ASSIGMENT 2 Francisco de Ass Fernndez-Riestra

ASSIGMENT 5_ Changes in the early XX century in Madrid.

Theories and projects

In this assignment it will be written about the mother theories of

what could have been and early modern city of Madrid and turned to

be theories for the future. Was Madrid actually ready for such a huge

change at the time? Lets try to answer this question in a correct

order.

The current situation at 1900:

The alarming growth of the Madrid suburbs (districts located beyond

the Ensanche of Castro) warned of the need for their management,

before the consolidation of these suburbs could cause problems in the

future growth of the city and its communications, both internal and

with the outside.

Ensanche of Castro did not meet its expectations since the high

level of social and economic segregation in the same housing

prevented most of the immigration Madrid received at the time.

These new citizens found their place in the suburbs that grew

impetuously, largely uncontrolled and consolidating plots, rather

rural, very remote from the Ensanche or the "modern" city that

should have been defining.

Why this unbearable and chaotic growth? We shouldnt forget that

Madrid itself is located in a very poor area, the center of Spain which

is rather arid in summer and doesnt provide well enough the food

and needs of a huge population. If we add this, the luck of food and

comfort, to the great immigration of people all around the center of

Spain to the city with hope and willing to find jobs and a good work

lifewe can understand the situation of a huge area surrounding

Madrid with poor little houses and a massive amount of population

living in bad conditions.

And although Ensanche of Castro was not completed, there was the

need to create a new "extension" to order these spaces

spontaneously generated. Since 1876 they had already studied

different proposals, but the most important of them all would be

raised in 1910 by the military engineer Pedro Nuez Grans (1859-

1944), which was a municipal technician then.

In 1911, the Madrid city council approved the development of the

Outskirts project written by Nuez Grans. It proposed to raise new

ASSIGMENT 2 Francisco de Ass Fernndez-Riestra

large perimeter roads of high rigidity, superimposed on the existing

neighborhoods at the same time defined urban crowns, crossed by

transverse tracks oriented in different ways to adapt and drew large

apples. Some of these apples were already infilled by existing

suburbs. Dimensions, zoning strategies, calls to hygiene and

sanitation or the reservation of parkland, are some of the strategic

actions that were currently on use in Europe in order to build the citys

of the future.

The Plan had many critics who labeled him as too megalomaniac,

technological and Cartesian. But his biggest problem was dealing with

the great consolidation that had experienced the suburbs in those

years. These slums were so seated that was totally impossible for

Grans Nuez to make his radical intervention (which would have

meant many takedowns).

Another major problem was that to maintain the consistency of its

approach and maintain the continuity of the main routes planned, the

Plan jumped the administrative boundaries of the city of Madrid to

"order" territories of neighboring municipalities. This handicap drew

attention to the need to study metropolitan areas exceeding arbitrary

municipal boundaries. A territorial conception was born.

Finally, the Plan remained a utopia.