La evolución urbana de la ciudad de Murcia en relación con el río Segura

Résumé

Murcia in southeast Spain is plagued by extreme drought periods alternating with extraordinary rainfall, which over time and in view of the severity of regular flash flooding, have served to shape the towns and cities in the region over the centuries. This problem has moulded town planning in the majority of towns and cities in the Murcia region and the south of Valencia, and given rise to a particular road system, especially in the older districts of these towns. Murcia is a paradigm of this phenomenon as its original town centre, located on a bend of the old river course and now in the heart of the city, has been constrained by the rising of the river and the constant freshets which prevented any urban expansion until well into the eighteenth century and has shaped much of the current layout of the city.