Bilbao, in the North of Spain, is the largest city in the Basque Country and the capital of the province of Biscay. The city has over 354,000 inhabitants (2006) and is the most economically and industrially active part of Greater Bilbao, the zone in which almost half of the Basque Country’s population lives. Greater Bilbao’s 946,829 inhabitants are spread along the length of the Nervion River, whose banks are home also to numerous business and factories, which during the industrial revolution brought heightened prosperity to the region.

The city has recently undergone major urban renewal, in order to move away from the region’s industrial history and instead focus on tourism and services. The developments are centered around the new metro system by Sir Norman Foster and, most of all, the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum by Frank Gehry. A new tram line(EuskoTran) was introduced in 2002. The Port of Bilbao, formerly on the river, has been moved and expanded downstream on the Bay of Biscay, opening a great deal of central real estate on the river that has been the site of most of the new building. Other new landmarks include the Santiago Calatrava designed Zubizuri Bridge and the Euskalduna Palace, a cultural centre, further downstream. The two points are linked by a new riverside passageway opposite University of Deusto, which provides an open green space for the city’s inhabitants to relax. Using landmark building to regenerate brownfield sites has know become known as the Bilbao Effect.