Madrid Crece. Estrategia Urbana 360
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Whether you are a citizen interested in new urban districts or a real estate professional, you will find the most relevant insights for your profile here

1. WHAT ARE MADRID'S 'MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS'?

These are areas planned to create new neighbourhoods with housing, green spaces, schools, public transport and facilities. They form part of the urban development framework established by Madrid’s General Urban Development Plan (PGOUM‑97).

Development takes place in phases. As explained on this website, the process begins with detailed planning of each area, followed by the creation of plots according to that design, execution of urbanisation works (streets, drainage, electricity, etc.), and finally the start of housing developments. These phases take years, depending on the size of the area, the complexity of the legal and technical processes required, and the actors involved.

Yes, all developments must reserve a percentage of land for subsidised housing, as well as plots for public facilities.

Some developments border Sector 2 of Cañada Real, where there are buildings incompatible with urban planning regulations.

It is an association formed by the landowners within a sector that is responsible for managing and carrying out the urban development. Its main functions are to finance the urbanization works, distribute the benefits and costs fairly among all owners, and transfer to the City Council the land designated for public facilities (schools, health centers, green areas, etc.). Once the works are completed and accepted by the City Council, the Board is dissolved.

Approximately 30% to 40% of the residential buildable area in these developments is allocated to protected (affordable) housing. This includes publicly protected housing with capped prices (VPPL) and basic public housing or housing for rent with an option to buy (VPPB). The remainder is allocated to free-market housing, as well as industrial, tertiary, and public facility uses.

The projects are organized into successive phases of urban development to enable orderly and gradual growth. The completion timelines for each phase depend on multiple factors: the pace of urbanization works, the availability of financing, real estate market demand, and the granting of building permits. The City Council oversees compliance with the commitments undertaken by the Compensation Boards to ensure the progress of the development

1. What urban‑planning framework governs these developments?

Each area is managed according to Title III of Law 9/2001 on Land of the Community of Madrid and the PGOUM‑97. You can check its status and details at:

https://servpub.madrid.es/IDEAM_WBGEOPORTAL/visor_din.iam?clave=VSURB

The system is compensation‑based, managed by the Compensation Board, which brings together property owners and coordinates urbanisation and land transfers.

The Reparcelling Project assesses incompatible structures according to Royal Decree 3288/1978 and the Valuation Regulations of the Land Law. Only legal or legalisable constructions are compensated; illegal ones are considered non‑compensable.

In the Urban Planning Regulations of the Partial Plan and in the PGOUM‑97 Urban Regulations (Titles 6 and 7). These include parameters such as buildability, maximum height, setbacks, green factor, facilities and permitted uses.

These developments are carried out in accordance with the 1997 Madrid General Urban Development Plan. Following several court rulings, in 2013 a Partial Revision of the 1985 Plan and an amendment to the 1997 Plan were approved, establishing the detailed planning framework for Valdecarros, Los Ahijones, Los Cerros, and Los Berrocales. El Cañaveral is governed by its own Partial Plan approved earlier.

The number of dwellings in each area is an estimate calculated by taking into account the total floor area of plots designated for residential use, including both single-family and multi-family housing, whether market-rate or subsidised (affordable), together with the average floor area of a dwelling of each housing typology.

As a general rule, an average dwelling size of 100 m² has been assumed for multi-family housing and 150 m² for single-family housing.

Exceptionally, in the Solana de Valdebebas neighbourhood, the following average dwelling sizes have been assumed:

  • 180 m² for market-rate multi-family housing,
  • 100 m² for subsidised (affordable) multi-family housing, and
  • 200 m² for market-rate single-family housing.

For each planning phase, the most significant milestones have been identified and weighted according to their importance. Depending on whether each milestone has been achieved and its relative significance, an estimated percentage of completion is calculated.

The weighting assigned to each phase is as follows:

Planning

No weighting has been assigned to the individual milestones, as all of the neighbourhoods shown have reached 100% completion of this phase.

Land Management

  • Formalisation of the development initiative: 3%
  • Articles of Association and Operating Rules: Final approval: 7%
  • Establishment of the Compensation Board: Municipal approval: 5%
  • Expropriation of non-participating landowners: 15%
  • Land readjustment: Submission for public consultation: 40%
  • Land readjustment: Final approval of the Land Readjustment Project: 20%
  • Land readjustment: Registration with the Land Registry: 10%

Urbanisation

  • Urbanisation Project: Final approval: 10%
  • Commencement of urbanisation works: 5%
  • Simultaneous processing with Building Permits: 10%
  • Partial acceptance of the urbanisation works: 60%
  • Final acceptance of the urbanisation works: 15%

Building Development

  • Building permit application submitted: 5%
  • Building permit granted: 5%
  • First Occupancy Permit granted: 90%

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