Landscape Dynamics in Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Castelló de la Plana in the Last Hundred Years

Abstract

The littoral areas of the Mediterranean coastline have undergone a significant transformation due to their historical and intense human occupation. The result has been an evolution of different cultural landscape configurations, ranging from those with a marked agrarian character to artificial ones derived from the process of urbanisation and metropolitan growth. The objective of this paper is to define a model to characterise landscape types and units that explains the landscape dynamics (1910-2015) in Mediterranean coastal spaces at local scale, taking as study area the municipality and surroundings of Castelló de la Plana, in Spain. The aim is to identify the way in which society has appropriated and occupied this space. This research seeks to analyse landscape metrics that link dynamics in both space and time to provide a comprehensive image of landscape dynamics. The methodological procedure is based on the diachronic study of the landscape to discern a pattern of change in the cultural landscape over time and space that allows us to explain the current situation of the landscape and its relationship with urbanisation and urban planning.