One of the biggest problems facing large cities today is that their populations continue to grow. However, the current supply of housing is not sufficient to cover the annual flow of new citizens arriving, as is the case in Madrid. As Jorge Ginés, general director of Asprima, explained during the Open Cities Madrid event, it is necessary to launch more new work: “If there is no new housing, we are not attracting talent to the capital, nor are we growing.”
Madrid Open Cities Event
Concretely, according to the INE, an increase in the population of 70,000 people per year was expected in Madrid, however, this organization again modified its forecasts, which became 120,000 people.
Likewise, according to the latest data from the INE, at the current rate of construction, an average of 40,000 new homes per yearcompared to around 15,000 to 17,000 housing units completed on average in recent years.
There is no response in terms of housing to sufficiently increase the supply, due to the increasing number of inhabitants in the city of Madrid. It is for this reason that Open Cities Madrid emphasizes that it is essential to public-private collaborationin addition to the administrations ensuring legal certainty.
Legal security
Madrid is an ideal city to build new housing, because companies that invest in this type of development benefit from great legal security. As was assured Jose Maria Ortega Anton, General coordinator of the Municipal Directorate of Urban planning from Madrid City Hall, at the Open Cities event in Madrid: “We have legal security and taxation that enhances our city”
Madrid competes with Europe
The city of Madrid is becoming more and more international, which is why it has stopped competing with other cities in Spain and its urban planning is starting to be compared to that of other capitals of the world.
“We are no longer in competition with Malaga or Barcelonabut We are in competition with Europe. More precisely, the city of Madrid has experienced higher GDP growth than its competitors, because in the future it will only be behind London,” said Jorge Ginés.
However, we must not forget the synergies with other Spanish cities. “We are getting closer to Malaga every day, many companies that come to Madrid then go to Malaga for the cost of living and for the quality of life. Just like the city of Barcelona “He’s a friend, not a competitor,” Ginés defended.
Other cities in Madrid have also experienced strong growth at the industrial level. “Alcobendas It is already the second city in Madrid with the largest network of companies and it already surpasses Barcelona in terms of the number of companies it houses,” explained Ginés.
