Between historic sites and new tourist destinations: the development of the first periphery in medium-sized andalusian coastal cities (1950-1980)

Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 287 Between Historic Sites and New Tourist Destinations: The Development of the First Periphery in Medium-sized Andalusian Coastal Cities (1950-1980) By Daniel Navas-Carrillo  Carlos J. Rosa-Jimenez† M. Teresa Pérez-Cano‡ This study aims to analyze the urban growth experienced in the third quarter of the 20th century in medium-sized cities (1950-1980). These cities can be considered as relevant referents in their countries, although their population is lower than in regional centres (over 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants). Furthermore, they have been recently recognized as an opportunity to promote more sustainable territorial strategies. Nevertheless, there are still gaps in many fields. The so-called first urban periphery was built in response to urging quantitative needs of the European existing housing. This was at the end of the mid-century wars, due to massive migration from the countryside to the cities in the whole continent. Sharing many of the morphological and pathological features with their equivalents, Spanish cities would have introduced certain peculiarities in their development because of the sociopolitical context marked by strong state control. This general framework of housing was completed with the implementation of some policies developed in the 1960s. Tourism was used as one of the growth engines of Spain’s economy. Within this context, this research takes the Andalusian coast as a geographical framework and it intends to identify two different processes that have determined the urban development of these cities. On one hand, there are urban areas that have experienced a progressive demographic growth and have remained within the population range that defines a medium-sized city during this time. On the other hand, many towns have undergone an exponential evolution, moving from the features assimilated to rural settlements, to qualities of a medium-size city. In the final analysis, the purpose of this paper is to examine how historic sites have responded to this duality, as well as to determine if their protection has been decisive in the type of development that they have experienced. Keywords: Medium-Size Cities, First Urban Periphery, Social Neighbourhoods, Tourism, Historic Site Protection.  Pre-doctoral Researcher, Department of Urbanism, Higher Technical School of Architecture, University of Seville, Spain. † PhD Lecturer, Department of Art & Architecture, Higher Technical School of Architecture, University of Málaga, Spain. ‡ Senior Lecturer, Department of Urbanism, Higher Technical School of Architecture. University of Seville, Spain. Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Navas-Carrillo et al.: Between Historic Sites... 288 Introduction The Neighbourhoods of the First Periphery in Medium-sized Cities as a General Research Topic The neighbourhoods of the so-called first periphery of European cities are the subject of this study. This work defines 'first periphery' as an urban expansion area built due to the "urgent residential needs that existed in Europe at the end of the mid-century wars in response to the transfer of rural-urban population"(Molina& Rubio, 2010). They are also recognised as areas that have grown without an overall view, "urbanised territories where the concept of the city is absent" (Arteaga, 2009) following the precepts of the modern city of the Charter of Athens (1933). This urban manifesto - that emerges from the Fourth International Congress of Modern Architecture - applied for confronting social and political emergencies that classical planning had failed to resolve by decomposing the city into different functions. Thus, "the Fordist specialisation of space was given by correct, and thereby the city of residence" (Pie, 2009), and it defended a urban model based in the progressive expansion of cities. In contrast to this view, the first reference in the defense of reusing the existing city can be located in Italy during the eighties. Secchi (1989), who was completely against the tide, postulated: "the city and the territory where we will live in the next few years are already built". This statement was faced with the logic of unlimited growth that had been inherited from the model of urban planning of the modern city. The development of the cities should not be focused on the uncontrolled growth, but should aim at improving the quality of life of its inhabitants, by means of recognising the heritage value of the existing city. In this sense, Secchi defended the history as a basis "to look for prints, signs and paths that would help to restore broken connections and find meanings to different urban fragments without denying the diversity " (García Vázquez, 2004). If in the past two decades, the focus of the debate was on the recovery of