Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Luis Copano Ortiz Author-Name: Jesús Ventura Fernández Title: La organización del territorio submunicipal en Andalucía. Criterios administrativos para su delimitación Abstract: RESUMEN: La Ley de Autonomía Local de Andalucía (2010) permite a los ayuntamientos andaluces organizar su término en circunscripciones de carácter desconcentrado o descentralizado, con el fin de acercar la acción administrativa a la población, facilitar la participación ciudadana, y dotar de mayor eficacia y eficiencia a la prestación de los servicios públicos. No obstante, existen entidades que, aun teniendo definidas sus competencias, permanecen todavía sin la concreción de sus límites. Así, el objetivo principal de este estudio es el ofrecer una herramienta en materia de organización espacial de los municipios, para lo que resulta conveniente que realicen un análisis exhaustivo, que debe incluir la determinación de sus núcleos de población y de aquellos asentamientos de carácter diseminado que ya existen. ABSTRACT:  Article 109 of the Andalusian Local Autonomy Law (2010) allows Andalusian municipalities to organize their geographical spaces by dividing them into non concentrated territorial units (districts, villages, rural districts, neighborhoods) or decentralized units (Autonomous Local Entities and Neighborhood Entities), with the end to approach the administrative action to the people, facilitate the citizen participation and endow of greater efficiency to the provision of services. Nevertheless, they exist entities that, even having defined his competency, remain without the concretion of the spatial limits where exert them, since the valid rule does not contribute clear and homogeneous criteria for his territorial demarcation.  The main objective of this study is to offer a tool in matter of territorial organization for municipalities terms, since, from the entrance in force of the Law 5/2010 of Local Autonomy of Andalusia, they have the authority of spatial self-organization. So, the principle of local political autonomy is reinforced with this new Law, leaving ancient positioning in matter of local regime backwards when the exclusive competency in municipal territorial organization was a duty of the Autonomic Administration.  Nevertheless, the Andalusian Statute (2007) determines the Regional Development Planning as an exclusive competency. It includes, among other questions, the promotion of a spatial balance; having some competent capacity in matter of sub-municipal organization is basic to achieve it. This is why drawing some guidelines is highly recommended. Thus, the Autonomic Administration has must to establish a procedure of adequacy of municipal approaches for those cases that do not fit with the politics of regional development planning at a regional scale.  Meanwhile, to prevent from municipalities to face this challenge without a methodological reference, and to boost the use of analysis tools to deal with the matter of  the municipalities land organization, series of technical criteria that have like final objective the turn into a Catalogue of Good Practices. This catalog should spurrel  inter-municipal debate in order to achieve a common work line adapting the politics of Regional Development Planning in Andalusia.  The secondary objectives of this paper are listed follows:

 1.     To deepen in the regulatory requirements of the Law of Local Autonomy of Andalusia regarding Title VII, about the administration of the municipal territory.

2.     To show the current map of Autonomous Local Entities of Andalusia, analyzing the existent differences between those that possess a delimited territory and have their own budget, and those that are far from actual legal parameters, in spite of their working in the same way.

3.     To pose the need to realize a complete territorial analysis of the municipality, without limiting to study centres of population, since the territory is dynamic and can appear future neighborly initiatives of constitution of Autonomous Local Entities, Neighborhood Entities or others.

4.     To establish a definition of the concept of centre of population that adjusts to  State and Autonomic laws, but also contributing to a greater concretion in order to avoid ambiguity.  The methodology of analysis posed in this investigation derives from a wide handle of  legal appearances related with the local regime and the administration of the municipal territory. The Law 5/2010 of Local Autonomy of Andalusia seems to have solved diverse problematic of the previous rule (Law 7/1993 Regulatory of the Municipal Demarcation of Andalusia), such as the constitution “ope legis” (by mandate of Law) of the Entities with Smaller Areas than Municipality in Autonomous Local Entities (ELAs). It does not pronounce, nevertheless, about those that still do not have a defined territory to exert its own competencies and that, is part of the minimum content for the constitution, either an ELA or a Neighborhood Entity, according to the article 116 of the LAULA (2010),  This lack of concretion has motivated a criticism to the articulated content in this Law during the present study although, on the other hand, it has allowed a propitious subject to arise for the elaboration of a study of investigation focused in a spatial element such as administrative limits.  Once the subject of investigation are delimited, the following step consist of offering a series of solutions to establish the delimitation of those Autonomous Local Entities that still do not have defined his territorial area. In this sense, the legislation in force does not establish specific criteria for the delimitation of territorial division, although these have to be based on the principle of territorial organization of the municipality.  In order to best define territorial units, we start from the idea of a need to realize a study to cover the whole of the municipality, since all the existent identities have to be taken into account inside the analysis, as well as the possible future initiatives for the constitution of decentralized entities of management.  This article aims therefore to contribute to yield criteria about territorial analysis in this field, and in order to this we take in account up to 5 administrative criteria.

 1.     It is essential to realize a study of the settlement to determine the centres of existent population in a municipality; according to the LAULA they have to be the base for the establishment of territorial division. Using this analysis it will be possible to detect outlines that were used in other historical periods and that could be taken into account as reference for the demarcation nowadays.

2.     There are some territorial limits considered as official in actuality, as for example the territory of autonomous local entities or some sub-municipal delimitations used by some organisms for sectorial planning (like Census Division). In these cases, keeping those limits is recommended provided that they adjust to the current territorial reality.

3.     The territorial delimitation is a difficult administrative work to be executed because of the multiple interests that come into play. That it is why it is necessary to realize studies for the establishment of criteria about statistical and georeferenced character that justify the proposal of delimitation.

4.     Established administrative limits have to be continuous according to the Spanish Constitution, but also adjusted to geographic accidents and to steady and easily identifiable elements of the terrain. Given that the authority of self-organization has to serve in order to facilitate citizenship participation, it is recommended that the initiative comes from the implied neighbors themselves. It is important, therefore, to note the degree of agreement or disagreement of the population with regard to the delimitations proposed, as well as their different sociopolitical positioning. Classification-JEL: R1 Keywords: Andalucía, Delimitar, Demarcación territorial, Entidad local autónoma, Organización del territorio submunicipal, Municipios, Andalusia, Delimit, Territorial demarcation, Autonomous Local Entities, Organization of submunicipal territory, municipality Pages: 155-191 Volume: 03 Year: 2013 File-URL: http://www.revistaestudiosregionales.com/documentos/articulos/pdf-articulo-2425.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Handle: RePEc:rer:articu:v:03:y:2013:p:155-191