Impact of Tourism on Coastal Towns: From Improvisation to Planification

Abstract

Tourist activity in Spain during the 1960s boosted the development of tourist centres, especially along the Mediterranean seaboard, and at the same time resulted in the construction of a true building barrier along the seafront. Despite the existence of legislation which regulated land use planning and several planning tools, major landscape and environmental impacts occurred, due to the difficulty of managing a territory over which sustainable and systemic planning was almost inexistent. During the last decade, the concerns of land use planning agents about controlling the town growth on the Spanish seaboard has increased. They have responded by creating new regulations and promoting a participative planning that involves the land planning agents and the different administrations. This should allow a comprehensive approach.