The territorial occupation in the urbanization process of the Metropolitan Area at the Aburrá Valley, Colombia

Abstract

The metropolitan configuration of the Aburrá Valley responds in a spatial structure and types of urban growth to a polycentric structure with a dominant centre and concentrated growth geographically delimited. This paper, contributes to the understanding of this condition through two perspectives. The first one, the settlement in the valley from the 17th to 19th centuries; the historical conditions that intervened in this central occupation generated since its foundation a concentrated urban development that strengthened the economical and political dynamics in its condition as dominant nucleus. The second perspective; from its polycentric condition, enounce the need of a metropolitan vision that intervenes the territory in a more balanced and compensated way