Din��micas de ocupaci��n urbana del Anillo Verde metropolitano, desde sus or��genes en el Plan General del ��rea Metropolitana de Madrid de 1963 hasta el Plan General de Ordenaci��n Urbana de 1997

El Anillo Verde metropolitano, definido por el Plan General de Ordenaci��n Urbana del ��rea Metropolitana de Madrid en 1963 siguiendo los modelos planteados por la cultura urban��stica internacional, como armadura de la estructura urbana del AMM, espacio protagonista dentro del sistema de espacios libres, lugar de uso p��blico destinado al recreo y contacto con la naturaleza de la poblaci��n madrile��a, se convierte en realidad en una reserva de suelo que va entrando en juego motivado por las alianzas entre el poder institucional y la clase social dominante actuando al margen del planeamiento, poniendo en evidencia la escasez de recursos legales y culturales disponibles para la salvaguarda de los intereses comunes y, donde los condicionantes geogr��ficos y naturales del territorio madrile��o han influido decisivamente en la especializaci��n funcional y espacial del ��rea Metropolitana de Madrid. As�� pues considerando esta idea como HIP��TESIS, el objetivo de la TESIS ser��a demostrarla, para lo cual se hace necesario primero, acotar espacial y temporalmente el objeto de estudio, es decir, del Anillo Verde metropolitano1, segundo, contextualizar hist��rica y disciplinarmente los presupuestos te��ricos que conformaban la idea del Anillo Verde, tercero, reconocer, localizar y documentar las piezas que han ido materializando la ocupaci��n urbana del Anillo Verde, clasific��ndolas seg��n par��metros temporales, funcionales, urban��sticos y, formales, lo que permite analizar la geograf��a, uso, instrumentaci��n y forma de su transformaci��n a escala general metropolitana y, cuarto, profundizar a modo de comprobaci��n a escala municipal y urbana en dos escenarios representativos del conjunto metropolitano: el municipio de Pozuelo de Alarc��n y el distrito de Hortaleza-Barajas. El contenido del documento se divide en tres bloques, el bloque I, se centra en las bases te��ricas, el bloque II sit��a el hilo argumental de la tesis a escala metropolitana y el bloque III comprueba el fen��meno a escala municipal y urbana. De esta forma, se comienza por la comprensi��n del significado del concepto del Anillo Verde, que va m��s all�� de la dimensi��n instrumental asignada de l��mite y contenci��n urbana frente al crecimiento de la ciudad industrial de principios del siglo XX, basada en la descentralizaci��n de la ciudad tradicional, para adquirir un significado m��s complejo, como gran espacio de reserva y salvaguarda de valores naturales y culturales que se expresaban en su territorio y que permitir��an alcanzar el equilibrio entre la ciudad y sus habitantes, es decir, entre el hombre y el espacio que habita. Se hace un recorrido por las principales corrientes urban��sticas que se van nutriendo de distintas disciplinas (econom��a, sociolog��a, geograf��a, biolog��a, ecolog��a) para plantear teor��as que permitieran materializar un nuevo orden urbano seg��n principios de equidad social, econ��mica y ambiental, en una secuencia donde Europa y Estados Unidos realizaban un constante intercambio -el movimiento de la Ciudad Jard��n o el Regionalismo, que dieron paso a propuestas como el Greater London o el Gran Berl��n, donde la figura del Anillo Verde ten��a un papel protagonista, y del que tambi��n participar��a nuestro pa��s y la ciudad de Madrid, con modelos regionales como el Plan Besteiro y urbanos como el Plan Bidagor, antecedentes directos del Plan General de Ordenaci��n Urbana del ��rea Metropolitana de Madrid de 1963 que pone en marcha la ordenaci��n del crecimiento metropolitano de Madrid. El hilo argumental de la tesis se organiza en una doble aproximaci��n: un acercamiento a escala metropolitana a partir del reconocimiento del modelo de ciudad definido en los distintos planes generales que acompa��aron el desarrollo metropolitano (municipio de Madrid y de los siete t��rminos municipales que rodeaban a este y que ten��an suelo destinado a Anillo Verde), haciendo referencia adem��s a las relaciones con el planeamiento regional, concretando en una escala de aproximaci��n municipal que avanza hasta la interpretaci��n urbana detallada. El primer acercamiento tiene lugar en el bloque II y se organiza en tres cap��tulos. El cap��tulo 4 se dedica al punto obligado de partida de la geograf��a local, describiendo las caracter��sticas biof��sicas de los terrenos que formaban parte del Anillo