What is an urban river? A methodological approach for its delimitation in Spain

Abstract

Despite the number of publications about urban streams, there is no investigation focusing on its definition and, for the same reason, there are no official procedures for its delimitation. The aims of this paper are (1) to define what an urban stream is and (2) to delimitate the urban fluvial stretches in Spain. There are various motivations to carry out this research. In the first place, the scientific-geographical attention/interest that involve the complex analysis of this topic; then, the evidence of the existing conflicts between municipalities and hydraulic administrations for the assumption of responsibilities and lastly, the belief, shared by the scientific community, in the promotion of a separated/differentiated management of the urban and rural fluvial territory. Through the analysis of a planning scenario and water flow management in urban areas and the thoughts around the concept of an “urban river”, we can conclude that a river stream must be considered urban when urban use is found in its Public Hydraulic Domain or its Protection Areas and/or when such stream is in the midst of an urban matrix. Based on this definition, we will develop a delimitation methodology at a national scale, which indicates that 6 % of the fluvial network within Spanish territory is of urban nature.