Religious facilities as the configurators of urban space. The case of the Coya Housing Estate in Vigo (Spain)

This paper analyses the origins and the management of religious facilities in Spain within a process of urbanization with the promotion of housing estates. The facilities are placed in relation to the evolution and development of the concept of urban facilities and additional building. This took place during the seventies and eighties during which the increase in industrial design led to the concentration of a significant part of the population in seven Galician cities. Various factors make the Coya Housing Estate particularly interesting as a case study: its huge size in relation to the population in Vigo, the difficult process it suffered for nearly twenty years due to tensions between the local and state administration, and as a result, its very specific urban planning.