Verde, que han marcado hist��ricamente la forma de aprovechamiento del territorio, desde las extensiones de bosques mediterr��neos al norte y al oeste continuaci��n del Monte del Pardo, a los distintos tipos de cultivo que se adaptaban al sustrato geol��gico y la forma del terreno (de las suaves ondulaciones de sedimentos arc��sicos al norte a las extensas plataformas arenosas y yes��feras del sur), adem��s de las zonas de huertos aprovechando las depresiones y los cursos de agua (arroyo del Monte Carmelo, arroyo de Valdebebas, arroyo del Quinto, arroyo del Santo, arroyo Butarque, arroyo Meaques y arroyo Pozuelo). Una vez reconocida la realidad f��sica, el cap��tulo 5, avanza en la descripci��n de los distintos modelos de ciudad propuestos desde el planeamiento urban��stico, en sus distintas escalas, la regional y la municipal, como respuesta a la coyuntura social, econ��mica y pol��tica que ha caracterizado el proceso de ocupaci��n del Anillo Verde al comp��s de la construcci��n del AMM. Se han reunido las propuestas de planeamiento municipal de los distintos municipios que dispon��an de terreno calificado como Anillo Verde: Madrid, Coslada, Getafe, Legan��s, Alcorc��n, Boadilla del Monte y Pozuelo de Alarc��n. Adem��s se han incorporado las distintas propuestas de ordenaci��n territorial que han servido de referencia al planeamiento municipal, en todas sus versiones, desde las sectoriales, de mayor ��xito y apoyo institucional, a los distintos intentos de ordenaci��n integral, de mayor complejidad pero de menor calado, precisamente por la dificultad de consenso entre la ordenaci��n f��sica y el desarrollo econ��mico, entre los intereses privados y el beneficio p��blico. El primer horizonte, comienza con la formulaci��n del Plan General de Ordenaci��n Urbana del ��rea Metropolitana de Madrid de 1963, su desarrollo y la puesta en marcha de los primeros planes municipales en la d��cada de los a��os setenta, donde se comprueba la necesidad de un marco regional que ���ordene��� el territorio de forma integral y sirva de referencia a las actuaciones sectoriales que hab��an marcado el primer desarrollo metropolitano. El segundo, se sit��a dos d��cadas m��s tarde con la aprobaci��n del Plan General de Ordenaci��n Urbana de Madrid de 1985 y el conjunto de planes municipales de los t��rminos lim��trofes, que siguen su filosof��a de austeridad en cuanto a crecimiento territorial. El tercero se inicia en 1997 con la siguiente generaci��n de planes de corte neoliberal que imponen un modelo territorial basado en las grandes operaciones metropolitanas de centralidad, infraestructuras y equipamiento, que consumen de forma indiscriminada la totalidad del territorio madrile��o. Ser�� en el ��ltimo cap��tulo del segundo bloque (cap��tulo 6) donde se represente gr��ficamente a escala metropolitana y se analicen las 229 piezas que han ido colmatando el espacio destinado a Anillo Verde, seg��n los par��metros de estudio, en base a las cuales se plantean las primeras conclusiones generales de la tesis, poniendo de manifiesto que las alianzas entre los agentes soberanos en la construcci��n de la ciudad y su entorno han trasgredido sucesivamente las determinaciones del Planeamiento en su definici��n de modelo de ciudad y territorio, acusando la carencia de recursos instrumentales y jur��dicos que alentaron el proceso de su desmantelamiento, y revelando la influencia de los condicionantes geogr��ficos y naturales en la especializaci��n funcional y segregaci��n social en el conjunto del ��rea Metropolitana de Madrid. Se remata el discurso metropolitano con una bater��a de conclusiones que interpretan el fen��meno de ocupaci��n del anillo de verdor metropolitano confirmando las hip��tesis iniciales, reconociendo los valores medioambientales y culturales trasgredidos, sus diversos actores, las numerosas operaciones urban��sticas desarrolladas con distintos usos y envergadura, as�� como los instrumentos de planeamiento utilizados, en base a las cuales se materializa la construcci��n del AMM seg��n un modelo extendido (spread), dibujando una mancha de aceite (o grase-spots seg��n Geddes) que precisamente hab��a querido evitarse desde el planeamiento urban��stico con la definici��n de un Anillo Verde, espacio inmune a la edificaci��n, que se aleja de su papel estructurante (equilibrador entre la ciudad y sus habitantes) para convertirse en armadura de la estructura comunicativa, que una vez consolidada se convierte en la mejor aliada de la m��quina inmobiliaria. El ��ltimo paso, se desarrolla