Costa del Sol occidental: changes, problems and possibilities of a mature tourist territory

Abstract

During the last 50 years, the urban and infrastructure development derived from tourism exploitation of this territory has become the Costa del Sol into a recognizable entity, made of fragments with different characteristics related to decades of urban research. This development in the Costa del Sol area has become it into an urban laboratory as a result of an economic / speculative optimization process with negative consequences. The colonization of this area would not have been possible without infrastructure assets, which play a key role in internal and external connections, allowing the Costa del Sol to have the versatility to reorganize itself and keep on growing. But this type of development tends to the saturation of the urban system and today the Costa del Sol has become into a mature tourist territory with some problems related to resident mobility, environment and obsolescence.