This article analyses processes of change undergone by Spanish medium-sized cities during 1981–2011 on the one hand, and 2000–2018 on the other, as they are different sources. We established a classification to show the importance of this type of city starting from the hypothesis that the process is a generalised one in which they behave according to their position in the territory. The dynamics of change are predominantly associated with contexts of economic expansion. The typology was generated based on population and housing variables, which synthesise the role played by economic activity in each city. Additional methodologies were used: firstly, the bibliography on medium-sized cities in different social and cultural contexts was reviewed; secondly, statistical data were selected, compiled and processed using multivariant statistical analyses, and the results mapped. A study of 133 cities was carried out and absolute values and variation rates used to understand the processes of change. As a result, seven representative groups were obtained. The conclusions of the study can be corroborated by different sources.

The modernization of economic activities in mountain areas is conditioned by the physical characteristics of the territory, the weight of activities related to the primary sector, infrastructure deficits, low population density, as well as the declining and ageing population. The response to this situation has involved implementing a certain degree of functional diversification. One of the aspects that has assisted in the expansion of the tertiary sector is leisure and recreational activities. Rural tourism in European mid-mountain regions has emerged as a key element, supported by local development strategies and changing preferences in demand. In the tourism industry, the resources are the raw material, in which landscape plays a leading role. The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate the landscape as a heritage and a tourism resource, focusing on its capacity to reactivate depressed rural areas of inland Spain (mid-mountain areas in the southeast of the autonomous region of Castilla–La Mancha). The study is based on opinions provided by tourists and uses a directed survey as an analytical tool. The results highlight the key role of landscape, especially natural landscape, in the use of such areas for tourism. This, in turn, underlines the need for a greater focus on organizing how the landscape is utilized.

El turismo de naturaleza en Áreas Protegidas de México se considera desde finales del siglo XX como un instrumento de desarrollo socioeconómico. Puesto que esta estrategia es relativamente novedosa para Latinoamérica, su implantación exige de un tratamiento especial y cuidadoso para cada una de las partes del sistema turístico. Se hace necesario asumir los principios de conservación y aprovechamiento sostenible. Se analiza en este caso el Parque Ecológico Ejidal de Cacalomacán, localizado dentro del Nevado de Toluca. Es una zona de interés para la conservación de la biodiversidad, en donde el turismo de naturaleza se ha convertido en una herramienta de desarrollo comunitario. La metodología empleada ha sido el Sistema Ponderado de Inventario y Evaluación de Recursos.

The processes of urban sprawl that have been present over the past two decades in the different strata of the urban hierarchy have also affected, as a whole, medium-sized cities. The urban sprawl has been particularly pronounced during the period of expansive Spanish urbanism, in which many of the municipalities situated in the vicinities of large cities have been affected by major demographic dynamics and (sub)urbanisation development outside the traditional city limits. Sometimes, these processes have been greater than the nearby cities in the urban area where they are inserted. In this study, we examine the general mechanisms identified within an urban crown size (within a radius of 30 km) and at the scale of the municipality, based on an analysis of two distinct periods: one linked to a strong growth dynamic (2000–2008), and another related to subsequent crisis (2009–2016). A group of 23 inner medium-sized Spanish cities has been analysed, taking into account the trends of the population, the surface of unbuilt plots, the built surface, and the amount of housing. We have identified the typologies of their respective urban areas over the two periods considered.

RESUMENAl medio rural se añaden nuevas dimensiones y funciones, dentro del posproductivismo, asociadas a unos espacios que cuentan con recursos territoriales no deslocalizables. El turismo rural es especialmente dinámico en algunos espacios, apoyado en actividades recreativas y en el uso del paisaje como elementos predominante. Este trabajo presta atención al proceso de puesta en valor del paisaje por parte de turistas y administraciones. Para analizar sus manifestaciones se ha seleccionado una provincia de interior, la de Albacete, que ha experimentado una fuerte dinámica en esta modalidad en la última década, y en la que los paisajes del agua se convierten en protagonistas.Palabras clave: paisaje, turismo rural, desarrollo local. The role of landscape as a tourist territorial resource in inland areas ABSTRACTIn rural adding new dimensions and functions within the posproductivismo, associated with spaces that have land resources can not be relocated. Rural tourism is especially dynamic you some spaces, supported recreational activities and the use of landscape as predominant elements. This paper pays attention to the process of enhancement of the landscape by tourists and administrations. To analyze its manifestations has been selected inland province, the de Albacete, which has experienced strong momentum in this mode in the last decade, and in which water landscapes become protagonists.