The Use of GIS and Multicriteria Techniques for the Socio-Spatial Analysis of Urban Areas in Medium-Sized Spanish Cities

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 The predominance compact forms has been replaced by growing prominence sprawl.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