Urban panoramic views: characterization and analysis of their legal regulation in Spain

Abstract

This paper addresses the conceptualization of urban panoramic views (or
overall urban images) and their treatment in spatial planning in Spain. In order to do
that, different law areas have been reviewed, including land, urban, landscape and 

heritage legislation. The first part of the paper proposes a definition and details the
contents that these urban panoramic views should include, as well as their main attributes,
especially considering their social and economic utility, which make them
important territorial resources. In the second part, three major items are studied: the
presence of these views in the main spatial planning laws in Spain, both in national
codes and in those developed by the Autonomous Communities; the treatment that
they have received in those laws; and their evolution in recent times. After this analysis,
it is possible to conclude that urban panoramic views have been present in Spanish
laws for many decades, and that this presence has been more frequent in land and
heritage laws than in landscape regulations. Although most of the regulation addresses
aesthetically exceptional environments, and that the application and effectiveness
of the protective regulations have not always been complete, the abundance of references
to these views makes it possible to establish a solid, but heterogeneous and
yet incomplete, legislative framework for their management in the future.