A MODEST PROPOSAL Seeding an Ecological Legacy in Madrid’s Ghost Cities
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A MODEST PROPOSAL: Seeding an Ecological Legacy in Madrid’s Ghost Cities
Brian Schundler and Brian Traylor
University of Pennsylvania Department of Landscape Architecture La Ciudad Fantasmas: LARP 602 Option Studio Critic: Christopher Marcinkoski Spring 2012 //3
Madrid’s Ghost Cities present a once in a generation opportunity to establish a productive regional asset that is beautiful, vibrant and dynamic. A Modest Proposal transforms these vacant landscapes of economic failure into spaces of ecological opportunity. Each site contains the inherent values of land, water and proximity to Madrid. Reconfiguring these components within a regional forestation strategy seeds an ecological legacy that connects Madrid’s residents to the surrounding landscape, and brings the beauty, productivity and form of the surrounding landscape into Madrid. //5
This is a book for MADRID. It is for it’s youth, it’s political leaders and it’s community organizers. It is for the under-employed and entrepreneurs, banking executives and farmers, educators and ecologists, bikers and hikers, anglers and naturalists. It is a reference. It is a tool. It is a provocation. Above all, it is the beginning of a conversation about how to transform Madrid’s ghost cities and towns into a valued regional asset.
Let’s get started.
RESOURCE ground conditions site analysis design approach
TOOL
pg 11 pg 21
pg 29
Get Started on Page 53
decision framework
pg 54
design typologies
pg 63
summary
pg 114
PROVOCATION future scenarios
pg 119
regional outcomes
pg 129
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ground CONDITIONS
//9
N
GHOST TOWNS EXISTING PARK SPACE CONTIGUOUS URBAN AREAS
“THE COLLAPSE of Spain’s booming housing market has left near-empty or abandoned residential development across the country.
Giant ghost towns like Valdeluz and Sesena have been profiled in the New York Times and the Guardian. But they are just the tip of the iceberg.
Rafael Valderrábano, director of Basico Homes in Madrid, told us “more than ghost towns, the real problem is the large numbers of small ghost villages surrounding big cities.”
-Business Insider, May 27, 2011
UBIQUITY //11
“ON A WEEDY DIRT LOT, lender Bankia is pursuing its answer to a banking and property crisis that has left Spain with a glut of around one million vacant homes. Its approach: Build even more.
The drive to keep building in a housing market drowning in empty properties shows the depth of Spain’s banking crisis.
Including economists
repossessed and
properties,
real-estate
some
consultants
estimate the total could be as high as one million, or even 1.5 million vacant newly built homes.”
-Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2012
VACANCY //13
“MARIA GIL ULLDEMOLINS is a smart, confident young woman. She has one degree from Britain and is about to conclude another in her native Spain.
Before the financial crisis Spanish unemployment was pushed down by credit-fuelled growth and a prolonged construction boom: in 2007 it was just 8%. Today it is 21.2%, and among the young a staggering 46.2%. “I trained for a world that doesn’t exist,” says Ms. Ulldemolins.” -The Economist, September 10, 2011
UNEMPLOYMENT //15
“NEARLY ONE-THIRD of Spain’s roughly 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) faces a “significant risk” of desertification, making it one of Europe’s most affected nations, according to the Spanish environment ministry.
Intensive agriculture, deforestation and a neverending construction boom, with its sprawling urban projects add to desertification in Spain.”
-Terra Daily, September 5, 2007
DESERTIFICATION //17
ecological INVENTORY
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Parque Guadarama
Jaram y Henares
Parque del Sureste
Manzaneres
Vegas
Del rio Guadarama
Regional Assets Communidad de Madrid is surrounded with a rich mosaic of cultivated and uncultivated land-
Parque Guadarama
scapes, ranging from natural grasslands to coniferous forests, from pasture to permanently irrigated land.
Beauty and experience are among the qualitative values inherent in these landscapes, while the employment and ecological processes generated by their development move toward a standard of a more quantitative productive Parque del Sureste
value.
These
landscape
typologies
are
legible
throughout central Spain and will form the palette of our forestation strategy.