historic centres, while the challenge of the 21st century is located in the residential neighbourhoods although the importance of addressing their recovery lies in the demographic volume that represents the relationship with the rest of the city1. Furthermore, it should be understood as pieces that were built to provide a quick and low-cost answer to the population that was arriving from the countryside. However, the issue transcends the purely material fact by distinguishing "architectonic, urban and social problems" (García Vázquez, 2010). The high level of obsolescence - according to current comfort standards - has transformed these neighbourhoods into unattractive places for private investment, as a result of the articulation of contemporary urbanism solely in economic terms. This has triggered a process of social fracture, which in these areas has ended up concentrating the most depressed social classes. 1According to the Special Report about Census 2011, elaborated by the Observatory of Housing and Land (Ministerio de Fomento, 2014), in Spain around 40% of the homes were built between 1950 and 1980, tp house about 80% of the urban population. Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 289 Figure 1. Sanlúcar de Barrameda: Public Neighbourhoods Built between 1950 and 1980 Source: Compiled by author from Digital Panchromatic Orthophoto of Andalusia (2016) Paradoxically, they are pieces that remain in a strategic position between historic centres and new outskirts developments (see Figure 1). This outlines Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Navas-Carrillo et al.: Between Historic Sites... 290 that areas of opportunity, in the evolution towards sustainable city models are based on the recovery of inherited housing, by completing and strengthening what already exists in response to the challenges of today's society. Moreover, research has found a gap in the analysis of a range of municipalities. Although they have a lower number of promotions, their strategic position within the territorial structure of the region also stands as recipients of these migration processes. They are called medium-sized cities, which are monopolizing the role of management strategies and territorial development policies within the European Union2. As will be discussed later, the definition of a medium-sized city should not be exclusively composed with demographic terms. It should be viewed, according to its strategic position, as a centre of first or second level within the functional organization of its region and far from the synergies of the main regional centres. Although incipiently and without important results, in the 1960s, many countries of the European Union focused part of their development legislation in boosting medium-sized cities. This was a measure to curb the processes of depopulation of rural areas that were causing severe overcrowding problems in larger cities. The current interest differs clearly from the original one and is centered in sustainability criteria. The new perspective stands up for a polycentric territorial model, where each of these centres is "likely to generate growth and development in its immediate environment and balance the territory against monocentric metropolitan areas” (Casas et. al., 2003). In this regard, a special interest in the quality of life is rising recently. Intermediate cities lack many of the environmental problems of large cities. Also, their urban scale makes them more human and accessible cities. In addition to this, they lead to a more rational use of resources, ensuring the access to specialised goods and services under similar conditions to large urban areas (Méndez Gutiérrez et. al., 2008). Literature Review and Contextualization The Study of Neighbourhoods of Social Housing in the Second Half of the 20th Century. Spanish Cases within the European Context There are many authors who have dealt with this subject of study – neighbourhoods, housing developments, grand ensembles, housing estate, Grofsiedlugen, etc. from various disciplines and approaches. There are frequent studies about the typological and morphological aspects but in most cases they are made from a local approximation. In this regard, the work that has been done by DOCOMOMO, since its creation in 1988, has become the main international reference in 2 According to the Statistics on Housing in the European Union, made on the occasion of the informal meeting of Ministers of Housing in September 2010 in Denmark, about 40% of the European population lives in municipalities with a population between 10,000 and 250,000, which it is already a first supporting reason to address this range of cities as an object of study. Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 291 documentation of the architecture and urbanism of the Modern Movement. This nonprofit organization is primarily dedicated to the study and documentation of this architecture, in order to achieve its protection and conservation, as part of the culture of the 20th century. It is responsible for an extensive literary production with international purposes, including monographies on social housing (Glendinning, 2008; Tostões & Ferreira, 2016). The cases analysed in these publications share many of the morphological and typological features with their European counterparts. However, housing policies developed in Spain after the Civil War - within a socio-political context marked by strong control of the Government - distinguish Spanish cities with certain peculiarities in their development. In those years, housing policies were connected to established economic guidelines. This allows recognising the three followings stages: Autarkic (1939-1955), Stabilisation (1956-1960) and Developmentalism (1961-1976). In each of these phases, different regulations about housing were approved, but the same objective was underlying in all of them: responding to the persistent problem of overcrowding in large and medium-sized cities. Sambricio (2003; 2008) is one of the main authors who have dealed with the study of social housing in Spain, providing a comprehensive approach with a global conception. At the same time, it is interesting to analyse the works of MonclúsFraga and Díez Medina(2015), due to the defense of the international character of these developments. This approach also includes the works that were carried out within the research group Social Housing, directed by Moya González, at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, many of which are compiled in the publication Social housing in Europe: Germany, France and Netherlands since 1945 (Moya González, 2008). This work intended to assess the level of adaptation of international solutions to the social, political and economic Spanish context. Their conclusions match with many of the contributions made at the International Congress German and Italian Models for Spain in postwar years, held in Pamplona in 2004 (Pozo Municio & López Trueba, 2004). From the Overcrowding Problems in Large Urban Agglomerations to the Repopulation of Rural Areas through “Colonisation Villages” The large number of houses that were built in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, in response to the severe overcrowding of that time, justify that much of the studies conducted on social housing in this period are focused on the greater cities of Spain. The aforementioned authors, Sambricio(2004) and Moya González (1983), have studied the case of Madrid in numerous texts. Their publications systematically collected the characteristics of its urban growth in those years, which was the benchmark for the development of many cities in the rest of the country. In other geographical contexts, we can point out studies by Gaja Díaz (1989) for the case of Valencia, Gutiérrez Mozoand Caro Gallego (2015) for Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Navas-Carrillo et al.: Between Historic Sites... 292 Albacete or Bernal Santa Olalla (2009) in Burgos. In the case of the main regional centres of Andalusia,it should be highlighted the work of Reinoso Bellido(2005) on the construction of Málaga and the dissertation of Queiro Quijada (2016) about social neighbourhoods in Seville. Similarly, as a result of the policies of transformation of the agricultural space for the settlement of self-sufficient rural peasantry, the called colonization towns would have arised, which intended to stop the strong migration processes from the countryside to the city. More than 300 settlements were built by the initiative of the National Institute of Colonization in 1939, under the Ministry of Agriculture, in order to justify the extensive research that the scientific community has made on all of them (Pérez Escolano, 2005; Calzada Pérez, 2006; Luque Ceballos & Guerrero Quintero, 2008; Centenas Soler, 2010; Cabecera Soriano, 2014). This approach to the object of study, envisions a range of cities that have not yet been studied. They do not have the same number of promotions that larger cities have, but their strategic position within the territorial structure of the region, also placed them as a centre of migration processes of that time. Medium-Sized Cities. A Problem of Definition One of the main conclusions, reached in the relevant state of the art on medium-sized cities, is on the discrepancies in their definition and are briefly recapitulated here. The first discrepancies arise from the origins of the term. Some authors situate, as a background, the first notions about the concept of the development centre, at a regional level (pôle de croissance) used by Perroux (1955), in order to explain how economic growth occurs and the reasons why every growing process tends to be unbalanced. However, it is contrary to the central place theory of Christaller (1933), extended by Lösch (1940) in his book The Economics of Location, which is the first reference for other researchers. While Hirschman (1958) with his work The Strategy of Economic