Definition and Delimitation of the Spanish Metropolitan System: Stability and Changes Between 2001 and 2011

Abstract

This paper addresses analysis of Spain’s metropolitan system over the 2001-2011 period
with regard to its definition, delimitation and basic dynamics. To address this task, the research
focuses on an exercise to delimit the country’s metropolitan system according to the 2011 census
data on commuting between home and work. This delimitation exercise is based on a robust
methodology, fully proven by comparative international experience and previously applied to the
2001 census data, enabling the results obtained between the two reference dates to be compared.
In this paper, comparative analysis is limited to assessing the changes that have occurred in the
make-up of the Spanish metropolitan system as a whole two associated basic dimensions of its
components, one of which is territorial in nature and the other demographic. The results show, as
is consistent with its structural character, notable stability of the Spanish metropolitan system as
a whole, accompanied in turn by very strong demographic dynamics. Down at an individual level,
behaviour is not uniform, with the differences being attributable more to territory-related factors
than to any logic of hierarchy. In this regard, the metropolitan areas on the Mediterranean coast and
Spain’s islands present more dynamic characteristics and territorial expansion, in many cases also
corresponding to process of massive urban development and special characteristics that force us to
adjust our thinking about what “metropolitan” means and the variables for delimiting it.