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Reference Date: 26-07-1998
Experience selected in the 1998 Dubai Award for Best Practice, and catalogued as BEST.
(
Best Practices Database.)
País/Country: Spain
United Nations Region: Europe
Ecological region: Continental
Activity: City / Town
Partnerships: Central goverment. Local Government. Regional
Government. European Union
Themes = Architecture and Urban Design: historic preservation
Main contact:
Sigfrido Herráez Rodríguez
Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda, S.A.
C/ Paraguay, 8
28016 Madrid
SPAIN
Tel: +34-91 588 34 32
Fax: +34-91 588 38 16
E-mail: doloresm@emv.es
http://www.emv.es
Partner:
Fernando Nasarre y de Goicoechea
Ministerio de Fomento. (Central government)
Plaza San Juan de la Cruz S/N
28003 Madrid
SPAIN
Tel: +34-91 597 60 51
Fax: +34-91 597 86 04
Administrative Support
Partner:
Angel Rodríguez Hervás
Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda, S.A. (Municipal Concern for
Housing)
C/ Paraguay, 8
28016 Madrid
SPAIN
Tel: +34-91 588 34 32
Fax: +34-91 588 38 16
E-mail: doloresm@emv.es
http://www.emv.es
Financial Support
Partner:
Amalia Castro-Rial Garrone
Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. (Regional Government)
Maudes, 17
28003 Madrid
España
Tel: +34-91 580 43 49
Fax: +34-91 580 43 96
Financial support
Nominating Organization:
Marta García Nart
Comité Nacional Español
Paseo de la Castellana, 67
28071 Madrid
Tlf: +34-91 597 75 72
Fax: +34-91 597 86 04
E-mail:mgnart@mfom.es
1. Situation Before the Initiative Began
The historical centre of Madrid, due to the vast surface it
covers - over 320 hectares - presented, together with emblematic
areas, a high level of architectural, urban, social and
environmental decay, there being areas with a high level of
marginalised population; a rise in the aged population, with low
income; abandonment of buildings by the economically strong
sectors of society, which brings about a crisis in the economic
activity; the taking over of buildings by immigrants, and the
loss of traditional economic activities. In view of the gradual
decay of the historical centre, the three administrations (State,
Regional and Local) signed several agreements for the
Rehabilitation of the Residential and Urban Built-up Estate,
which aim at renovating the urban basis.
Another formula for action has been the rehabilitation of
thorough fares within the Theatre Itineraries covered by the
URBAN projects, the basis of which is connected to the areas for
rehabilitation, as they contain streets which are focal points
for prostitution and socially outcast people. The Cohesion Funds
to improve the urban environment of Lavapiés aim at adapting this
quarter to the new needs of its population. Both actions are
co-financed by the European Union. In view of the size of the
problem raised by the historical centre, it became necessary, as
the main agent for social change, for the three administrations
to join their efforts, financing the physical and environmental
change. At the same time, the managing organisation (Empresa
Municipal de la Vivienda) co-ordinates the various actions and
supports the social structuring, enhancing the existing ones and
creating new channels for citizen's participation.
The social content of large areas of the historical centre stands
out because of the existence of areas with a large number of
social drop-outs, immigrants, protitutes; the low social level
of its old-aged residents; the mushrooming of sub-standard
housing and vertical shanty-town-like building.
Preparing Information and Clarifying Priorities
The three administrations (State, Regional and Local) noticed
that the historical centre of the capital of the country -
regional centre and metropolitan municipality - was gradually
deteriorating, which affected the social, urban, historical,
architectural and economic image of this part of the city, which
spread slowly to the quarters surrounding it. Being well aware
of the problems, the Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda decided to
contact the representatives for the three administrations to
explain the serious nature of the situation and possible ways to
solve it. The first step was the declaration of Areas for
Priority Rehabilitation for the deteriorated areas which have a
main urban space as the quarter's centre of urban activities
(main squares or streets), in order to extend gradually the
actions to the streets nearby, all of them within the Area. Once
the actions have been completed, other Areas have been declared
extension of the previous ones so as to cover the quarters or
areas involved in their entirety. In this fashion, area stages
- interrelated and complemented - have been organised.
2. Formulation of Objectives, Strategies and Mobilization of Resources
The essential objective was to recover the historical centre of
Madrid in urban, architectural, social and commercial terms. For
this purpose, public administrations joined their economic
efforts, creating budgets for the actions through various
collaboration agreements and appointing the Empresa Municipal de
la Vivienda Managing Organisation and co-ordinator thereof, in
close co-operation with the Regional Government of Madrid.
