Land Squandering in the Spanish Medium Sized Cities: The Case of Toledo

Spanish medium-sized cities, including the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Toledo, experienced significant urban sprawl and land squandering from the mid-1990s to 2008. This process, driven by speculation and profit, transformed compact urban forms into disjointed spaces, particularly in peripheral districts. The study highlights how Toledo's urban expansion extended into its hinterland while also noting internal dispersion through the 'Ensanche' (widening) process in the late 20th century. Using urban estate cadaster data alongside fieldwork and bibliographic research, the authors demonstrate that such growth patterns resulted in fragmented urban landscapes. This research underscores the consequences of unchecked land development on historic cities.

Sánchez Ondoño, I., & Escudero Gómez, L. A. (2019). Land Squandering in the Spanish Medium Sized Cities: The Case of Toledo. Urban Science, 3(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3010016