PROTECTED AREAS //21
G
+
T
more intensive
less intensive
Permanently Irrigated Land
Annual Crops
Olive Groves
Vineyards
Non-Irrigated Arable Land
Pasture
Significant Natural Space
AGRICULTURE //23
G
+
T
more dense
less dense
Coniferous Forest
Mixed Forest
Deciduous Forest
Chaparral
Transitional Shrub / Woodland
Natural Grasslands
Sparsely Vegetated Area
REGIONAL ECOLOGY //25
defining TERRITORY
//27
Transportation Territories The urban form of the Madrid region is defined by a dense central core, surrounded by concentric ring highways and spoke highways that radiate from Madrid’s center. This transportation infrastructure has fueled Madrid’s urban expansion and directly impacted the current unsustainable land development patterns. Recent private speculative investments in the construction of parallel and redundant spoke highways--Autopistas--within the system have created a unique set of spatial configurations in the areas between the old and new highways. Concentrating regenerative efforts within these specific territories effectively claims a strategic armature to establish an ecological legacy on the metropolitan scale.
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A4-R4 Corridor
A5-R5 Corridor
A4
A5
R4 R5
UNDISTURBED URBAN GHOST TOWNS AGRICULTURE
A2-R2 Corridor
A3-R3 Corridor
R3
R2
A2 A3
CORRIDORS
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P.A.U Site 1
UNDISTURBED URBAN GHOST TOWNS AGRICULTURE
P.A.U Site 2
Territorial Framework Focusing on vacant urban sites within these P.A.U Site 3
territories
and
planned
through
connected Spain’s
developments Programa
de
Actuación Urbanística (PAU’s) begins to form a ring that connects the major existing parks and ecological areas that surround Madrid. These PAU developments include new neighborhoods with the infrastructure and services required to support a substantial population that currently does not exist.
P.A.U.’s
//33
A-1
A-6
R-2 A-2
R-3
A-5
R-5
A-3
R-4
A-4 N
EXISTING NATURAL AREAS GHOST TOWNS PROPOSED TERRITORIAL FRAMEWORK
A MODEST PROPOSAL Communidad Madrid is littered with incomplete and under utilized residential, industrial, and infrastructural construction sites. These sites represent a spatial manifestation of the underlying economic, social, and ecological impacts caused by a generation of speculative investment in development and construction. In order to reverse this trend and create value from this degraded land, we propose a massive forestation strategy that connects the surrounding natural areas and agricultural regions to the heart of Madrid. Our proposal is predicated on the assumption that the scale and ubiquity of these damaged sites requires a solution with minimal investment and new infrastructure. Windfarms, solar fields, algae tanks, and other green tech “magic bullets” rely on the speculative business model that led to the current crisis. More importantly, they require expensive, single use infrastructural investments that will create a new scar on Madrid’s landscape if they are ultimately unsuccessful or financially unsustainable. Conversely, doing nothing with these sites is not an option. The cumulative effects of soil erosion, desertification, and unmanaged storm water runoff from all of these sites will create an ecological dead zone surrounding Madrid. This blighted region will adversely affect the property value of adjacent communities, while severing Madrid’s physical and cultural relationship to the surrounding environment. In addition to the degraded construction sites, the speculation and collapse of the Spanish economy has had severe effects on youth employment rates and urban air quality. Youth unemployment is around 45% and the Madrid region suffers from deteriorating air quality due to a 20% increase in pollution levels over the past 20 years. In order to address these issues, an approach to reconcile these vacant urbanized territories ought to be coupled with an immediate seeding strategy that preferences labor over technology, while promoting a long term investment in creating an ecological legacy. Most importantly, seeding an ecological legacy creates a situation that is resistant to uncertain futures. By establishing an ecological legacy, the vacant territories assume values greater than the existing conditions and hold the capacity to maintain their value in perpetuity.
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PROPOSAL Madrid’s ghost cities present an opportunity to seed a forestation and vegetation strategy on a metropolitan scale. This long term effort will be supplemented by resources generated from the short term repurposing of strategic sites as temporary event space. This phased synergy minimizes investment risk, provides immediate site utilization, and also provides the opportunity for temporary site uses to influence the structure and form of future planting efforts. Deploying this strategy within the context of Madrid’s existing regional ecological and agricultural infrastructure requires minimal additional investment and limited risk; while creating a valuable asset to the city of Madrid, its environment, and its people. ANALYSIS The existing land cover surrounding the Communidad de Madrid includes a mix of vegetated land and agricultural areas, ranging in type from natural grasslands to coniferous forests, and in form from pasture to permanently irrigated land. These landscape typologies are legible throughout central Spain and will form the palette of our forestation strategy. Their value as a land cover is inarguably superior to the deteriorating and vacant urbanized territories that form the foundation of our proposal. Beauty and experience are among the qualitative values inherent in these landscapes, while the employment and ecological processes generated by their development move toward a standard of a more quantitative productive value. The territorial strategy is informed by the location of the existing under utilized urban infrastructure, the metropolitan urban ring morphology, and areas of significant natural and ecological value. The form of the Madrid region is defined by a dense central core, surrounded by concentric ring road highways and spoke highways that radiate from Madrid’s center. This transportation infrastructure has fueled Madrid’s urban expansion, but vacant territories exist both along these roadways and far removed from them. Recent private speculative investments in the construction of parallel and redundant spoke highways (Autopistas) within the system have created a unique set of spatial configurations in the areas between the old and new highways.