The political parties represented in the various administrations
accepted unanimously the initiative and promoted visits to the
Areas to study first-hand the structural shortcomings and their
inhabitants' views on the channels for action and their direct
and indirect effects. When the activities were started, resources
were mobilized through budgetary tranfers to the Empresa
Municipal de la Vivienda, which allocated said sums by means of
grants to private initiatives and certifications of the
successful bidder companies.
3. Process
Rehabilitation has taken place through a declaration of Areas for
Priority Rehabilitation, an Area being a homogeneously
deteriorated area which is part of a historical quarter. Within
each Area, different kinds of actions have been developed:
4. Achieved results
The objectives established are being achieved gradually as the
urban development works are completed for urban roads, which,
together with the setting up of the first scaffolding under the
Architectural Adaptation Schemes, are the "detonators" for
property owners to avail themselves of the rehabilitations
agreements. Signed in 1994, the first agreement has given its
positive results in the three declared Areas: Area I - Plaza del
Dos de Mayo; Area II - Plaza Mayor; and Area III - Plaza de la
Paja, in which the Adaptation Schemes and several urban
development stages have been completed. The main indicators have
been the great acceptance by private property owners of public
grants; an increase in urban activity, as historical pedestrian
itineraries have been recovered for residents and inhabitants of
nearby quarters, an attraction for local tourism. Many sites for
minor commercial activities have been opened and the quantity of
uninhabited housing has dropped, even to the point of
disappearing. Residents' andtraders' associations hold meetings
from time to time with other social and public administration
organisations.
The social impact has been so important that social and local
administration representatives have applied for the declaration
for other Areas inside and outside the historical centre and even
nearby quarters, so that close areas with the same social and
urban identity have been declared as Areas. The impact has
influenced residents and passers-by as they've become more aware
of the need to preserve urban furniture, to avoid vehicles
parking anywhere and to maintain more contact amongst all the
social agents residing in the quarters involved. Negotiations
have started with property developers, the Chamber of Commerce,
the Property Developers' Association and the Chamber of Property
and Industry to join in the rehabiliation field.
Sustainability
Integration of the various elements is achieved by creating a
systemic project where the various elements comprising the
project (environmental, economic and socio-cultural physical
transformation) are given organic unity. The project's
sustainability is achieved thanks to the implementation system
used in the development of actions: information, creation of
awareness, participation and structuring of social activities.
This structuring, in collaboration with the various
administrative areas - regional and local - will maintain and
involve the sustainability of this systemic project.
The costs invested in the various actions are geared at giving
value to the areas involved, a better quality of life, more
urban, commercial, service and socio-cultural activities.
Public investment amounts to over 50% of the budget and the
remaining percentage is contributed by private initiative, so
that dependence on external resources is kept very low.
Lessons Learned
The Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda had been improving building
and giving grants to private individuals here and there for over
a decade, but this system was slow and did not result in an
improvement in the urban environment. However, it has acted as
a base to contact the different social organisations in the
deteriorated quarters and to look for other alternatives for more
direct action in the city. The three following factors
can be regarded as essential as they are determinant in order to
achieve the proposed objectives:
Madrid's initiative has had a great impact on other Spanish
cities which have adopted this system to act by Areas as the most
suitable for consolidated urban centres. Other Spanish
cities/towns have signed agreements with the relevant
administrations and have been informed about the actions in the
historical centre. In the same way, political personalities,
managers and experts from Spanish businesses and municipalities
and from various European and American countries have been
informed.
5. The experience in numbers
Financial Profile
References
"Rehabilitation of Plaza de la Paja in Madrid" (published in the
magazine "R&R" - restoration and rehabilitation) .
"Rehabilitation of the historical centre and outlying centres of
Madrid" (I) (published in the magazine "R&R" - restoration and
rehabilitation) .
"Rehabilitation of the historical centre and outlying centres of
Madrid" (II) (published in the magazine "R&R" - restoration and
rehabilitation) .
"Madrid: The rehabilitated old centre. The process starts"
(published in the magazine "Urbanismo") .
"A model experience for integral improvement in urban quality"
(published in the magazine Paesaggio Urbano) .
| 1998 Spanish Best Practices selected by the International Jury > http://habitat.aq.upm.es/bpes/onu98/bp456.en.html |