LAUSR

This work analyses soil loss over the last 150 years due to urban growth in one of the boroughs of highest environmental value around Madrid (Spain), i.e. Colmenar Viejo. The extent and patterns followed by urban extension are examined retrospectively using a present cartographic base layer. This evolutionary approach considering space and time has required a thorough compilation of cartographic sources that were created using classic topography, photogrammetry or remote sensing, some of which have been rarely used so far. These documents have been georeferenced, edited and handled using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing programs. Urban growth in Colmenar Viejo has been steady, has registered exponential increases (soil sealing affected 0.14% of the total municipal territory in 1861 and covers 2.64% nowadays) and has followed similar patterns to other Spanish towns influenced by metropolitan processes.