ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the urbanization process in the Girona districts of Spain between 1979 and 2006. In its essential characteristics urban extension embodied a high degree of continuity with traditional Mediterranean city model. The restructuring of the production system and Spain's entry into the European Union (EU) in 1986 marked the beginning of a new growth cycle based on tertiary sector and real estate. Thus, in its Spanish version, urban sprawl the phenomenon of dispersion, reduction in density and separation of uses in the advanced capitalist city was an expression of particular factors related to planning and the economic and social structure. Detailed examination of zone development plans indicated that urban sprawl in the Girona districts involved three distinct morphological categories: urban extensions, low-density housing estates and industrial parks. The concept of a compact, regular layout divided into blocks with buildings aligned along the street dates back to the pioneering work of Ildefonso Cerda and his urban extension for Barcelona.
