Las ciudades han dejado de ser solo espacios urbanos para convertirse también en espacios territoriales
Cities are no longer only urban spaces, but also territorial spaces.
The Full Professor Fernando de Terán states at the University of Navarra that "in Spain, urban planning is often not done by experts, but by politicians".
"Today's cities are no longer only urban spaces but also territorial spaces". This was stated by Fernando de Terán, Full Professor of Urban Planning and member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, at the I workshop on contemporary Spanish urbanism at the University of Navarra. "In this sense, it is important that professionals from sectors other than architecture or engineering, such as economists or geographers, are incorporated into urban planning tasks. It is beneficial to have a broader panorama."
The Full Professor commented that in Spain there is a "good level of urban planning knowledge at the theoretical level", but that it is not always extrapolated to the development of the cities, since "many times urban planning is not done by experts, but by politicians". He also pointed out that our country "is, more or less, at the same level as the rest of European countries in terms of this subject". And he pointed out the following: "Perhaps here there has been more political influence in some city councils - pressured by land ownership, real estate overflow, tourist pressure, etc. -, which has led to greater environmental deterioration".
As for current trends, he recalled that "we are immersed in a phase of spatial development characterized by the breakup of traditional urban space and diluted dispersion over the territory". "This model is hardly sustainable, not only because of the breakage of the ecological balance and the consumption of natural space, but above all because of the enormous amount of infrastructure it requires and the massive use of the automobile on which it is based," he explained.
Pamplona, exemplary city
As for the capital of Navarre, Fernando de Terán assured that "Pamplona is one of the Spanish cities that has the best approach to urban development development ". "Those who come from abroad receive a magnificent impression. It is possible that it has to do with the treatment of the characteristics of the visible infrastructure and, especially, of the green areas", he asserted. He added that "in addition to this visual impression, there is a good organization attributable to the urban planning".
In this I workshop on contemporary Spanish urbanism of the University of Navarra, several experts analyzed the experiences of some cities in northern Spain, in the communities of Navarra, the Basque Country, Aragon, Catalonia, La Rioja, Castilla y León, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia. The activity was organized by the School of Architecture University of Navarra and the Government of Navarra.