Development, combines both theories to give it a sufficient theoretical body to its use in spatial planning, emerging as one of the measures used in the decade the 60's for the promotion of the later called, intermediate cities. The first who made use of the term 'intermediate city' was the French geographer Gault (1989)3. Followed by studies of the French Bouinot (1991) and Laborie (1993), as well as publications of the American researcher Plotnicov (1994). In Spain, the first who would have analyzed the role of medium-sized cities, in the territorial organization of the country, were Esteban Alonso and López López (1989). Years later, they were followed by the publication of Delgado Viñas (1995), Enguita Pueblaand Lopez (1995) and Vilagrasa Ibarz (1999). All these works are mainly focused on finding a definition (Andrés López, 2008) and they constitute the prelude to the Urban Studies Week in 3 The works of Silvia Blitzer (1988) on Small and Intermediate Centres in the Third World have been previously published. Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 293 Intermediate Cities and World Urbanization, held in Lleida in 1998. The main conclusions and results were compiled in The medium or intermediate cities in a globalized world (Bellet Sanfeliu & Beltrao Sposito, 1999), which is the main antecedent of the UNESCO report on intermediate cities in 1999 (Bellet Sanfeliu & Llop Torné). This report points out the main problems of defining the demographic issue. If at the European level, the average population of an intermediate city is between 20,000 and 500,000 inhabitants, Americans would consider populations between 200,000 and 500,000, reaching, in the case of Argentina, to expand the range between 50,000 and one million inhabitants. The discrepancies are obvious, if we consider that according to Plotnicov (1994) the size of these cities should not be measured in absolute terms, but in their expression-size range. With this, he refers to population ranges that characterize the territorial occupation of all cities and that will define - in demographic terms - what is meant by medium-sized cities in each territory. This does not mean that the network of medium-sized cities can be identified in any context, such as occurs in Great Britain, Canada or Australia. Nor is there always a harmonious distribution among the various urban scales, such as it happens in the case of Mexico, where the major cities double in number to the intermediate ones, closer to the rural area. So we could wonder how can we recognise the role of medium-sized cities in their territory. According to Bellet Sanfeliu and Llop Torné (1999), the concept of medium-sized city should go beyond the simple intermediate position between the upper end, large metropolitan areas, and the lower, rural areas. It requires contextualization by basing on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of each territory and determining the role of each municipality, regardless of the number of people they have4. These authors point out that the main characteristics that define them would be a servant centre of goods and services for the municipality and the nearest ones; as well as being the centre of social, economic and functional interaction5; while having a closer relationship with networks of local, regional, national or international infrastructure; or having regional administration services for other nearby municipalities. This report has been a turning point in terms of the definition of the concept. So once it was overcome, other aspects seeking the development of these cities, from the economic and organizational question, were analyzed (Léo et. al., 2010), even from aspects of innovation (Méndez Gutiérrez, 2002; 2006; Pérez Prieto & Marmolejo Duarte,2008) or related to the knowledge society(Méndez Gutiérrez & Romeiro, 2008). 4“The medium-sized cities articulate the territory and serve as referral centres for more or less immediate territory. And it is precisely that role and that relationship which centres have with their territory, helping to define more clearly the concept” (Bellet Sanfeliu & Llop Torné, 1999). 5 They use the term "economic heart" taken from studies of Hardoy and Satterthwaite (1996) about territorial structures in the Third World. Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Navas-Carrillo et al.: Between Historic Sites... 