Madrid 1979-1999. Perfiles de una transformación urbana desconocida.

Resumen El artículo describe el contenido de la reciente exposición y del libro publicado, ambos bajo el título de Madrid 1979-1999. La transformación de la ciudad en 20 años de Ayuntamientos Democráticos (Madrid, diciembre 1999 y enero 2000). La ciudad de Madrid no es un caso particular, sino uno de los exponentes más claros de la voluntad de transformar y mejorar las ciudades españolas que ha caracterizado los dos decenios de gobiernos municipales democráticos, a partir de las elecciones de abril de 1979. La transformación de la ciudad ha afectado a todos los sectores: infraestructuras públicas y privadas, patrimonio recualificado de la periferia, ensanches residenciales, parques y equipamientos, etc. Sin embargo, esta significativa transformación de la ciudad no ha tenido entre la ciudadanía, los mass-media o la opinión profesional (arquitectos y urbanistas) el eco que se merece, pese a sus puntuales deficiencias. Creemos, y ésta es la tesis principal del artículo y el libro, que es el carácter periférico, difuso y repartido, extremadamente democrático en suma, el que le ha restado relevancia mediática. Abstract The article describes the content of the recent exhibition and the book published, both of which are entitled Madrid 1979-1999. How the city has changed in 20 years of democratic City Councils? (Madrid, december 1999- january 2000). The city of Madrid is not a case apart but rather one of the clearest examples of the desire to change and improve Spanish cities which characterised the two decades of democratic municipal governments that followed the April 1979 elections. The city 's transformation has affected every single sector and has encompassed the configuration of a modern arterial network and one of the best public transport systems in Europe; the protection and refurbishing of buildings; the elimination of shanty-towns and areas of sub-standard housing; the creation of over 12 km' of new residential areas; the restructuring of a substantial part of the municipal periphery; the opening of 89 new parks of 2 hectares or more in area; the creation of nigh-on 500 new public amenities of all kinds; and the large-scale reurbanisation (the quality criteria are still arguable) of public spaces (streets, squares, avenues) etc., etc. In fact, these things represent the configuration of an articulated, equipped urban space of reasonable urban quality, which extends over almost the whole of the township 's urban continuum. However, this significant transformation of the city has not aroused among its citizens, the mass media or professionals (architects and town planners) the response it deserves even despite its occasional drawbacks. We believe, and this is the main thesis of the article and the book, that its very nature - peripheral, dispersed and sprawling, extremely democratic in fact -, is what is responsible for dulling media interest. An interest which other cities have enjoyed as a result of much less important but much more concentrated, visible and spectacular undertakings. We present here a graphic selection of some of the most important sectorial transformations for the city as a whole along with some synthetic examples of the scope of the changes in certain peripheral areas of the city