Rural development programs in the riverside municipalities of the canal de Castilla: their impact on the evolution of the population (2000–2020)

Abstract

The rural environment of Castilla y León has structural problems that have intensified since the middle of the 20th century. Most of the municipalities have benefited, over the last decades, from a series of development initiatives that aim to improve their socioeconomic situation. The main objective of this work is to determine the effects that the various rural development programs have had on the evolution of the population and on the age structure of the riverside municipalities of the canal de Castilla between the years 2000–2020. For this, the development initiatives related to the canal de Castilla have been consulted, and for the demographic part the data from the INE. By means of a GIS, the corresponding cartography has been carried out. Despite the programs put in place, and the money invested in this territory, it has not been possible to reverse the demographic decline or the progressive aging in which most of these municipalities find themselves. Only the municipalities of the metropolitan area of Valladolid and the urban agglomeration of Palencia have experienced a positive dynamic thanks to the influence exerted on them by the two provincial capitals.