en el bloque III que se divide en los cap��tulo 7,8 y 9 y supone la comprobaci��n de lo descrito en el conjunto de escala metropolitana, en dos aspectos fundamentales, la falta de consideraci��n por los valores culturales y medioambientales que han modelado el territorio, imprimi��ndole un car��cter singular y espec��fico y, la estructura del dominio del suelo, donde se reconoce de forma precisa el grupo social y los agentes encargados en cada momento de comercializar los suelos del anillo, que bajo el paraguas de la urgencia social y el enga��oso beneficio popular, obtienen importantes beneficios econ��micos. Con esa intenci��n, se da un salto hacia la escala municipal y urbana, seleccionando dos escenarios de estudio, el municipio de Pozuelo de Alarc��n, que representa la materializaci��n del crecimiento suburbano de la ��lite madrile��a ocupando las zonas de mayor valor ecol��gico del anillo, y el distrito de Hortaleza-Barajas que ofrece su territorio a las grandes operaciones metropolitanas, apoy��ndose en el eje de actividad marcado por la conexi��n Madrid-Barcelona y el sistema aeroportuario de escala global, ambos situados al norte de la l��nea de borde entre la Sierra y la Mancha, ocupando por tanto los lugares m��s valiosos de la geograf��a madrile��a (estructura funcional anticipada por Bidagor en 1946 en su modelo de ciudad adaptada al territorio madrile��o) Una vez descrito este proceso trasgresor de l��mites, de normas, de conductas, y desde una perspectiva del fen��meno suficientemente documentada, en el cap��tulo 10, se realiza una reflexi��n sobre la incidencia real de la propuesta urban��stica del Anillo Verde en la construcci��n del AMM, de la misma forma que se sugieren nuevos roles al planeamiento en un formato intencionado de largo recorrido en oposici��n a lo inmediato y circunstancial, que permita hacer una nueva lectura de los presupuestos te��ricos que conformaban la idea del Anillo Verde, espacio articulador (medioambiental, social y cultural) del territorio madrile��o. ABSTRACT The Metropolitan Greenbelt was defined by the 1963 Master Plan for the Madrid Metropolitan Area (MMA), following established international models of urban development, as the structural framework of the MMA, the principal open space within its network of open spaces and a public area of recreation and contact with nature for the residents of Madrid. In reality, however, it ha become a reserve of land in which various alliances between the institutional authorities and the dominant social class have been operating on the margin of the original plan, exposing a scarcity of legal and cultural resources for the safeguarding of common interests, and in which the geographical and natural characteristics of the territory itself have come to play an influential role in the functional specialization and spatial segregation of the MMA. With that idea as its HYPOTHESIS, the aim of this THESIS is to demonstrate its reality. The first step in this is to delineate, temporally and spatially, the object of study; i.e. the Metropolitan Greenbelt2. The second is to contextualize historically and disciplinarily those theoretical ideas which conform to the greenbelt concept. The third is to acknowledge, locate and document the elements which have characterized the urban occupation of the Greenbelt and classify these according to the parameters of time, function, urban development and form, which in turn would enable the geography, use, instrumentation and form of its transformation to be analysed on a general metropolitan scale. The fourth step, as a method of verification, is an in-depth analysis of two representative settings within the metropolitan network: the municipality of Pozuelo de Alarc��n and the Hortaleza-Barajas district. The content of the document is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on the study���s theoretical foundations, Part II establishes a line of argument at the metropolitan level and Part III examines the phenomenon from a municipal and urban perspective. The thesis, then, begins with a study of the greenbelt concept itself and its meaning, which is far more complex than the accepted instrumental dimension of limiting and containing urbanization in response to the growth of the industrial city of the early 20th century, and which is based on a decentralization of the traditional city. This wider purpose is the setting aside of a large reserved space to safeguard the natural and cultural values of the region and thereby achieve a balance between