Resumen

DIAZ ORUETA, Fernando. Megaproyectos urbanos y modelo de ciudad: El ejemplo de Madrid Río. Cuad. urbano [online]. 2015, vol.19, n.19, pp.179-200. ISSN 1853-3655.

Since the late nineteen seventies, coinciding with the start of a new era in urban policies, there took place a gradual shift in priorities in urban agendas. It is in this context that we must place the emergence of a new generation of megaprojects that were to be used as tools to promote the repositioning of cities in the global economy. Based on these considerations, this article analyses Madrid Río, a megaproject that, in turn, was part of an overall programme of remodelling and expansion of the M-30 motorway in Madrid. Specifically, it was planned to cover the motorway for six kilometres of its route and to remodel the resulting surface space on top of new concrete structures beside the Manzanares River. The Madrid City Council justified the megaproject on the basis that it would mean environmental improvements and a better quality of life for the residents of the neighbouring districts. An analysis of the operation leads to the conclusion that Madrid Rio was a strategic part of an urban project launched during the last period of Spanish economic growth, in which the local government assumed a subsidiary role with respect to private financial property capital. Today, with the perspective gained over more than six years since the start of the crisis, the megaproject can be considered one of the main symbols of a failed economic and territorial model.

Palabras clave : Urban megaprojects, Madrid, local government, growth, environment.

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