294 The Medium-sized Cities in the Andalusian Coast Corridor as an Object of Study Andalusia is the southernmost region of Spain. It has more than 8 million inhabitants spread over a territory of 87.268 km2, which makes it the most populous region and the second largest in the country. Regarding its territorial structure, if there is a fundamental characteristic that defines Andalusia, it is the weight of the system of medium-sized cities in their functional organization. This fact is higher than in other Spanish or European regions (Sánchez Escolano, 2009) and it is essential for the current and future organization of the territory (Rodríguez Martínez & Sánchez Escolano, 2010). Figure 2. Andalusian System of Cities Source: Compiled by author from POTA (Junta de Andalucía, 2006) This recognition underlies the drafting of the Territorial Plan for Andalusia in 2006 (here and after referred to as 'POTA'), which proposes a territorial hierarchical structure that is called System of Cities (See Figure 2), distinguishing three categories of cities: Regional Centres, Medium-Sized Cities and Rural Centres. The system of medium-sized cities identifies in turn two scales or internal levels, understanding that approximately 60% of the territory is under the influence of one of them. Approximately, 15% of the region inhabitants are living in a medium-sized city. But the plan goes further and argues that the dimensions and characteristics of medium-sized cities enable a compact urban model, in which growth can be controlled in order to limit excessive land consumption. Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 295 According to this, they also guarantee the conservation of values and characteristics of these cities, while the aim is to increase the quality of life of its inhabitants completing the existing infrastructures and provisions to ensure the economic development of the region. This territorial structure is heir to the regional division proposal (Junta de Andalucía, 1983) developed by the Regional Ministry of Territorial Policy. This proposal was finally not approved, but it would be published as a study entitled Andalusia, System of Cities (Junta de Andalucía, 1986) and slightly revised in the Basis for Territorial Planning of Andalusia, elaborated by the Regional Ministry of Public Works and Transport (Junta de Andalucía, 1990). In the same year, this Regional Ministry was in charge of organizing a conference on medium-sized cities in the city of Baena (Córdoba),that brought together leading researchers that had been working on the subject until that date. Among them, Feria Toribio (1984; 1993), should be mentioned due to the importance of his work in the drafting of these preliminary studies. He has developed extensive studies for the Andalusian territory based on the theory of central places, which was analyzed in his PhD dissertation (1984). Since then, he has developed many other reference works (e.g. Territorial systems of settlements in Andalusia: basic dimensions and territorial organization, 1993). Cano García (1990; 1995) has also a prolific scientific production on the subject with publications such as Hierarchizing of Andalusian Urban Centres (1990) or Regions and articulation of the territory. Four Andalusian Examples (1995). In these documents, a hierarchical system was already established, based on four levels: regional capital, sub regional centres, intermediate centres and basic centres. The latter two levels - between 100,000-20,000 and 20,000-5,000 inhabitants respectively - are a first approximation of the current system of medium-sized cities. While the current plan assumes the upper limit of 100,000, the lower one is fixed to 10,000. It still recognizes two types of medium-sized cities, but does not set an intermediate demographic threshold for tiring them. According to the POTA, this classification has been made according to "demographic size, diversity and dynamics of its economic base and functional weight" without a clear definition of them throughout the whole document. It has been found that - excepting for certain exceptionsfirst-level cities have populations between 100,000 and 30,000, while second-level ones have smaller populations between 30,000 and 10,000 inhabitants. However, as it has been pointed out by authors like Cano García (2008), this distinction is more due to a central position within its territorial units that a matter of size or functional specialization, although both circumstances are coincident in most cases. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the functional division set by the POTA. This recognizes two levels of functional specialization below the regional centres: the basic and specialised centres. Unlike what may be thought a priori, this classification does not correspond to the system of cities, but has to do with the fact that these municipalities assume complementary functions, Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Navas-Carrillo et al.: Between Historic Sites... 