There has been recent discussion of the demographic challenge facing Mallorca and the Balearics. Population growth is being driven almost exclusively by immigration. Mallorca is felt to already be overpopulated and to lack the infrastructure and resources to deal with this rising population. There are also the social changes associated with immigration.
A demographic "bomb" is how some have been referring to this challenge, and latest figures point to how population is tending to grow fastest in some of the smaller municipalities. Twenty of the island's municipalities show growth rates of 50% or more since the start of the century.
Sociologist Carles Baeza, who is also a doctor of architecture, says: "Such high growth is a symptom of dramatic social changes. A metropolitan area of Palma is beginning to take shape." This is a spread and growth by working people and by foreigners. "Palma is unable to incorporate population; it even expels local residents who settle as close as they can to access services. There are some atypical cases, such as Esporles, which is full of people from the university."
Palma, he says, is "gentrifying" and this is causing accelerated growth in the villages and small towns. "Those who can't afford to buy in Palma and can find better rentals or properties in the villages are moving. This phenomenon is directly linked to the increased availability of public transport. There are also some cases of people returning to their villages because they've inherited a house from a relative.
"They're making a virtue out of necessity. If I'm expelled from the city, I'm going to see the upside. This is taking its toll on the villages. When we talk about population growth, be careful, it's not just about growth. We have to look at the structure of that growth (ages and origins), because if it is only the adult population that grows, we'll be facing a time bomb. The population will age in a short time. The ideal is to grow in the classic pyramid shape, with a significant amount of children and young people and couples of childbearing age, who find the conditions for starting a family. This applies to the local and foreign population, whether European, Latin American, or African."
Baeza observes that life in the villages and the small towns isn't necessarily as rosy as some might think. "There are parts of cities where life is just as bad or just as good as in villages. Let's not idealise villages, because they have traditionally been places with lack of privacy and services, plus internal rivalries, the weight of tradition and the presence of local powers. In the villages, situations of dominance and social control can be very important.
"We see foreign growth in Calvia and Andratx - people from northern and central Europe. In Inca, on the other hand, it is more Moroccan. The hope of integration is placed in the schools. But there are situations in which peoples coexist without understanding each other. It's something that happens everywhere.
"In Mallorca, we have put all our eggs in the basket of tourism, with the serious danger this entails for the sustainability of the territory and for the sustainability of human geography. It's a major problem. Although the population is not aging as in other places, our towns are not equipped with sufficient infrastructure and services to deal with the demographic crisis, and we are facing a significant chronic situation.
"Growth as rapid as ours can catch any administration out. Since the upturn in 2015 (post-financial crisis), we haven't stopped growing. The current administration and previous ones have had no excuses for ten years." His conclusion is that Mallorca is ill-prepared to deal with the "demographic bomb".