La Costa Brava ante los nuevos retos del turismo

The first section of this paper summarises the most relevant charateristics of the contemporary tourist model, also called postfordist or postmodernist. In the second part the traditional tourist model developed in the Costa Brava in the past decades, is reviewed. Emphasising the saturation of tourist facilities on the coast line, expansive urban growth, thanks to a tolerant administration, poor complementary supply and concentrated demand in few markets and the proximity of Barcelona conurbation, stressed by second homes. In the third section, some strategies developed in recent years to readapt the Costa Brava to the new tendencies in tourism, are presented. Incorporation of the inland to the tourist product, new planning policics, lessening urban densities and height, and a change in mind in favour of protected natural areas, diversification of demand with new markets, specially form Eastern Europe (although this might be considered as a continuation of the traditional tourist model) and the emergence of local strategies oriented towards the creation of new tourist products based upon natural and cultural resources

Paisatge i models urbans contemporanis. Les comarques gironines (1979-2006): del "desarrollismo" a la globalització

This doctoral thesis offers a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the changes in the urban shape and landscape of the Girona Counties between 1979 and 2006. The theoretical part of the research lies within the framework of the dispersed city phenomenon, and is based on the hypothesis of convergence towards a global urban model. The empirical part demonstrates this proposition with a study of 522 zone development plans in the Girona Counties. The results point to the consolidation of the dispersed city phenomenon, as shown by the sudden increase in built-up space, the spread of urban development throughout the territory, and the emergence of a new, increasingly generic landscape comprising three major morphological types: urban extensions, low density residential estates and industrial zones. This reveals shortcomings of planning for urban growth, weakening of the city as a public project, and a certain degradation of the Mediterranean city model.