302 Table 1. Demographic Evolution of Medium-sized Cities on the Andalusian Coast (1950-1980) Medium-Sized Cities Coastal Territorial Units Demographic Evolution Number of Inhabitants Increasement (%) 1950 1980 2006 2016 19501980 19502016 Huércal-Overa East Coast of Almeria 14.020 12.289 16.170 18.374 88% 131% Roquetas de Mar West Coast of Almeria 2.239 4.440 71.740 90.623 198% 4047% El Ejido West Coast of Almeria 11.484 32.999 79.776 88.123 287% 767% Adra West Coast of Almeria 3.811 18.891 23.545 24.782 496% 650% Motril Costa Tropical 24.592 40.506 57.895 60.870 165% 248% Almuñécar Costa Tropical 12.524 16.390 26.264 27.195 131% 217% Nerja La Axarquía 7.123 11.589 20.361 20.649 163% 290% Vélez-Málaga La Axarquía 31.948 41.937 67.697 77.808 131% 244% Mijas Costa del Sol 7.175 14.777 61.147 77.521 206% 1080% Fuengirola Costa del Sol 6.774 29.160 63.899 75.856 430% 1120% Marbella Costa del Sol 10.027 60.172 125.519 138.679 600% 1383% Estepona Costa del Sol 13.138 23.542 58.603 66.566 179% 507% Barbate La Janda 12.086 20.806 22.602 22.861 172% 189% Conil Fr. La Janda 9.245 13.406 19.890 22.063 145% 239% Rota Northeast Coast of Cadiz 10.353 20.559 27.260 29.179 199% 282% Chipiona Northeast Coast of Cadiz 6.607 12.484 17.952 19.004 189% 288% Sanlúcar Bda. Northeast Coast of Cadiz 35.517 48.390 63.509 67.385 136% 190% Cartaya West Coast of Huelva 7.007 9.098 16.042 19.168 130% 274% Lepe West Coast of Huelva 9.285 14.053 23.781 27.054 151% 291% Isla Cristina West Coast of Huelva 11.135 16.347 20.323 21.346 147% 192% Ayamonte West Coast of Huelva 12.277 16.098 18.636 19.690 131% 160% Average Coastal Corridor 12.303 22.759 42.981 48.324 213% 393% Source: Historical Series of the Municipal Register. IECA Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 303 Table 2. Housing Construction in Andalusian Coastal Medium-sized Cities (1950-1980) Medium-Sized Cities Housing construction (1950-1980) Total housing Public housing Increase Total number of public housing groups Groups with more than 100 homes Num. of houses % Num. of houses Public /total (%) Num. of groups Average houses per group Num. of groups Average houses per group Huércal-Overa 4338 36,22 % 186 4,29 % 7 27 - - Roquetas de Mar 2223 26,60 % 206 9,27 % 5 41 1 200 El Ejido 6573 35,28 % 105 1,60 % 2 53 - - Adra 4039 24,77 % 450 11,14 % 9 50 1 100 Motril 6020 49,01 % 727 12,08 % 9 81 4 136 Almuñécar 2552 45,85 % 277 10,85 % 5 55 1 102 Nerja 2484 36,50 % 93 3,74 % 3 31 - - Vélez-Málaga 5745 36,13 % 169 2,94 % 3 56 - - Mijas 5126 29,82 % 0 0,00 % 0 - - - Fuengirola 3504 49,22 % 222 6,34 % 3 74 1 122 Marbella 6829 32,42 % 606 8,87 % 8 76 2 154 Estepona 7469 46,91 % 477 6,39 % 4 119 2 362 Barbate 2373 46,58 % 1395 58,79 % 13 107 4 930 Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Barrera-Fernández et al.: The Festival Internacional... 304 Conil Fr. 2117 25,88 % 152 7,18 % 3 51 1 120 Rota 2644 36,09 % 1258 47,58 % 10 126 4 265 Chipiona 3829 45,03 % 99 2,59 % 3 33 - - Sanlúcar Bda. 4126 29,53 % 2300 55,74 % 14 164 5 386 Cartaya 2037 42,11 % 227 11,14 % 7 32 - - Lepe 2190 32,14 % 111 5,07 % 3 37 - - Isla Cristina 1728 41,18 % 691 39,99 % 9 77 2 123 Ayamonte 1378 31,06 % 516 37,45 % 12 43 - - Average 3.777 37,62 % 489 12,94% 6 67 2 250 Sources: Evolutionary Series Homebuilding (IECA), Registry of public housing (including private initiatives) of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Public Works. Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 305 The Construction of Social Housing (1950-1980) The following table summarizes (Table 2) the relationship between the number of public housing and the total number of homes built in the temporal framework of the investigation. The research is based on the information obtained from the existing database in the Statistical Institute and Cartography of Andalusia and the Central Archive of the Ministry of Public Works. According to these data, the cities under analysis can also be classified in these other five types:  Type H1. Sanlúcar de Barrameda stands out as the municipality in which a larger number of public housing are built, 2,300 units spread over 14 promotions, representing more than 55% of homes built in those years.  Type H2. Rota and Barbate have more than 1,000 public homes, representing respectively 48 and 58% of the total number of homes built in those years.  Type H3. It has been identified a third group of cities whose public housing production was between 500 and 1,000 homes. These are – in an increasing order - Motril, Marbella, Isla Cristina and Ayamonte. In the first two cases public housing is not significant with respect to the total, while in the other two cases it is close to 40%.  Type H4. In other cities - except for Mijasthe number of public housing is between 500 and 100 houses, representing a percentage less than 10% of all homes built.  Type H5. Mijas, is the only case that does not have any record in the database consulted. Concerning the scale of these promotions, there have been identified for the whole sample only 28 groups with more than 100 homes, with an average of 250 houses per promotion, recognizing the following circumstances:  Sanlúcar de Barrameda is the municipality where the larger scale neighborhood is located: Housing State El Palomar with 900 homes. They also highlight the following groups (see Figure 6): Jesús Nazareno (450 houses), El Carmen (264 houses), Nª Sra de los Angeles (200 houses) and San Lucas (200 houses). Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Barrera-Fernández et al.: The Festival Internacional... 