Case Studies > Madrid - Villaverde and Usera districts

The municipality of Villaverde was annexed to the city of Madrid in 1954. From then, it was configured as an urban periphery that grew with the arrival of the rural population seeking employment in the industry. Today the old municipality is administratively divided into two contiguous districts: Villaverde and Usera.

• The Villaverde district is a still disjointed space with several elements: the old historical population center, residential spaces for workers’ housing, large industrial facilities and old abandoned military barracks. In recent years, an attempt has been made to promote urban regeneration processes based on an ambitious cultural project, the recovery of an old factory (la n@ve) and in relation to the pressures of an active neighborhood associative network. However, the neighborhood’s social problems persist and the institutional strategy of patrimonial valuation (top down) seems to have had little impact on the community of residents.
• The Usera district is configured as a basically working-class residential space, on the urban edge, closer to the center of the city of Madrid and in an accelerated process of social change caused by the settlement of a community of Chinese immigrants. It is the china town of Madrid. The arrival of immigrants has modified the urban landscape and introduces new rhythms in daily customs and the social use of public space.

Villaverde and Usera allow us to analyze:

• The impact of public urban regeneration initiatives.
• The social changes linked to the processes of heritage appropriation in which culturally heterogeneous social groups participate.
• The social participation through the role of the neighbors and the activities of the citizen associations.
• The ability of this processes to contribute to an effective activation of economic activity of local businesses.
• In Usera also the tourist projection of the neighborhoods encouraged by the City Council and the associations of Chinese merchants.

Villaverde, Street art © María García Hernández

Villaverde, La N@ve. Innovation Center. Former Boeticher-Navarro factory © María García Hernández

Usera, Subway station © María García Hernández

 Usera, Commercial signs © María García Hernández

Cinema Usera. Participatory project in a neighborhood park © María García Hernández