the city and its residents; that is to say, between man and the space he inhabits. The principal currents of thought in urban planning will then be examined. These have drawn upon a variety of disciplines (economics, sociology, geography, biology, ecology) to develop theories for establishing a new urban order according to the principles of social, economic and environmental equity, and have involved a constant interchange between Europe and the United States. Thus, the City Garden and Regionalist movements would clear the way for proposals such as Greater London and Great Berlin, Chicago and Washington, in which the greenbelt would play a fundamental role. The participation of our own country and the city of Madrid is also discussed, through regional models such as the Besteiro Plan and urban ones like the Bidagor Plan, direct forerunners of 1963���s General Organizational Plan for the Madrid Metropolitan Area, which would set into motion the organization of Madrid���s metropolitan growth. The line of argument followed in this thesis is two-fold: first, an examination of metropolitan development in keeping with the city model as defined in the various General Plans for the development of both the municipality of Madrid and the seven surrounding municipalities which have land designated for its Greenbelt; and second, an examination of this growth in relation to Regional Planning measures, is detailed on a smaller scale (municipal and district), where the conditioning factors affecting the land property structure and the network of biophysical units may be analysed in depth. The first of these is dealt with in Part II and organized into three chapters (4, 5 and 6). Chapter 4 is dedicated to the obligatory starting point of the geographical setting itself. The biophysical characteristics of the territories set aside for the Greenbelt, and which historically have played a role in the area���s exploitation, are described here. These range from expanses of Mediterranean woodland to the north and west of Monte del Pardo to the various types of farmland that have been adapted to the geological substratum and the contours of the terrain (gentle undulations of arkosic sediment in the north, and wide sandy and gypsiferous tableland in the south), as well as orchards planted in low valleys and along watercourses (the creeks of Monte Carmelo, Valdebebas, Quinto, Santo, Butarque, Meaques and Pozuelo). Once this physical reality ha been detailed, in Chapter 5 will examine the various city models proposed by urban planners, both regionally and municipally, in response to the confluence of social, economic and political interests that have characterized the process of occupation in the Greenbelt area during the construction of the MMA. Municipal planning proposals will be collected and examined for the various municipalities which have land designated for the Greenbelt: Madrid, Coslada, Getafe, Legan��s, Alcorc��n, Boadilla del Monte and Pozuelo de Alarc��n. Furthermore, the various territorial organization proposals which have served as references for municipal planning will also be addressed here, in all of their versions ���from the sectorial, which have met with more success and institutional approval, to the many attempts at integration, which have been more complex but less influential, precisely for the difficulty of reconciling physical organization with economic development, and private interest with public benefit. The first period in this process was the development of the General Plan of 1963, followed by the first municipal development plans of the 1970s, in which the need for a regional framework that ���organized��� the territory in an integral fashion was defined. This would serve as a reference for the sectorial actions that marked the metropolitan area���s initial development. The second came two decades later with the approval of the General Plan of 1985, and the network of municipal plans for the surrounding communities, which followed the same philosophy of austerity with regard to territorial growth. The third would begin to take form in 1997, as a new generation of neo-liberal development plans imposed a territorial model based on centralized large-scale metropolitan operations of infrastructure and equipment, which would indiscriminately consume the totality of Madrid���s land. At the end of the Part II, in Chapter 6, the metropolitan area will be represented graphically and the 229 pieces that have been gradually encroaching upon land designated for the