**1. Introduction**

The framework for this study is the general context that emerged when the economic structure worldwide suffered changes as a consequence of the Fordist crisis and the globalisation of space in the late 1970s and became evident in Spain in the 1990s. In this state of economic re-structuring and territorial competition, nations are adopting neoliberal strategies that are transposed to major cities' urban agendas in order to overcome the financial recession and recover their position in the global economy. In this scenario, urban policies promote strategic projects aiming to enhance the city's position on the global marketplace. Cities review their objectives and modes of operation and drafting strategies of a neoliberal nature to multiply their bonds with economic players. This framework of connections is by which the major urban transformation projects should be viewed, especially those located in the central areas of metropolitan cities from the end of the last century and recognised as one of the more significant signs of the globalisation of cities.

An abundance of literature on this subject appeared from the first decade of the 20th century, and production continues to this day. Studies with greater theoretical weight are perceived to gain substance progressively from other more-specific studies centred on different scales and geographic scenarios, especially those appearing in Europe and Latin America that also incorporate a considerable theoretical background, with both approaches contributing to providing increasing conceptual wealth. From the profuse bibliography available, we have selected samples of the more general contributions [1–8] and those referring to specific geographical areas [9–14] that have helped outline the most significant constants of the urban model underlying large-scale projects in cities. Over the course of this research, we shall also refer to other studies dealing with more specific issues in the city model applied by neoliberal urban policies that use large-scale projects as strategic instruments wielded by the competitive global city they aspire to. Lastly, we cannot fail to point out the interest in studies that, from different perspectives, address some of the

**Citation:** García, D.B. Urban Policies and Large Projects in Central City Areas: The Example of Madrid (Spain). *Urban Sci.* **2021**, *5*, 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/ urbansci5020042

Academic Editors: Peter Newman and Neil Sipe

Received: 20 February 2021 Accepted: 18 May 2021 Published: 20 May 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

major products undertaken in European and Latin American cities, national capitals or metropolitan agglomerations, which have been fundamental in recognising coincidences and differences with the projects undertaken in Madrid.

This progressive approach to academic literature has served as a foundation for the necessary conceptual premises to confidently address the study at hand, whose aim is to ascertain the degree of correspondence existing between tried and tested urban policies for city development and the large-scale projects proposed. We selected the city of Madrid as a case study because, since the end of last century, the urban policies of a succession of neoliberal conservative governments have promoted large-scale projects. In 2015, a progressive local government challenged these large projects and offered alternative plans.

In this work, we examine the actors and processes linked to the urban policies and models that are put into practice, underscoring the role of public and private agents who promote the projects, the strategies deployed through management models on the land prices produced and the design of the development projects. Moreover, this type of approach is found in many studies focusing on Latin America and Europe during the period studied [14]. Having set forth the premises underpinning this work, we discuss below the key points according to the sense, meaning and scope of major projects in general and those of Madrid in particular.

In this sense, having transposed the policies of neoliberal nature to the urban agendas of major cities in order to enhance their position on the global market, local administrations review their objectives and modes of operation to incorporate new priorities, forms of governance and management models that reveal new relationships among public agents and the private sector [2,15–18]. It is in this context where large-scale projects are promoted as one of the strategies applied under neoliberal urban policies seeking to maximise the city's capacity of attraction and, at the same time, to multiply bonds with financial stakeholders. The new urban policy subordinates city management to the demands of an open and competitive market that requires an operational framework comprising urban deregulation and sufficiently flexible tools to offer opportunities for participation by private financial initiatives. Such an absence of political regulation is a determining factor driving and consolidating alliances between local governments and private interests.

Urban projects are successful when they combine the advantages of normative flexibility with effective management. To this end, local governments expedite the administrative process and issue the relevant authorisations, signing covenants with the private sector, and may even delegate in the latter the definition and execution of their urban master planning schemes. At the same time, they often shirk their democratic duty to all the participation of other urban stakeholders claiming a role in the decision-making process and their right to issue an opinion on the formulation of the projects. For their part, private companies introduce business management formulas guided by efficiency and profitability criteria, substantiated solely on profit expectations [11,19].

In this operational context, large projects are especially undertaken in urban spaces that have gradually gained a more central position, as the more central the location, the more profitable the investment. Governments publicise these projects as drivers of economic progress for the city, thus justifying the need for intervention to improve their urban image [6,7]. Their purpose is the structural reorganisation of the physical and economic fabric of degraded and dysfunctional spaces that are still to be found in cities' central areas. These are commonly enclaves occupied by railway infrastructures, port installations, former industrial sites or military facilities. The objective is to convert these into modern productive and consumption areas through the radical transformation of their urban image, hence the importance given to designers and architects of renown, who impress their hallmark on these new iconic references to the contemporary city.

