Intervention in public spaces as a strategy for spatial development. The Madrid experience in spanish context

Abstract

Since the 1980s, public polices of support and investment in public spaces, as well as strategic interventions with all sort of scale raised Spain into a prominent place concerning the specialized debate between improvement of public spaces and urban development, spreading an image of several Spanish cities connected with its public spaces and propagating the idea of a Spanish livability, with intensive use of public space, dynamic city centers, and a wide range of touristic attractions and outdoor activities. Taking Madrid as a case study, the paper presents how this system of public spaces affects local spatial development and social dynamics, and how these areas perform a system that support cultural facilities, enhance the historical heritage, organize the mobility and encourage the development of economic activities in a strategy of spatial organization that improves the city for both tourists and inhabitants.