Second homes and compact cities in Spain: Two elements of the same system?

The aim of this paper is to connect two processes that have been analysed independently to date and that have characterised the housing experience of the Spanish population. On the one hand, the consequences induced by the high density of Spanish urban spaces on other spatial spheres of people's lives and on the other hand, the traditional presence and the recent expansion of second home possession. In this context, we will demonstrate that, in Spain, a strong statistical relationship has been established between the location of main dwellings in a very dense urban context and a greater probability of having second homes. This relationship is better known in the scientific literature as the 'compensation hypothesis'. © 2007 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.