Urban policies during the last four decades have influenced the risk of flooding in Cartagena (Spain): A retrospective spatial analysis

In the last five years, three important floods have caused considerable damage in Cartagena, a city located on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.Even though the city has suffered from flooding throughout history, its current Municipal General Urban Development Masterplan, approved in 1987 and subsequently modified 82 times, has not sufficiently prevented land occupation of flood-prone areas.When reviewing the urban policies of the last four decades, an evaluation using GIS-based indicators and geostatistical analysis shows that the urban flooding vulnerability level is too high in urban areas in which it is currently exceedingly difficult to solve the problems created.