Greenbelt will be analysed. This analysis will be carried out according to the parameters defined for the study, and the first general conclusions of the thesis will be based on its findings. It will show how alliances between the various governing authorities in the construction of the city and its environment have successively violated established plans with regard to the definitions of city and territory, how shortages of instrumental and judicial resources have accentuated the dismantling process, and how natural and geographical factors have influenced functional specialization and social segregation in the Madrid Metropolitan Area. The final step, detailed in Part III, will address two fundamental aspects of what has just been described: the lack of consideration for the cultural and environmental values which have shaped this territory and imprinted upon it a specific and unique character; and the structure of land domination, with a precise identification of the social group and agents responsible at each stage of the Greenbelt���s commercialization, who, under an umbrella of social urgency and deceptive public benefit, have used it to obtain substantial financial rewards. For this purpose, a closer look is taken at two specific areas: the municipality of Pozuelo de Alarc��n, representative of the suburban growth of an elite population which has occupied the Greenbelt areas of the greatest ecological value; and the Hortaleza-Barajas district, which has offered its territory to large metropolitan business interests, based on activities centred on the connection between Madrid and Barcelona and the system of international air travel. Both of these settings are located to the north of the line which divides the Sierra from La Mancha, and thus occupy the most valuable land in the Madrid region (a functional structure anticipated by Bidagor in 1946, with his city model adapted to the territory of Madrid). Finally, an attempt will be made to interpret the phenomenon of metropolitan Greenbelt occupation, confirming initial hypotheses, specifying the environmental and cultural values that have been violated, and identifying the various players involved, as well as numerous urbanization operations of varying sizes and interests, and the instruments of planning they have used. It will be seen from this that the construction of the MMA has in fact followed a ���spread��� model, a ���grease spot��� (as Geddes calls it) which, from the outset of the planning process and according to the definition of a greenbelt as a construction-free zone, was precisely to be avoided. This structural role (to provide a balance between a city and its residents) has thus been abandoned and the Greenbelt converted instead into a communicative framework which, once consolidated, has become the greatest ally of the real estate machine. After this process of violating limits, norms and established behaviour has been described and solidly documented, a reflection will be made on the real influence of the Greenbelt proposal in the construction of the MMA. At the same time, new roles will be suggested for future planning, roles which are deliberate and long term, in opposition to the immediate and circumstantial. This will enable a new interpretation of the theoretical principles behind the greenbelt concept, a space designed to connect the territory of Madrid environmentally, socially and culturally.

Spaces of the Past, Histories of the Present: An Interview with Stuart Elden and Derek Gregory

The ontologies of space and territory, our experience of them and the techniques we use to govern them, the very conception of the socio-spatial formations that we inhabit, are all historically specific: they depend on a genealogy of practices, knowledges, discourses, regulations, performances and representations articulated in a way that is extremely complex yet nevertheless legible over time. In this interview we look at the logic and the patterns that intertwine space and time ��� both as objects and tools of inquiry ��� though a cross-disciplinary dialogue. The discussion with Stuart Elden and Derek Gregory covers the place of history in socio-spatial theory and in their own work, old and new ways of thinking about the intersection between history and territory, space and time, the implications of geography and history for thinking about contemporary politics, and the challenges now faced by critical thought and academic work in the current neo-liberal attack on public universities and the welfare state