Demographic change in Spanish urban areas (2001-2011)

What is it about?

This paper has two main aims: on the one hand, it provides an overview of recent metropolitan area population changes in Spain and assesses their spatial patterns through a typology, and on the other hand, it analyses the impact of the Great Recession on the aforementioned trends.

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Why is it important?

Our finding show that the economic crisis, which began in 2008, and its significant impact on the real estate sector, drew an end to the previous urban expansion and population growth period, and restrained suburbanisation dynamics. Consequently, residential mobility decreased and metropolitan areas entered a new phase characterised by a reduction of both foreign immigration inflows and Spaniards’ movements away from core cities. Therefore, with few exceptions, urban centres attracted again Spanish residents or at least stopped losing them.