21st Century (2000–present)

Malaga Plan General (PGOU 2011)

2011 · Spain · Southern Europe · Regional & polycentric planning · Planned by Ayuntamiento de Málaga
Málaga PGOU 2011 structural ordering sheet P.1.1: land classification and general systems across the western city and port, at 1:10,000
Málaga PGOU 2011 structural ordering sheet P.1.1: land classification and general systems across the western city and port, at 1:10,000 · © Ayuntamiento de Málaga — used with credit · Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Gerencia Municipal de Urbanismo — PGOU 2011, Plano P.1.1 Clasificación del Suelo y Sistemas Generales, hoja 3

Core idea

Densification + mobility upgrades

Why it matters

Tourism city managing growth

Description

The Plan General de Ordenación Urbanística (PGOU) of Málaga, approved in 2011, is the statutory general plan for the Andalusian port city, prepared by the municipality. It steers a city grown through coastal tourism towards consolidation: densification of existing fabric, regeneration of the historic centre and port edge, and upgrades to mobility including metro and suburban rail integration. The plan allocates land for economic diversification while restraining further dispersed growth along the Costa del Sol.

Significance

The plan reflects the Spanish planning system's general-plan tradition at the moment the 2008 property crash forced a turn from expansion to management of the existing city. Málaga's subsequent repositioning as a culture- and technology-led city built on the framework it set, and the plan is cited in discussions of how tourism-dependent Mediterranean cities balance visitor economies with residents' needs. It is a representative case of post-bubble consolidation planning in southern Europe.

What shaped it

Sources

Open it on the interactive timeline →
hub.toekom.st — History of Urbanism · an interactive timeline of 850 planned cities across 6,000 years.