The modernization of economic activities in mountain areas is conditioned by the physical characteristics of the territory, the weight of activities related to the primary sector, infrastructure deficits, low population density, as well as the declining and ageing population. The response to this situation has involved implementing a certain degree of functional diversification. One of the aspects that has assisted in the expansion of the tertiary sector is leisure and recreational activities. Rural tourism in European mid-mountain regions has emerged as a key element, supported by local development strategies and changing preferences in demand. In the tourism industry, the resources are the raw material, in which landscape plays a leading role. The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the landscape as a heritage and a tourism resource, focusing on its capacity to reactivate depressed rural areas of inland Spain (mid-mountain areas in the southeast of the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha). The study is based on opinions provided by tourists and uses a directed survey as an analytical tool. The results highlight the key role of landscape, especially natural landscape, in the use of such areas for tourism. This, in turn, underlines the need for a greater focus on organizing how the landscape is utilized.

The processes of urban sprawl that have been present over the past two decades in the different strata of the urban hierarchy have also affected, as a whole, medium-sized cities. The urban sprawl has been particularly pronounced during the period of expansive Spanish urbanism, in which many of the municipalities situated in the vicinities of large cities have been affected by major demographic dynamics and (sub)urbanisation development outside the traditional city limits. Sometimes, these processes have been greater than the nearby cities in the urban area where they are inserted. In this study, we examine the general mechanisms identified within an urban crown size (within a radius of 30 km) and at the scale of the municipality, based on an analysis of two distinct periods: one linked to a strong growth dynamic (2000–2008), and another related to subsequent crisis (2009–2016). A group of 23 inner medium-sized Spanish cities has been analysed, taking into account the trends of the population, the surface of unbuilt plots, the built surface, and the amount of housing. We have identified the typologies of their respective urban areas over the two periods considered.

In recent decades, particularly intense changes have occurred in Spanish urban areas. This is the result of demographic and urbanizing transformations that have led to a change in the city model. The predominance of compact forms has been replaced by the growing prominence of urban sprawl. Structures are now more extensive, characterized, in turn, by fragmentation and the notable consumption of land in the peripheries. In medium-sized cities, the municipalities bordering the central cities have concentrated the processes of suburbanization and periurbanization. This paper addresses the processes of change for 34 cities and their urban areas located in inland Spain. A proposal is made for the delimitation and characterization of urban areas, taking the municipality as the unit of analysis. At the methodological level, six variables are used, analyzed by means of multicriteria statistical techniques combined with the use of GIS tools. An Urban Transformation Index (ITU) has been developed that synthesizes urbanizing, demographic and socioeconomic dynamics (six variables related to population, housing and socio-productive structure are used). In the territorial area, the 20-min isochrone is used as a reference. In the temporal domain, the period of analysis addresses the events of the first two decades of the twenty-first century.

This article presents a methodological proposal using the cadastre as a tool to analyze urbanization dynamics. It is backed by an in-depth review of the related literature concerning Spain and Mediterranean Europe. The work uses the cadastre as a source of information, specifically leveraging the urban parcels and real estate obtained from the CAT files. After the data were collected, interpreted and organized, complementary statistical and cartographic methodologies and tools were used, together with the required database management. The goal of the study was to analyze the behavior of five intermediate cities and their urban areas, with the aim of comparing the construction dynamics between the cities and the municipalities located in their respective areas of influence in the period 2000–2016. The work is framed within the debate on urban sprawl, sustainability and the need for tools for town and regional planning. The main conclusion of the work reflects the necessity of a better understanding of the processes of transformation in cities, in which the use of cadastral data is key, given its reliability and updated information, despite the difficulty involved in accessing the data structure.

El turismo de naturaleza en Áreas Protegidas de México se considera desde finales del siglo XX como un instrumento de desarrollo socioeconómico. Puesto que esta estrategia es relativamente novedosa para Latinoamérica, su implantación exige de un tratamiento especial y cuidadoso para cada una de las partes del sistema turístico. Se hace necesario asumir los principios de conservación y aprovechamiento sostenible. Se analiza en este caso el Parque Ecológico Ejidal de Cacalomacán, localizado dentro del Nevado de Toluca. Es una zona de interés para la conservación de la biodiversidad, en donde el turismo de naturaleza se ha convertido en una herramienta de desarrollo comunitario. La metodología empleada ha sido el Sistema Ponderado de Inventario y Evaluación de Recursos.

Desde mediados del siglo XX, buena parte de las áreas rurales españolas han experimentado un éxodo demográfico sin precedentes. Aunque se trata de un fenómeno que se manifiesta mayoritariamente en la mitad norte del país, existen territorios ubicados en la vertiente meridional en los que la intensidad de la despoblación los dota de especial particularidad. Entre ellos, resaltan las comarcas que componen el nodo interprovincial del Sureste de la Península Ibérica. El objetivo fundamental de este trabajo trata de examinar tanto la notable despoblación sufrida por estos territorios, como las causas que han impulsado este proceso. La metodología empleada para cubrir esta cuestión se basa en el análisis de la dinámica demográfica experimentada desde el año 1900 y la evaluación de los datos obtenidos de indicadores como el crecimiento vegetativo y migratorio o la renta económica, entre otros. Junto a este objetivo principal, se pretende conocer los efectos que la Covid-19 ha podido tener en la dinámica demográfica y las perspectivas de futuro que presentan. A este respecto, se estudian diferentes variables relativas al envejecimiento, natalidad y mortalidad, o el peso de población extranjera. Los datos aportados por estos indicadores proceden de fuentes oficiales como el INE o el Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico. Los resultados obtenidos muestran tanto la gravedad adquirida por la despoblación desde 1950, como las malas previsiones de futuro.