Environmental risks and urbanization of the Catalan coast. The experience of urban master plans of the coastal system

Abstract

The article studies one of the phenomena that most directly affects the increase in risks in coastal areas in Catalonia: the urbanization process of the coastal strip. In particular, it exposes the attempts to regulate and limit this process through the Urban Planning Plans of the Coastal System (PDUSC) approved by the Government of the Generalitat of Catalonia in 2005. The work consists of five sections: in the first one, the main features of urbanization in the coastal strip of Catalonia are described; in the second, the set of legislative and urban planning instruments adopted and enforced to regulate this process is briefly exposed; the third section, which constitutes the core of the contribution, explains the main characteristics and results of the PDUSC; finally, the fourth and last epigraph offers a repertoire of the most outstanding academic contributions in relation to this urban planning instrument; a brief conclusive remarks close the article.

Key words: Urbanization, Risk, Costal Areas, Urban Planning.