Landscape Intelligence

Page 224

PART III PROJECTS

8 ‘ECO-DEVELOPMENT’ STRATEGIES 8.1 ECO-CITIES

8.1.7 LANDSCAPES OF ALMANSA

Since the rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of Spain in the nineteen sixties, the region of Castilla La Mancha got depopulated as people moved to Madrid and other cities on the coast. Thus this region became one of Spain's l east populated areas. More recently, when La Mancha's infrastructure had improved and value and land availability had b ecome more i mportant f or a number of competitive activities, La Mancha perceived new development opportunities in closer cooperation with its neighbouring regions.Toledo and Guadalajara, for example, managed to grow and develop due to their proximity with ever expanding Madrid.

The eco-city of Almansa belongs to this overall development process, due to its supra-regional strategic location. The planned logistic node of Almansa in Castilla La Mancha, one of the largest Autonomous Region of Spain is situated between the Mediterranean coast and Madrid along strategic road and rail transportation connections. Almansa lies in a rural environment with an enormous land reserve in a favourable topography, at a major crossroads leading from Madrid, Spain's capital, to Valencia and Alicante on the coast. This coast is very densely populated and has the biggest concentration of marinas of the Spanish

Strategic location of Almansa for logistics

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