Perceptive approaches to the morphological characterization of the urban contour: The case of the peri-urban landscape of Madrid

[EN] A growing city adapts and transforms the pre-existing topography, and with its urban fabric defines an ever-changing contour throughout history; this contour is not a clear line, but rather a fringe, where city and countryside meet and create occupancy systems that are crucial to comprehend the evolution of the urban form. We can consider this fringe as ‘proximity’ landscapes: landscapes that are perceived when the city is either a destination or a point of departure. The vision from afar, or when progressively approaching the city, provides both locals and tourists with certain landscape and architectural aspects that should be studied, preserved and valued for their ability to generate meaningful spaces. In this communication we study the surrounding landscapes of Madrid by means of a Landscape Character Assessment, within the framework of the project ‘Proximity landscapes of the city of Madrid. From the 19thC to the present’ currently in process. Combining graphic analysis of historical cartography at a metropolitan scale with perceptive analysis techniques, special attention is drawn to certain axes and significant lookouts of the city, mapping them and evaluating their visual basins. This characterization leads to distinguishing three main landscape types surrounding Madrid, according to physical, natural and anthropogenic structures: one predominantly natural, one mainly industrial and service-related, and a third one with special historical relevance.This research has been developed in the framework of the State Plan Project of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (HAR2014-57843-R), entitled “Proximity Landscapes of the City of Madrid. From the 19th Century to the present”. We thank the General Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation for the funding of this project. Likewise, we thank the Spanish Ministry of Education for the pre-doctoral scholarship (FPU14/05524) granted to co-author Carlota Sáenz de Tejada Granados in its FPU Program. Lastly, we thank San Pablo-CEU University Foundation for the pre-doctoral scholarship granted to co-author Rocío Santo-Tomás Muro in its FPI Program.Rodríguez Romero, E.; Sáenz De Tejada Granados, C.; Santo-Tomás Muro, R. (2018). Perceptive approaches to the morphological characterization of the urban contour: The case of the peri-urban landscape of Madrid. En 24th ISUF International Conference. Book of Papers. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1349-1358. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISUF2017.2017.5345OCS1349135

The role of historical green spaces in the identity and image of today’s cities: The case of Madrid

[EN] The image that a city offers when approaching it, depending on its topographical situation, the drawing of its borders or its urban form, generates a perceptive construction, for both locals and tourists, with the potential to become an iconic image and therefore play a part in the collective imagery. The character and value of those landscapes is largely determined by their green spaces, preserved in most European cities for their ecological or historical significance. Being able to recognize the worthiness of these proximity visions, in the context of today’s growing cities, is of fundamental relevance in order to enhance the sense of place, amongst other community values. In this communication we study the above-mentioned aspects in the image of the city of Madrid, within the framework of the project ‘Proximity landscapes of the city of Madrid. From the 19thC to the present’ currently in process. Through a landscape analysis of a selection of iconographic representations of the surroundings of the city, we draw special attention to the presence of historical green spaces throughout time, and its relation with architectural landmarks in the progressive construction of an iconic image of the city. From here, we can deduce the relevance that these elements have in the generation of a recognizable character and the decisive role of protection mechanisms in order to preserve it.This research has been developed in the framework of the State Plan Project of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (HAR2014-57843-R), entitled “Proximity Landscapes of the City of Madrid. From the 19th Century to the present”. We thank the General Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation for the funding of this project. Likewise, we thank the Spanish Ministry of Education for the pre-doctoral scholarship (FPU14/05524) granted to co-author Carlota Sáenz de Tejada Granados in its FPU Program. Lastly, we thank San Pablo-CEU University Foundation for the pre-doctoral scholarship granted to co-author Rocío Santo-Tomás Muro in its FPI Program.Rodríguez Romero, E.; Sáenz De Tejada Granados, C.; Santo-Tomás Muro, R. (2018). The role of historical green spaces in the identity and image of today’s cities: The case of Madrid. En 24th ISUF International Conference. Book of Papers. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1647-1656. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISUF2017.2017.5340OCS1647165

Influence of energy paradigm shifts on city boundaries. The productive peripheries of Madrid

