Urban morphologies of films on the Spanish Mediterranean coast

Abstract

The aim of this article is to establish a relationship between the urban morphologies of cities on the Spanish Mediterranean coast and the quantitative and qualitative representation of their urban characteristics in cinema. Given the common historical patterns in Mediterranean cities, such as historic centres and their subsequent growth, these coastal spaces have been chosen as a first sample to apply the methodology. First, a literature review has been carried out to establish the state of the art that links the filmed urban scenes and the morphologies that are represented. Second, the empirical methods are based on the urban analysis of the morphologies appearing in more than fifty movies, which have been evaluated and categorised according to variables such as architectural elements, urban morphologies, compactness and location, based on the taxonomy of Zárate Martín (1991). Urban landscape criteria have also been considered, with an emphasis on physical and morphological spatial characteristics such as landscape landmarks or public spaces. In addition, they have been related to filmic categories such as genre and the origin of productions. To this end, Geographic Information Systems and urban documentation, such as town planning regulations, have been used to locate and characterise the film clips analysed.