Focusing on vacant urban sites within these territories and connected PAU’s, (Planned Development Areas) begins to form a ring that connects the major existing parks and ecological areas that surround Madrid. Using sites within these specific territories effectively claims a strategic armature to establish an ecological legacy on the metropolitan scale. Once these spaces are territorialized by the seeding strategy, their inherent value is captured not on an individual site basis, but as a system that operates by leveraging existing natural and physical infrastructure.
STRATEGY In order to develop a design language and functional expectations of the proposed ecological legacy, we are establishing a series of typologies that will be deployed using Madrid’s natural and agricultural landscapes as the palette and the strategic territories as the location. These typologies range in form and function from more ecological (such as Riparian Corridor, Chaparral/Pasture and Native Forest), to highly cultivated (such as Plantation, Poplar Intercropping, Olive Grove and Urban Forest.) Each typology contains a set of conditions necessary to be successfully implemented, as well as a set of anticipated values that will be produced. The goal of developing these typologies is to create a consistent methodology that will match the conditions on the ground of each site with the conditions necessary for each typology to successfully seed.
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know your SITE
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+40˚34’49” N + 3˚11’10” W
+40˚35’28” N + 3˚06’40” W
+40˚35’03” N + 3˚15’01” W
+40˚27’33” N + 3˚26’51” W
+40˚24’55” N + 3˚33’11” W
+40˚29’23” N + 3˚36’32” W
+40˚21’22” N + 3˚44’40” W
+40˚13’26” N + 3˚38’48” W
+40˚15’04” N + 3˚43’36” W
*all images drawn to scale
+40˚36’28” N + 3˚16’09” W
+40˚35’19” N + 3˚18’17” W
+40˚30’44” N + 3˚21’46” W
+40˚20’25” N + 3˚46’55” W
+40˚16’50” N + 3˚55’40” W
+40˚17’49” N + 3˚59’20” W
+40˚17’57” N + 3˚53’45” W
Madrid’s ghost cities and towns are characterized by a broad range of ground conditions. Each site presents a unique set of infrastructural conditions, opportunities and constraints. Analyzing water availability, level of development, scale, and adjacencies, begins to break these ubiquitous sites into operable units. //41
AVAILABLE /Riparian Corridor
del Rio Guadarama
AVAILABLE /Infrastructure Retrofit
Water availability is the most critical factor when determining new land uses and planting
NOT AVAILABLE /Incomplete Water Infrastructure
strategies for Madrid’s ghost cities. Existing waterways should be preserved and enriched with robust riparian planting strategies.
Under utilized water infrastructure can be retrofitted as a source for drip irrigation. Drip irrigation
efficiently
irrigates
agri-forestry
plantations, and can cultivate new ecologies by broadening the regions planting pallet.
Where water resources are not available, draught tolerant species and planting groups should complement their surrounding ecologies.
WATER AVAILABILITY //43
Sessena
Valdaluz
The developments that surround Madrid range in their levels of completed construction and building occupancy. The level and intensity of development impacts the potential of each site to hold productive value as an ecological or agricultural resource.
BUILT /Under Occupied Some residential developments have completed an initial phase of construction and are already supporting a small population, whereas other areas have only been cleared in anticipation of future infrastructure and housing units.
HALF BUILT /Barely Occupied
The level of development present on each site will determine its capacity to function as a productive agricultural installation or a new constructed ecosystem.
LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT UNBUILT /Un Occupied
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ma drid
s
The scale of the development grid has significant implications that inform how the site can be transformed. Sites with large grid geometries are well suited for productive landscapes that require larger expanses for planting and cultivation operations. Smaller sites provide a unique opportunity for creating distinct micro-climates with subtle topographic modifications.
