Urban development of an industrial and regional service centre: Penafiel (Valladolid)

This article aims to establish the evolutionary urban model of a Castilian town settled on the industry linked to the local resources and the provision of regional services. Socioeconomic bases and their effects on the transformation of the plan are studied, spanning from the ancient settlements in the Middle Duero River Valley and the defensive and frontier origin of Penafiel to the different phases of its urban development. The conclusion is that -despite being in a low level of the regional urban hierarchy and having strong competitors not far away like the capital city of the province or Aranda de Duero-, Penafiel's dynamic are strong enough to maintain a stable population in an unfavorable demographic context. The reflection of the different historical circumstances in the urban morphology gives some evolutionary characteristics to towns like Penafiel that distinguish them from the medium and big cities of the country, without being alien to the general processes.