[EN] The promotion or access to certain energy technologies has changed the humanized landscape throughout history; cities have been born around, and because of an energy source, or have been displaced in order for energy-related infrastructures to take their spot. However, and for any city from its very beginning, energy paradigm shifts have deeply altered their morphology. Not only extraction, but especially transformation and transport of resources materializes in artefacts, often controversial and soon-to-be obsolete. This is especially patent in the ever-changing city boundaries; the fringe of ‘proximity’, where the collision between the countryside and the urban mesh embodies the relations and contradictions between urban growth, energy demand and landscape protection. In a context of growing cities (both in terms of expansion of its artificial land and in terms of energy demand), we are facing two paths which not always converge: an inevitable low carbon transition and a growing sensitivity towards ordinary landscapes. This article, within the framework of the project ‘Proximity landscapes of the city of Madrid. From the 19thC to the present’, studies the development of the city of Madrid in relation to its energy access and management, in a series of key stages: mid-19thC (before the bourgeois enlargement plan approved in 1860), early 20thC (when the introduction of electricity powered a deep urban transformation and outlaying urban cores were annexed), mid-late 20thC (when a rural exodus took place and the peripheries of Madrid grew rapidly) and today.This research has been developed in the framework of the State Plan Project of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (HAR2014-57843-R), entitled “Proximity Landscapes of the City of Madrid. From the 19th Century to the present”. We thank the General Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation for the funding of this project. Likewise, we thank the Spanish Ministry of Education for the pre-doctoral scholarship (FPU14/05524) granted to co-author Carlota Sáenz de Tejada Granados in its FPU Program. Lastly, we thank San Pablo-CEU University Foundation for the pre-doctoral scholarship granted to co-author Rocío Santo-Tomás Muro in its FPI Program.Sáenz De Tejada Granados, C.; Rodríguez Romero, E.; Santo-Tomás Muro, R. (2018). Influence of energy paradigm shifts on city boundaries. The productive peripheries of Madrid. En 24th ISUF International Conference. Book of Papers. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 719-128. https://doi.org/10.4995/ISUF2017.2017.5343OCS71912

Carlota Sáenz de Tejada Granados' Quick Files

The Quick Files feature was discontinued and it’s files were migrated into this Project on March 11, 2022. The file URL’s will still resolve properly, and the Quick Files logs are available in the Project’s Recent Activity

Llegando a Madrid. Memoria de una silueta

Se identifican los elementos paisajísticos de la Cornisa de Madrid y su relación con los hitos arquitectónicos que la han completado en un periodo que abarca desde 1920 a 2020. Esta zona comenzó a consolidarse como el “acceso verde” a la capital desde la construcción del Parque del Oeste y la ordenación de la Ciudad Universitaria, para pasar a convertirse en frente de guerra durante la Guerra Civil, ser posteriormente reconstruida como expresión de una España “imperial”, completándose poco después con los nuevos iconos de modernidad visibles desde la lejanía, cambiando su percepción al ceñirse con la M-30, hasta la conformación de un nuevo borde blando con la actuación de Madrid-Río. El paisaje urbano de esta silueta, con su valor histórico y evolutivo, adquiere una indudable dimensión cultural. Se identificarán los puntos de visión actuales y los accesos desde donde es posible leer la historia reciente de esa silueta.The landscape elements of the Cornisa de Madrid and their relationship to the architectural landmarks that have completed it in the period from 1920 to 2020 are identified. It began to consolidate itself as the "green access" to the capital since the construction of the Parque del Oeste and the ordination of the Ciudad Universitaria, to become a war front during the civil war contest, to be later rebuilt as an expression of an imperial Spain, completing itself soon after with the new icons of modernity visible from a distance, changing its perception by sticking with the M-30, until the formation of a new soft edge with the performance of Madrid-Rio. The urban landscape of this silhouette, with its historical and evolutionary value, takes on an undoubted cultural dimension. Current views and accesses from which it is possible to read the recent history of that silhouette will be identified

El paisaje cotidiano: narraciones y cartografías del sur de Madrid

Con el Convenio Europeo del Paisaje (2000) surge una sensibilidad renovada hacia los paisajes cotidianos, así como la necesidad de desarrollar herramientas y material documental sobre cómo las personas captan y participan del paisaje en su día a día. En este sentido, las entrevistas en movimiento, o go-alongs, vienen a aportar nuevas miradas a las que ya, desde la primera mitad del siglo XX, convertían el andar por las periferias y los espacios olvidados o degradados, en un objeto recurrente de estudio, experimentación y reivindicación de lo cotidiano. Se propone aquí una “mirada al sur” de la ciudad de Madrid, focalizando en los paisajes en torno a infraestructuras de transporte y transformación de la electricidad. Al trabajo de campo, basado en la realización de entrevistas en movimiento con habitantes de la zona, se suma el análisis espacial mediante la generación de cartografía analítica específica.With the European Landscape Convention (2000) came a renewed sensitivity towards ordinary landscapes, as well as a growing need to come up with tools and material documentation on how people capture and participate in the landscape on a daily basis. In this sense, go-alongs can provide new visions to those that, since the early 20th century, turned the act of walking through forgotten or degraded spaces in a recurrent object of study, experimentation and vindication of the ordinary. This work tackles on the southern area of Madrid, focusing on those landscapes around infrastructure devoted to transport and transformation of electricity. In addition to the fieldwork, based on go-alongs with locals, a spatial analysis is carried out through the generation of specific analytic cartography