Abstract:

A reflection on the coastal suburbs of the main town in the province of Hispania Citerior, based on criteria of economic dynamism conceived as the principal cause of the rise of periurban areas. The processes of expansion or regression are linked to the vitality of port activities, which were decisive in periurban growth or the birth of population centres distanced from towns located near the coast. The aim of this paper is to highlight the common traits of urban uniformity in the early imperial period, which disappeared as a consequence of the specific processes of each urban nucleus and were conditioned by the viability of their economic model and geostrategic role. In this way, the analysis of suburban zones is shown to be the main indicator of economic and urban prosperity. It was for good reason that they continued to function in the late period, while the late imperial cities were being dismantled.