Most of these transformations are speculative operations with the promise of highly profitable investments stemming from their links to changes in the social standing of space. In their execution, strategies are implemented to promote and intensify real estate value dynamics in order to attract economic activities and social classes that are significant under

globalised capitalism [20]. Such transformations have important effects on land prices and on the real estate market, reinforcing the privileged status of these areas within the city, and contribute to widening the centre–periphery gap from an urbanistic and social viewpoint.

#### **2. Materials and Methods**

The purpose of this research is supported firstly on the most relevant literature on the meaning of large-scale urban projects and their links to the urban policies that sustain them, which has allowed us to build a framework of reference for our analysis of large urban projects in Madrid.

Secondly, the eminently empirical nature of this work requires the consultation of imminently quantitative sources for this analysis, which are complex but sufficient for yielding results and interpretations. We distinguish between three types of materials: documentary, hemerographic and manifestations of the social and associative fabric.

The chief protagonism falls on documentation expressing the urban project as an instrument of planning and intervention. Follow-up of such material throughout the process, from the submission of the project to its approval, is indispensable in evaluating its level of compliance with legal requirements (state, regional and local laws) and with current planning schemes (municipal urban master planning schemes and regulations). The analysis of the projects' official documents, their location against current legislation and the applicable urban master planning schemes allows us to interpret the meaning and scope of the claims filed in the courts by other urban players. In this sense, the documentation issued from the judiciary, especially those contained in the rulings of the courts, is viewed as a valuable and essential source as it represents a large part of the unorthodox strategies employed by the principal urban agents involved in formulating the projects. Thus, many of the filed claims refer to breaches of the regional building code and to insufficiently upsubstantiated modifications to the general urban planning scheme. Moreover, the slow-moving process for the resolution of claims, generally through more than one court, explains the delays in the performance of the projects and, in some cases, their coming to a standstill, while also explaining many of the changes made in these projects' formulation during the process.

Among the materials consulted for this work are hemerographic sources. These include those providing opinions by urbanism professionals who make use of the media to reduce the time required for publication in academic journals. These opinions of renowned experts add elements of judgement that help clarify the issues dealt with herein. Another type of those is found in research journalism whose function is to disseminate to the public information on current issues that are difficult to access. It is, however, necessary that these news items refer to the original source as a means of differentiating them from other opportunistic and biased articles.

Lastly, this work also examines the ways in which different social groups speak out against the formulation of the projects. The manifestations of these groups, whether informal, grassroots or more regulated bodies, provide an important element of reflection, as they portray opinions stemming from the experience and expectations of their members. These groups may bring actions before the courts of justice and demand their rights to participate in the negotiations with the administration for drafting the projects, in order to attenuate their negative effects in social, environmental and urban terms.

#### **3. Results**

Since the late 20th century, large urban projects have been undertaken in Spain with noticeable territorial and social consequences, especially in urban and metropolitan areas. These operations reflect the neoliberal urban model incorporated in the urban agendas of conservative governments. It has been corroborated that the deployment of large-scale projects has generated enclaves of a formal logic and independent management that deepen the social and economic segregation of lower-income groups obliged to move their homes

to the increasingly distant outskirts and close down their traditional activities in downtown spaces [21,22].

To this rising social inequality, increased during the period of economic expansion, is added the imposition of austerity measures and the absence of the right to decent housing. Citizens' unrest is channelled through left-wing proposals claiming social urban planning and calling for a change in policy making [23]. They place the focus on fundamental concepts such as democratic regeneration, pacts, coordination, cooperation, the struggle against corruption, transparency, participation, inclusion, social justice and public ethos, which represent their rejection of a political and economic regime in crisis [24]. Citizens' indifference towards the dominant urban policy was manifested after the 2015 elections. Many cities and municipalities would be governed by political formations emerging from social movements and would question the urban agendas of recent decades [25,26].

In Spain, Madrid exemplifies the most consummate version of the neoliberal model imposed on the administration of a city since the last decade of the 20th century [27]. It is also one of the most significant in responding to the crisis with far-reaching rallies that would bring to power a progressive municipal government until 2020, when the city returned to a conservative political formation [28,29].

It is important to keep in mind the sequence of the successive municipal and regional governments to easily understand the correspondence between urban policies and models throughout the period studied. In this vein, the socialist municipal government (1979–1989) was succeeded by Centro Democrático y Social (1989–1991), Partido Popular (1991–2015), the left-wing coalition Ahora Madrid (2015–2019) and the coalition Partido Popular/Ciudadanos to the present. In the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the socialist government (1983–1995) was succeeded by Partido Popular (1995–2019) and Partido Popular/Ciudadanos (from 2019).
