Sprawl in Spain and Madrid: A Low Starting Point Growing Fast

This article comments upon the situation of sprawl in Spain and Madrid, especially residential sprawl. It does not appear to be a serious problem due to its low starting point, but artificial surface and residential sprawl is growing rapidly. For that reason, it may be an issue in the future. Between 2000 and 2006, urban residential land use grew 0.4% in Spain and 0.2% in Europe per year, land use of industrial and commercial areas grew 2.3% in Spain and 0.4% in Europe and total artificial surface grew 2.7% in Spain and 0.6% in Europe (EEA, 2010). Further, we will study the legislation on maximum and minimum urban density in Spain. The highest maximum urban density is established by the Basque Country, with 230 dwellings per hectare, and the highest minimum urban density is established by Catalonia, with 50 dwellings per hectare. In both cases, it is applied to only certain types of territories. Finally, we will analyse what happens in the Region of Madrid in relation to sprawl. It has very similar patterns compared with the rest of Spain, although more pronounced.