A New Residential Role for the Rural Environment in Extremadura, Spain

European rural spaces are assuming a new residential role. In some such as Extremadura (Spain), the low population density and the practice of an extensive primary sector has allowed the survival of large areas and natural spaces that are desirable for urbanites. The residential growth caused by economic changes and tourist attractiveness has generated a new paradigm in which recreational use competes with agricultural and livestock use (until now the sustenance of the local economy). To record this change, it is essential to spatially determine what the rural environment means in this specific regional context and quantify the number of new existing homes. First, we resorted to the future competent legislation (born of experience and local knowledge) and territorial and urban planning, while second, we used the potentiality of all of the available free series of orthophotography and aerial photography including other tools such as Google Street View. This methodological process led us to discover a recent and important advancement of the recreational residential function. On balance, the data showed that recreational residential use is a leading actor in the change of the landscape and productive model of rural areas.