Or if someone from Valencia boasts more about Santiago Calatravas architecture (City of Arts and Sciences) than about the architecture in the Ciutat Vella (old town) and its extensive monumental heritage. It is not easy to answer these questions with certainty. In a way it could be so, but we must not forget that new architecture sectors are no more than leisure and shopping areas, mostly located in the outskirts - not in the case of Bilbao-, usually without a district structure and therefore places where no social relations exist. This is precisely a kind of relation easy to find in the dense and central city of the pre-industrial period (historic centre) and the first pre-industrialization (urban extension). In these conditions, the present historic city took on the principles of urban and intraurban competition in terms of tourism, leisure, business, population, cultural events, etc. The analysis of the 21st-century historic city is dealt with from a double point of view. Firstly, the analysis of the physical, social and landscape consequences of comprehensive town planning and restoration along the last three decades. In order to do this, a comparison is made on the evolution of intervention policies in historic centres, from the 19th-century renovation actions up to the all- embracing restoration carried out since the 80s. Secondly, the analysis of the resulting processes will help us understand some of the most important socio-territorial dynamics developing in the historic centre as a product of the present city. Specifically, the place of spatial organization in the current city, as competition or complement to the new urban areas resulting from suburbanization processes.

The Historic Centre in Spanish Industrial and Post-Industrial Cities~!2009-04-07~!2009-05-15~!2010-03-02~!

The congestion of the city area within the walls along the 19th century and the economic and social crisis of historic centres during most of the 20th century led to their deterioration. The theoretical conceptualization and practical implementation of domestic improvement and reform programmes have changed with time. With the beginning of the new century, urban dynamics in a globalized space are making historic places into real scenes for economic exploitation related to massive and residential tourism with a cultural brand design, as well as to property for well-to-do population. As a consequence, the social component took a secondary place in town planning theory. In this context, our essay is aimed at studying the response of town planning to the recovery of a historic city fully sharing the dynamics of a postmodernist and global metropolis.

The Old Havana: Economic and Social Impact of Tourism Management on the Quality of Life of Residents

The Old Havana, a World Heritage Site since 1982, is one of the main tourist attractions in Cuba, but it is also a space with a marked residential nature. In recent years, the process of recovering this site and restoring it for tourist use has represented a major challenge, both economically and socially. The current situation in the country, resulting from new Cuban government policies, has led to great interest in developing public and private initiatives that enhance tourism in this area. This chapter presents Old Havana as a case study and addresses the economic and social impact that the tourism management carried out by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana (OHCH) has had on its residents. The chapter opens by introducing historic centres and impacts of tourism, especially in Latin America. It then goes on to introduce the special features of tourism in Cuba. Next, it addresses the social impact on the Cuban population of the tourism policy implemented in the early 1990s, which focused on promoting international tourism at the expense of domestic tourism. It also describes the scenario that resulted from creating designated tourist areas, isolated from the Cuban population, which prevented visitor exchange with residents and cultural enrichment. Next, it discusses the tourism management model developed by the OHCH, which constitutes an outstanding example of sustainable tourism management practice. The chapter closes by presenting a series of final considerations regarding the future of tourism in Cuba, based on the current context.

New models of urban governance in Spain during the post-crisis period: the fight against vulnerability on a local scale

ABSTRACT Austerity policies and the bankruptcy of the welfare state in Spain since the crisis of 2008 have mobilized the population to demand new models of urban governance, an improvement of basic services (work, health, education and housing) and the right to the city in a context of democratic deepening. The emergence of new leftist parties, a result of the Indignados social movement, is perceived as an alternative to the economic and social consequences of the neoliberal economic model implemented in Spain from the mid-1980s to 2008. Confronting the situation of economic, social and residential vulnerability in which society is immersed requires collaborative, multilevel and network governance. This paper examines the new urban governance models, reflecting on their objectives and challenges. The cases of Madrid and Barcelona, where mayors of leftist parties are carrying out a new plan of city government, are analyzed with a particular focus on supporting the most vulnerable and promoting more collaborative governance. In the medium term, it remains to be seen whether this new model is sustainable or is simply a post-crisis reaction.Austerity policies and the bankruptcy of the welfare state in Spain since the crisis of 2008 have mobilized the population to demand new models of urban governance, an improvement of basic services...

Sustainability and visitor management in tourist historic cities: the case of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

ABSTRACTTourism has a leading role in heritage cities and this implies a major challenge. The overall objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of tourism planning and management with ...ABSTRACT Tourism has a leading role in heritage cities and this implies a major challenge. The overall objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of tourism planning and management with the view of achieving sustainable tourism in the historic center of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The study addresses topics collected during a long research process of more than 10 years, such as strategic tourism plans, the implementation of quality management systems for tourism, the tourist supply and the regulation of flows. The results show a destination that has introduced alternatives to improve the tourism experience and diversify its offer beyond the Camino de Santiago. There is also growing concern in promoting the sustainability of the historic center. From our point of view, the strengthening of synergies between the different agents involved in the tourism sector of the city has been a key factor in dealing with this situation. However, in this sense, the main problem which is decongesting the tourist flows to the cathedral and its surroundings is still unresolved.

The New Urban Governance. The Case of Madrid: Between Utopia, Desire and Reality

The article analyzes the degree of success achieved by the municipal governments that came to power in Spain after the 2015 elections. In the face of corruption, vulnerability and the neo-liberal growth model that has prevailed since the mid-1980s, they promote a new model of urban governance based on the principles of efficiency, transparency, equity and citizen participation. Principles that laid the foundations of their electoral programs. After two years, it is time to assess if this desire has been fulfilled. Through the Madrid case study this paper will provide an overview of how local authorities are simultaneously addressing the dual pressures of reducing debt as well as restoring the welfare state and the trust of the population. We will explore to what extent they have managed to fulfill their promises, the main problems they have had, how the opposition perceives their urban policies and if they continue to have the support of associations and institutions that originally endorsed them.