306 Figure 6. Largest Social Neighbourhoods in Sanlúcar de Barrameda Source: Compiled by author  In parallel with the data of all public housing, Rota and Barbate are located in a second scale. Both cities have a group of 500 houses, with two or three other cases of between 150 and 200 houses.  From the rest of the medium-sized cities on the Andalusian coast, there have been identified neighbourhoods with a number of homes ranging from 100 to 200, in the municipalities of Isla Cristina (2 promotions), Conil de la Frontera (1 promotion), Estepona (2 promotions), Marbella (2 promotions), Fuengirola (1 promotion), Almuñécar (1 promotion), Motril (4 promotions), Adra (1 promotion) and Roquetas de Mar (1 promotion). Centres of National Tourist Interest According to the dossiers preserved in the Andalusian Central Archive, 27 Centres of National Tourist Interest were approved in Andalusia between 1964 and 1975: 5 centres in Málaga, 9 centres in Cádiz, 4 centres in Huelva, 4 centres in Almeria, 4 centres in Granada and 1 centre in Sevilla. Most of them (20) were placed in coastal areas, looking for “the valorisation of the land adjacent to hundreds of kilometers of beaches” (García Sánchez, 2012). Only 8 of these 20 centres were located in any of the medium-sized cities that have been analysed in this paper (see Table 3). Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 307 Table 3. Andalusian Centres of National Tourist Interest Isla Canela (Ayamonte) Nuevo Portil (Cartaya) Nueva Andalucía (Marbella) Pinomar (Marbella) Playa de Granada (Motril) Almerimar (El Ejido) Aguadulce (Roquetas de Mar) Housing Estate Roquetas de Mar Source: 27 Centres of National Tourist Interest (García Sánchez, 2012).Source of Images: Guide to beaches. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Barrera-Fernández et al.: The Festival Internacional... 308 Table 4. Historic Sites declared as Monument in Medium-sized Cites of Andalusian Coast Mijas,1969 Vélez-Málaga, 1970, Reviewed in 2007 (Law 16/1985) Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 1973 Almuñécar 1976 Reviewed in 2014, (Law14/2007) Conil de la Frontera, 1983 Rota ,1985 Reviewed in 2003, (Law 16/1985) Source: General Catalogue of the Andalusian Historical Heritage (consulted on May 2016). Source of Images: Urban analysis of historical centres in Andalusia: medium and small cities (Junta de Andalucía, 2001). Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 309 Marbella was the city where the largest number of accommodations were projected with about 76,000 units. These were divided into two areas: Nueva Andalusia (1964) - the largest centre of tourist interest of Spain - with 75,000 units and Pinomar (1965) with 936 units. These groups are followed by Isla Canela (1964) in Ayamonte and Nuevo Portil (1964) in Cartaya, with 46,500 and 40,000 units respectively. Almería was another province that projected new tourist destinations. In El Ejido (1967) Almerimarwas planned, with 16,190, while in Roquetas de Mar two groups were designed: Aguadulce (1968) with 6,932 units and the housing estate Roquetas de Mar (1968) with 9,000 units. Finally, the smallest centre, with 4,400 units, was placed in Motril and was called Playa de Granada (1968). The total number of accommodation units approved in these centres was around 2 hundred thousand units. Historic Sites Protection as Monument All historic sites that have been identified in the selection of the cities analysed, were declared based on the legislation of 1933, although three of them have been subsequently revised, as specified in table 4. As mentioned before, the municipalities which are part of the heritage cities networks under the POTA, have been identified. While all of them are integrated into a network of heritage cities, there are only two cases in which the network is consistent with the structure of the system of cities. These cases are the territorial units of the Northeast Coast of Cádiz (Sanlúcar, Chipiona and Rota) and Costa Tropical (Almuñecar and Motril), as illustrated in the figure below (Figure 7). Figure 7. Networks of Heritage Cities and Historic Sites located in Mediumsized Cities of the Coast of Andalusia Source: Compiled by author from POTA Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Barrera-Fernández et al.: The Festival Internacional... 