Canovelles Explained

Canovelles
Settlement Type:Municipality
Pushpin Map:Spain Catalonia
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Catalonia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Spain
Subdivision Type1:Autonomous community
Subdivision Type2:Province
Subdivision Name2:Barcelona
Subdivision Type3:Comarca
Subdivision Name3:Vallès Oriental
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Emilio Cordero Soria (2016)[1]
Area Footnotes:[2]
Area Total Km2:6.7
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Blank1 Title:Demonym
Population Blank1:Canovellí, canovellina
Coordinates:41.6203°N 2.2847°W
Elevation M:175
Postal Code:08420

Canovelles (in Catalan; Valencian pronounced as /kənuˈβeʎəs/) is a municipality situated in the comarca of Vallès Oriental, in the province of Barcelona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. It is located about 2km (01miles) from the local capital of Granollers, with which it forms a conurbation.

Demographics

Population by district

District Pop. (2007)
Àligues, les 125
La Barriada Nova 11,786
Bellulla 225
Can Castells 696
Can Comas 17
Can Diviu 1,327
Can Duran 668
Can Quana 58
La Quinta Avinguda 111
La Serra 31
Sanaüja 486
Sant Feliu 45
Tibel 149

Population distribution

The vast majority of the immigrants of the last decade and their descendants live in the Barriada Nova (New Quarters). However, the members of the immigrant wave in the 1960s and 1970s are gradually moving further into the peripheral districts. Public housing shortages and the high price of private housing are driving young people out of the area, and into municipalities in the same region.

Demographic evolution

!1497 !! 1515 !! 1553 !! 1717 !! 1787 !! 1857 !! 1877 !! 1887 !! 1900

182423136173303305334335

! 1910 !! 1920 !! 1930 !! 1940 !! 1950 !! 1960 !! 1970 !! 1981 !! 1990

3303375056656313,0618,10012,09313,165

! 1992 !! 1994 !! 1996 !! 1998 !! 2000 !! 2002 !! 2004 !! 2006 !! 2007

13,32413,60313,28713,10613,01613,37514,00115,01215,704

Economy

During the 1950s and 1960s, Canovelles saw a dramatic increase and immigration from other parts of Spain – namely from the nearby region of Barcelona. Because of this explosion in population, much of Canovelles' economy stems from the service sector.

Another major source of regional economy comes from the weekly market held every Sunday, comprised by more than 500 shops. This market focus on the distribution of clothing, electronic devices and fruit.

History

Numerous archeological finds from the Neolithic Period and the Roman Empire have been found in Canovelles. One representative is the “Menhir”, a replica of which is displayed at the Can Palots Theater exhibition hall.

The first time the term Canovelles appears in a document is in 1008 AD, in a document pertaining to the Abbot of Sant Cugat.

Between the 1950s and the 1970s, many families from Extremadura and Andalusia arrived to the municipality, increasing the population by a factor of twenty. Since the end of the 1990s people from Morocco, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America have been arriving to Canovelles in great numbers.

During the 1970s, clandestine groups of Marxists organized against the Franquist dictatorship, some of them comprised by more than a hundred militants.

Recent history

A celebration was held in 2008 to celebrate the oldest document (written in 1008) in which a writer mentions the municipality's name.

In 2007, Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) gained an absolute majority in the municipal government under the leadership of José Orive. In 2008, this government approved a thirty percent increase in pay for the mayor and local councillors. This pay increase marked José Orive as an object of controversy when hundreds of stickers criticizing the decision were posted on lampposts and other public objects throughout the municipality. After these stickers had been up for two days, the municipal government paid a cleaning company to remove them. Orive left his position as the Mayor of Canovelles for personal reasons. Emilio Cordero succeeded Orive as the Mayor of Canovelles in 2016.

Administration

List of mayors since the democratic elections of 1979

Term Name of mayor Political Party
1979–1983 PSC
1983–1987 Francesc Martos i Aguilera PSC
1987–1991 Francesc Martos i Aguilera PSC
1991–1995 Francesc Martos i Aguilera PSC
1995–1999 Francesc Martos i Aguilera PSC
1999–2003 Francesc Martos i Aguilera PSC
2003–2007 Francesc Martos i Aguilera / José Orive I Vélez PSC
2007–2016 José Orive I Vélez / Emilio Cordero Soria PSC
2016–present Emilio Cordero Soria (incumbent) PSC

List of mayors from 1900 to 1979

Term Name of mayor Political party
Restauración Borbónica
1890–1906 Francesc Espargaró i Planas -
1906–1910 Joan Pous i Roger -
1910–1916 Francesc Botines i Galitó -
1916–1918 Esteve Grau i Montpart -
1918–1923 Jaume Gispert i Cassà -
1923–1930 Miquel Julià i Gorchs -
1930–1931 Jaume Gispert i Cassà -
Second Spanish Republic
1931–1933 Francesc Pous i Gorguí Acció Catalana Republicana
1933–1934 Josep Gratacòs i Peicasat ERC
1934–1936 Jaume Gispert i Cassà -
1936 Amadeu Facundo i Vidal Unió de Rebassaires-PSUC
1936–1937 Antoni Riera i Genevat CNT-FAI de Canovelles
1937–1938 Nemesio Sanz i Barrachina PSUC
1938 Francesc Pous i Gorguí Acció Catalana Republicana
Franquism
1939–1952 Isidre Duran i Blanchart -
1952–1960 Ignasi Julià i Argemí -
1960–1969 Felip Argemí i Orriols -
1969–1979 Joan Dordas i Vila -

Electoral results

1995

PartyVotes%Councillors
PSC-Progrés Municipal4.13263,4413
Convergència i Unió78812,102
PP5258,061
ICV4747,281
ERC2724,180
Canovelles Unida (EUiA)1943,400

1999

PartyVotes%Councillors
PSC-Progrés Municipal3.92868,78%15
Convergència i Unió5189,071
PP4918,601
EUiA2584,520
ERC2434,250
ICV1943,400

2003

PartyVotes%Councillors
PSC-Progrés Municipal3.35156,0210
Convergència i Unió80813,512
ICV-EUiA62410,432
PP62410,432
ERC4958,271

2007

PartyVotes%Councillors
PSC-Progrés Municipal2.81653,8911
Convergència i Unió70513,492
ICV-EUiA54010,332
PP5129,801
ERC3376,451
Ciutadans2164,130

Transportation

Highways

Railways

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ajuntament de Canovelles. Generalitat of Catalonia. 2015-11-13.
  2. Web site: El municipi en xifres: Canovelles. Statistical Institute of Catalonia. 2015-11-23.