MUNICIPAL DECONCENTRATION IN SPAIN: THE COMPARATIVE CASES OF MADRID AND BARCELONA

Spain's Local Government model has suffered from problems of its own that have been left out of the political debate and also from the scientific and academic ones. The Cities of Madrid and Barcelona have a special status through special laws, and due to their size and importance they have specific problems. Hence the importance of comparing the 2 cities in their inframunicipal organization and how their districts have been established for political representation, citizen participation and public policy. In order to study this phenomenon of administrative organization at the local level in Spain, the two models of deconcentration in their districts are compared and how these are organized according to legal regulations. With the comparison we can see how the latest reforms are only in terms of citizen participation