Cañada Real, Madrid

The biggest informal settlement of Western Europe is the Cañada Real Galiana, about 15 km from the centre of Madrid. It counts 40.000 inhabitants. The settlement was established during the end of the Franco-regime, as many native rural immigrants, as well as immigrants from Northern Africa came to Madrid to work. As European borders opened, immigrants from Eastern Europe came to this area as well, most of them unemployed and with little outlook for employment in the formal sector. Additionally a number of illegal activities, such as drug-trade take place in the Cañada, leading to a growing number of drug users to visit the settlement.

The houses are illegally constructed along a road, leading to a linear morphology of the settlement. There is a lack of services, some of the houses are unserviced by the electricity company, and there are no public facilities such as public transport. The situation with the authorities is tense, as well as the situation among different groups in the Cañada. In 2007 there were major riots after, reportedly unanounced, evictions of illegally constructed houses and shacks.

Recently there has been a growing interest in this area. Le Fresnoy student Edgar Pedroza recently made a film about the Cañada, and Spanish architect Andres Jaque proposed a strategy to improve the conditions in the area.


Some links on the Cañada Real:
Abitare
Design proposal by Andres Jaque
Cañada Real Analysis
El País News Article
El País Article about Cañada
France 24 Documentary
Netwerk News Report (Dutch)


Cañada Real Galiana weergeven op een grotere kaart