"TECNALIA is part of the multidisciplinary drafting team, bringing our experience in the climate and environmental challenge.
We are working with Madrid City Council to define the urban development of the capital over the coming decades, with a climate, environmental and social vision
Madrid City Council is preparing the Municipal Strategic Plan (PEM), the new urban charter that will define the development of the capital over the coming decades, which will take over from the current General Plan which has been in force since 1997.
The PEM came about as a flexible and adaptable tool to rethink Madrid's urban model in response to the challenges of the future. It also enables scenarios to be anticipated and sectoral policies to be coordinated with a long-term vision.
TECNALIA is part of the multidisciplinary drafting team led by ARUP and SICE, providing our experience in the climate and environmental challenge. Our contribution focuses on three key pillars for the city:
- Energy and decarbonisation of the urban environment.
- Climate change adaptation.
- Air quality and noise.
Two key documents are currently being processed and are available for consultation:
- the Strategic Synthesis Open Draft (BASE), which sets out the basis for building and organising the urban future of the city.
- and the Initial Strategic Document (ISD), which provides the necessary framework for anticipating the analysis of environmental factors and assessing the effects of the new plan on the environment.
The PEM is an innovative urban planning tool aimed at transforming the consolidated sector, integrating climate neutrality as a cross-cutting strategic challenge for the capital. In this context, TECNALIA participated in the definition of the following operational axes, linking the diagnosis with the strategic proposals.
Energy and decarbonisation of the urban environment
The diagnosis identifies the need to move towards a low-emission model to achieve zero pollution by 2050, in line with the European energy efficiency directives (EED and EPBD) and the Community of Madrid’s Roadmap to Climate Neutrality.
In order to implement integrated decarbonisation through the management of the urban energy cycle, the following lines of action have been defined:
- Implementation of energy rehabilitation programmes on a large scale in the building stock to reduce thermal demand.
- Promotion of collective self-consumption and deployment of infrastructures for urban renewable energies.
- Coordinated subsoil planning for geothermal energy use and waste heat recovery from underground infrastructures.
Climate change adaptation and urban resilience
The analysis recognises the vulnerability of Madrid's urban system to extreme weather events, especially the urban heat island phenomenon and surface run-off management. Adaptation is integrated not as a palliative measure, but as a guiding criterion for urban design.
The objective is to increase the adaptive capacity of the territory through the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and integrated climate risk management. To do so, the lines of action defined include:
- Development of a metropolitan green and blue infrastructure, prioritising the renaturalisation of edges and the creation of ecological connectors
- Implementation of soil permeability criteria and optimisation of shade in public spaces for the creation of climatic refuges and the mitigation of heat stress.
Air quality and acoustic comfort
The diagnosis indicates that the persistence of air pollutants (NO₂, PM₁₀, PM₂.₅ and O₃) and heterogeneity in acoustic quality represent critical public health and territorial equity challenges.
In view of this situation, the strategic objective is to reduce the population's exposure to atmospheric pollutants and excessive noise levels, aligning urban interventions with the Madrid 360 Sustainable Mobility Plan.
The priority actions are structured around:
- Air quality: Consolidation of active mobility and electrification of the vehicle fleet to reduce emissions at source.
- Acoustic quality: Application of Strategic Noise Maps for the definition of "Quiet Zones" and the implementation of mitigation measures in areas with high sound pressure, guaranteeing acoustic comfort in new land use conversions.
The integration of these three axes in the Municipal Strategic Plan (PEM) makes it possible to move towards proactive planning that consolidates a resilient, energy-efficient and environmentally healthy urban structure, based on precise monitoring indicators and verifiable decarbonisation targets.
In short, the PEM is a far-reaching and innovative initiative that puts Madrid in a leading position in urban planning. Driven by Madrid City Council, the Plan proposes an advanced way of thinking about the city, which is more flexible, proactive and transversal and capable of integrating climate, environmental, social and economic challenges into a common long-term vision.
TECNALIA puts technological innovation at the service of a new form of adaptive and data-driven urban planning. We bring the latest technological developments to move towards a city model that fosters shared prosperity. Technology with purpose for a more humane and prosperous city.