| A city is more than a physical imprint. Through its architecture and human use of urban space, it is an extension of its residents, an expression of their culture.; This investigation is situated within the domain of urban historical geography, focusing on both humanistic and structural dimensions of Spanish urbanism. A late medieval through early modern time frame was chosen because it compares and contrasts the Islamic and Christian experiences and imprints during periods of major urban change. By investigating change and continuity across several centuries it was possible to identify the differences between cultural, socio-political, and economic moments and trajectories.; Several themes emerged during preliminary fieldwork in southern Spain in the regions of Andalusia and Extremadura, and were later developed and refined during dissertation fieldwork at the microscale of Sevilla, and barrio, San Bartolome: (a) Spanish cities in the early modern period (1500--1800) were not predominately Roman from an earlier tradition, or a resuscitation of Roman ideas in the wake of Renaissance. Spain reflects a complex process of cultural exchange---Roman, Visigothic, Jewish, Islamic, and Christian---in planning urban settlements, in which each cultural group had a concept of "cities" from their own experience which they grafted on the structures of the existing infrastructure and expressed in rituals and architecture; (b) Urban planning decisions and use of urban space were motivated by practical considerations, people adapting to their urban environment, planning and administering their cities in a functional pragmatic way, yet ensconced within cultural traditions; (c) The religious use of space in ritual and architecture is embedded in a multi-faceted religious framework, encompassing not only theology, but identity exploration, political and social dimensions, resulting in a continually changing religious context. This research, based on extensive fieldwork, historical and archaeological data, reveals the complexity of the relationship between people and their urban environment, and rejects a single factor deterministic explanation of urbanism. |
