Manuel Ferrer Regales

Abstract

In Spain a network of cities is not integrated into any contiguous system of urban interactions which in turn would integrate all the regional areas: national integration is achieved at the political-administrative level only, via the nation's capital, Madrid, and at the economic and financial decision-mak-ing level via Madrid/Barcelona and Bilbao. There exist networks of cities which are integrated into contiguous urban systems. These coincide especial-ly with the areas of the periphery which are developed, or undergoing a rapid development process; here we can speak of several regional systems. Madrid is an 'original' system which occupies the geographical centre of the Iberian Peninsula.

The interrelations between the Basque-Periphery, Catalonian, and Ara-gonese systems are high, due to industrial flows. They are also high between the Catalonian and Valencian-Levantine systems. In turn, interrelations be-tween these systems and Madrid are also high although the structure is not peripheral, but radial. There are some interrelations between peripherical systems, but the whole periphery has strong connections with the national capital.

Manuel Ferrer Regales, Department of Geography, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain