means "widening" in Spanish. It is used to name the development areas of Spanish cities around the end of the 19th century, when the demographic explosion and the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

prompted the tearing down of the old city wall and the construction of neighborhoods under grid plans. It is also found across much of

Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...

for expansion of the cities beyond the traditional city walls.

Background

The programme of city extensions in Spain began simultaneously in 1860 with the plans for

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

by Ildefons Cerdà and Madrid by Carlos María de Castro, influenced by Haussmann's transformation of Paris from 1852 (and, in turn, have been said to have influenced Haussmann's later projects). Those extended cities beyond their traditional limits by demolishing city walls, transforming riverbanks and subdividing the – rural land outside the city walls. were generally based on principles articulated by Cerdà. These included reserving significant open space by requiring mid-block open space and whole block parks. The height of buildings was set by reference to the width of the adjacent street. Many of these requirements were modified, and the building volumes increased, by later amendments beginning in 1864 (Madrid). It is specifically used for: *The (Catalan for ) of Barcelona, planned by Cerdà *The of the city of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. *The in Palma, Mallorca. *The of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

under the Plan Castro by Carlos María de Castro enacted by Royal Decree in 1860. *The Ensanche de Bilbao after the annexation of the former village of Abando.

Usage in Hispanic America

The term is widely use for the planned expansion of some cities across

. Among them is the city of

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

which used the term extensively as a prefix for expansion neighborhoods beyond its traditional old city. * Ensanche La Fe * Ensanche Piantini * Ensanche Luperon * Ensanche Capotillo * Ensanche Naco * Ensanche Espaillat * Ensanche Quisqueya * Ensanche Simon Bolivar * Ensanche Paraiso

References

{{Expand Basque, Zabalgune (hirigintza), date=April 2009 * Urban planning in Spain 19th century in Spain