Umbrales urbanos en Madrid: Paisajes desde la memoria hacia la nueva ciudad

The book Umbrales urbanos en Madrid is the outcome of recent years of work by the research group Patrimonio, Arquitectura y Paisaje (Heritage, Architecture and Landscape), which is based at the Escuela Politécnica Superior of the Universidad San Pablo CEU. It is a compendium of articles which, shaped as chapters, inform us about the history, the present-day condition, the culture or the ecologies of peri-urban areas, as well as of the main access corridors into the city of Madrid. Coordinated by three women academics, the full roster of authors includes diverse profiles, experience from different fields and an international perspective at the close of the volume.

The approach taken in this text is rigorous and much needed at the present moment. Immersed as we are in a climate crisis, and with the city of Madrid on the verge of filling up all its available land, it is particularly important to understand the reality of this city, including its past, in order to plan its future in a virtuous way. In the peripheral space it still retains, the city is staking its morphology in terms of green infrastructure. This space, with current projects such as those of the Bosque Metropolitano (Metropolitan Forest), needs an approach based on knowledge and on multiple perspectives capable of bringing into the actions of current projects the wisdom and memory – and also the critique – of what this periphery can contribute.

The various chapters, organised mainly in historical order – that is, the book begins with the more historically oriented research and ends in the present day, opening up the perspective to other European cities – show us, in a dynamic way, the roots of Madrid’s landscape spaces. I say in a dynamic way because most of the texts are structured around movements along axes, or areas. Also from specific vantage points from which we keep moving, whether with the eye; or in our vehicles or on foot; or over time. That is why this research also possesses kinetic and photographic qualities of interest.

In turn, this research brings to the table of urban debate little-known archival documents that are of particular interest when set against the current situation. On this journey into which the book immerses us, we find some especially interesting themes, such as historical memory and its urban signifiers; productive landscapes and how this peri-urban space offers a high-level area of opportunity for them; invisible ecological networks such as water networks; the social aspects of landscape and of urban fabrics; or perceptual questions of landscape that concern not only sight – we are referring to sound.

For this reason, this book is an important document for researchers in the fields of urban planning, architecture, geography or ecology, yet it is written in a tone that is also accessible to non-specialists, making it a book of interest to the general public as well.