City context

The Basque Country (País Vasco) is located on the northern edge of the Iberian Peninsula (Figure 9.1) and is one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions. Bilbao is the main city (population 350,000) and capital of the province of Bizkaia (in Basque) or Vizcaya (in Spanish) (Figure 9.2). The metropolitan area of Bilbao (Bilbao Metropolitana) (population 900,000) includes the City of Bilbao and several surrounding municipalities, making it the largest agglomeration on Spain's Atlantic coast and the sixth largest metropolitan area in Spain. Bilbao is located on both sides of the River Nervión which discharges into the Bay of Biscay some 10km from the city centre. The steep slopes of the river valley have confined urbanisation mainly to the lowlands and lower parts of the slopes on both sides of the valley, and this has led to high population density, with 8,733 inhabitants per square kilometre.

Bilbao emerged as a small trading and fishing village in medieval times. The Basque Country was incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile in 1200, but a considerable degree of autonomy was granted to the new province (see Box 9.1). The traditional Basque legal system of statutes (fueros) gave the region its own laws and institutions that have been preserved to this day. Bilbao was granted city status in 1300 and over subsequent centuries its economy was based on commercial and maritime activities. Benefiting from its favourable position as an Atlantic sea port and its special trading rights guaranteed by the Spanish King, Bilbao became a rich hub, linking mainland Spain with other parts of western Europe and eventually the Americas.

Until industrialisation, Bilbao was a small city with a population of under 10,000 whose area was confined to the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) (Figure 9.3). However, during the second half of the 1800s, Bilbao rapidly developed into an industrial city, based on the exploitation of nearby iron ore deposits. Coal was transported by sea along the coast from the region of Asturias to fuel the industrial revolution. Iron, steel and shipbuilding industries developed quickly. By the turn of the century, industrial growth was accompanied by the development of major service sector companies, especially in commerce and finance. As elsewhere, industrialisation led to a sharp increase in population. In 1900, the population was over 80,000 (Figure 9.4).