City limits: rural vs. historical infrastructure Urban growth. L’Ortoll case study, in Vilanova i la Geltrú

Abstract

The uncontrolled - or not at all - growth of medium-sized cities on the outskirts of the metropolises, or simply in rural or agricultural environments, has on numerous occasions led to the appearance of unorthodox spaces (garbage?) That confront the imposed fabric of these urban settlements. The limits of the cities outside the metropolitan area are in a conflictive position when facing the previously existing territory, since the mentioned cities do not have sufficient strength to face such terrain, and in turn, because the infrastructure system of connection between them, fragments and it accidentally divides the terrain, making it lose its identity.

The non-connection between the rural and urbanized world with cities becomes a problem for the sustainable growth of the fabric, whose current solution must include different essential concepts for contemporary territorial development, such as sustainability, technology, economy or society. Therefore, it is proposed, rather than imposing urbanity in these areas, to include them within urban centers, thus allowing the inclusion of new canvases that serve urban development with green spaces, equipment, industrial areas or others.

The L’Ortoll park, west of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona), has been taken as a practical case, where the relationship with the city has been negatively influenced by the urbanization process, becoming an abandoned large plot. In order to treat the boundaries of the area as described above, an analysis was carried out with three different approaches, using sources from the historical archives, orthophotos, GIS technology and field work, including interaction with conservation associations:

- Morphological and geographic: evolution of topography and terrain.

- Functional and social: different uses of the area over time.

- Historical, to understand and associate the previous two.

- After carrying out this analysis, it is possible to reach different conclusions, which allow developing different hypotheses about the reason for the unfavorable collision:

- L’Ortoll's land belongs to a much larger system than the territory itself: the infrastructure belonging to the primary sector throughout the Catalan autonomous territory.

- The rapid and indiscriminate growth of the city does not manage its limits and cannot cope with the inclusion of other systems already created.

- The development of the interurban infrastructure system with Barcelona and Tarragona (mainly) creates expressways of a different speed and incompatible with rural areas, which fragment the original territory.

- The primary sector is deterred by a stronger tertiary and secondary economic system, making the area obsolete.

- The need for conservation of the area's historical and natural interest collides with urbanization plans and speculation in the area.

- We also observe two different fronts of action versus the area in question:

- The real estate sector, which tries to speculate with the territory.

- Social action, which tries to recover the territory, with a higher success rate.

When interpreting the results, it is concluded that for the integration of new areas with the capacity to provide the city with green spaces, public and with possibilities, in a way corresponding to the current evolution of the cities, it is necessary to work on the limits between the urban fabric as independent elements, and later set development guidelines for the area, always creating a link with the different layers of the city (physical, economic, social, digital, etc.) and the new territory.

In addition, from the analysis carried out, different clues can be intuited on which projects must be based in this type of territory to be successful:

- Social interaction with the terrain. The user himself as a city generator.

- Respect for what exists; natural, historical and urban.

- The functional deficit of a specific area.

- The ability to create a system with its own entity, but permeable on both sides.

Finally, an attempt is made to apply the different conclusions on the ground with a project for the urbanization of the boundary in question, whose form in this specific area is going to be a small archeology campus, which will complement and integrate what is currently happening in the area and will extend into the territory in question.