310 Discussion The cross-analysis of this information allows us to confirm the expected results. We have found a direct relation between the cities that have had a progressive demographic growth as a medium sized city and those whose historic sites have been declared as monuments. Moreover, in some cases, as in Sanlúcar de Barrameda or Barbate, there are also cities with a high number of public housing, in quantity but also in relation to the total number of residential buildings that were built in those years. They are also the cities with larger promotions unitarily built. On the other hand, cities that had a tourism development at this time have retained this activity as its main economic engine. These are the cities that have presented the greatest population growth (1950-2016) exceeding, for example, 1000% for cases of Marbella and Roquet as. Consequently, interest in investment, which was caused in these cities in the private sector, has been accompanied by a greater number of private development homes against public investment. This is a result of the much lower percentage of public housing, comparing to the previous cases. In addition, none of the Centres of National Tourist Interest were located in cities whose historic centres have been declared as monuments. Note that these declarations were after the construction of the majority of those touristic areas. This leads us to believe that the absence of these resorts in these cities has allowed conserving their historic centres, recognizing its heritage values a posteriori. At the same time, their protection has permitted to stop the latest tourist pressure. There is a unique exception: the case of Mijas14. On the other hand, research has found that the existing information on the promotions of social housing built under the supervision of the National Housing Institute is in some cases incomplete and therefore needs to be checked and revised by in situ. On the other hand, this is a good starting point for exploring a first set of the neighbourhoods, built in the coastal cities and has allowed a critical analysis of the problem at national level. Conclusions The importance of having identified a considerable number of such neighbourhoods in medium-sized cities on the Andalusian coast, does not lies only in its recognition and preservation. Their identification will be a key to the development of other planning policies, based on the recovery of the inherited city, as an alternative to the model of urban sprawl of the second half of the 20th century. It is worth recalling that this planning model has resulted in the destruction of a big part of the natural and agricultural heritage that confirmed the city limits at the beginning of the century. 14It should be clarified that Mijas is a city with two main urban centres, one indoor (the one that has been protected) and another on the coast (which has suffered the tourism development). Athens Journal of Tourism December 2016 311 According to the literature review, territorial models that are based on a wide network of medium-sized cities promote more balanced and sustainable systems with relations more fluid and open cities. The authors that have been analysed also come to agree that the scale of these cities facilitates their management, increasing the sense of identity with their neighbourhoods, and therefore, citizen participation processes can be more easily established. These features, among other consequences, will help to reduce the traditional problems of insecurity and conflict, promoting social relations among neighbors (Panerai & Mangin, 1999). These are features that make them appear as resilient urban structures, with adaptability to the current context in continuous transformation Consequently, this work recognises the strategic position between the historic city and the new peripheral development as one the characteristics that define the first outskirts. Additionally, this research has shown that the protection of urban centres has led to a more deliberate and controlled urban growth. Besides, diverting private investment in tourism (and consequently the declaration of national interest centres) to other unprotected areas. Indeed, these less anthropized territories should be placed as a focus of debate, due to the ability that they offer to accommodate new tourism developments. The combination of all these factors leads us to presume the necessity of extending the protection beyond the first ring of urban expansion as a preventive measure against the tourist pressure, that is currently being suffered on the Andalusian coast. Definitely, this research has tried to look into the past to understand the present. Focusing on the errors and some of good practices that were implemented, allows intuit future consequences of the current development patterns and plan territorial strategies related. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Research Plan of the University of Seville. References Andrés López, G. (2008). Geografía y ciudades medias en España: ¿a la búsqueda de una definición innecesaria?.[Geography and medium -sized cities in Spain: searching for an unnecessary definition?]. Scripta Nova. Revista electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales. 12, 270 (August, 2008) 49.URL: http://www.ub. es/geocrit/sn/sn-270/sn-270-49.htm Arteaga Arredondo, I. (2009).Construir ciudad en territorios urbanizados. Transformaciones en la primera periferia. [Building City at urbanized territories. Transformations in the first periphery].Doctoral Thesis. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/6971 Vol. 3, No. 4 Daniel Barrera-Fernández et al.: The Festival Internacional... 318