European Journal of Geography Volume 9, Number 1: 91-104, March 2018 ©Association of European Geographers FROM TOURISM TO METROPOLIZATION: ANALYSIS OF THE DRIVING FORCES OF URBAN TRANSFORMATION ALONG THE NORTHERN COSTA BRAVA (CATALONIA, SPAIN) Sergi CUADRADO-CIURANETA Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Department of Geography, Bellaterra, Spain
[email protected] Antoni DURÀ-GUIMERÀ Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Department of Geography, Bellaterra, Spain
[email protected] Abstract The driving forces of urban transformation in the northern Costa Brava region of Catalonia, Spain, are analysed in relation to the overall socio-economic changes occurring at the turn of the century, the financialization of the economy, the growth in real estate investment, the urban sprawl, and increases in different types of mobility flow. Through qualitative analysis based on in-depth interviews, the present study determined the impact of tourism and second homes, migratory flows (both at the local, county and regional level and the continental and intercontinental level) and the dynamics of the housing market on the transformation of settlements and the emergence of new urban developments. The simultaneous and interrelated effects of these factors, operating at different territorial levels, affected population growth and the distribution of urban development. As a result, the study area can no longer be considered only as a tourist destination. Keywords: driving forces, urban transformation, metropolization, Costa Brava, Catalonia, Spain 1. INTRODUCTION The northern portion of the Costa Brava (Catalonia, Spain) underwent a surge of tourism- related development in the 1960s and 1970s, but has recently experienced new development related to socioeconomic changes at the turn of the century.