Large metropolitan areas in Spain: From growth and residential expansion to population stagnation

In the first years of the 21st century, the acceleration of migration flows and the subsequent economic crisis marked two important milestones in the population development of the main metropolitan areas of Spain. Initially, population growth was high, thus reversing the demographic decline of the main metropolitan areas and consolidating and expanding the periphery. Later, there was a sudden fall in these dynamics, giving rise to a phase of demographic stagnation that brought the then prevailing trend toward suburbanization to an end. Currently, both the aging demographic structure and low fertility suggest a lower potential for growth. These factors constitute a paradigm shift in which socio-territorial differences are reduced due to the lower intensity of the main demographic factors acting on the areas studied.