M
L SCALE //47
urban
agriculture
chaparral
forest
ADJACENCIES //49
let’s get STARTED!
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Is the site adjacent to a river?
riparian
Yes
pg
75
No Is there potential for irrigation?
Yes No
What are the adjacent conditions? event space urban
chaparral agriculture
chaparral chaparral
forest forest
(go to next page)
pg
105
pg
69 pg
69 pg
99
START WITH A SITE //53
LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
SIZE:
L
ADJACENCY:
plantation urban
intercropping
Built \\ Under Occupied
agriculture
plantation / intercropping chaparral
forest forest
M
olive grove urban
plantation / intercropping agriculture
olive grove chaparral
forest forest
s
urban forest urban
olive grove agriculture
olive grove chaparral
forest forest
pg
87 pg
95 pg
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99
pg
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pg
63 pg
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LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
SIZE:
L
ADJACENCY:
plantation urban
plantation/intercropping
Un Built \\ Un Occupied
agriculture
poplar intercropping chaparral
plantation/forest forest
M
urban forest urban
olive grove / plantation agriculture
olive grove chaparral
olive grove / forest forest
s
urban forest urban
olive grove agriculture
olive grove chaparral
forest forest
pg
87 pg
pg
87 95 pg
95 pg
pg
87 99
pg
63 pg
pg
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83 pg
pg
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pg
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99
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LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
SIZE:
L
ADJACENCY:
plantation urban
plantation / intercropping
UnBuilt \\ UnOccupied
agriculture
intercropping chaparral
plantation forest
M
plantation urban
intercropping agriculture
olive grove chaparral
plantation / forest forest
s
forest urban
olive grove agriculture
olive grove chaparral
forest forest
pg
87 pg
pg
87 95 pg
95 pg
87
pg
87 pg
95 pg
83 pg
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pg
99 pg
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99
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defining TYPOLOGIES
//61
EXISTING
URBAN FOREST //63
Existing residents can access natural open space system.
Landscape amenity has the potential to increase adjacent property values.
social
M
s adjacencies
environmental
scale
value
economic
intensity investment
maintenance
Shading and insulation provided by trees reduces urban heat islands and reduces the energy required to cool indoor spaces during summer.
Soil stabilization prevents erosion from existing construction sites.
Green infrastructure potential for storm water management in urban areas.
urban forest PROCESSES
//65
YOUTH TREE TEAM Indianapolis, IN “The Youth Tree Team is a nine-week summer program. Participants will receive a free lunch each work day, and will earn $8.00 per hour for their work! The Youth Tree Team members will work 20 hours a week as a team to preserve and maintain trees. The team will be working outdoors to water, mulch, prune, stake, and plant trees. Youth Tree Team applicants must currently be enrolled in high school to participate.” -http://www.kibi.org/youth_tree_team
URBAN FOREST YOUTH CORP Los Angeles, CA “The LA Conservation Corps was founded in 1986 to provide 18- to 24- year olds with a high school diploma and paid on-the-job-training. The program serves approximately 500 18- to 24-year-old corpsmembers each year. Approximately 80% of the corpsmembers enter the program without a high school diploma and participate in our school/work model alternating two-month blocks of high school classes at one of our charter school sites and paid on-the-job training on work projects throughout Los Angeles County.” -http://www.lacorps.org
MILLION TREES NYC TRAINING PROGRAM New York, NY “The MillionTrees Training Program is a collaborative initiative between the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation and The New York Restoration Project. The program helps work towards a more environmentally sustainable healthy living for the future through a 7-month green-collar job course of training that is specifically designed to teach, educate and motivate young adults to become more aware and proactive in the wellness of the environment while jointly gaining employment and life skills.” -http://www.milliontreesnyc.org
Sites adjacent to existing urban areas are well situated for nurseries and seed production operations that provide saplings and seed stock for forestation efforts throughout the region.
Arboriculture, horticulture, forestry, ecology and agriculture are all industries that offer jobs across a broad range of skill sets, from labourer to scientist. These industries provide a new source of jobs for young Madridians previously employed in the construction industry.
urban forest YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
//67
EXISTING
+
PASTURE
+
TREES
=
CHAPARRAL //69
Restore scenic landscape qualities of traditional Spanish countryside.
Opportunity to re-establish endangered plant species and communities.
Provides grazing land for livestock; harvesting solar energy and converting it to food and fiber products.
s development
adjacencies
M scale
L
social
environmental
value
economic
intensity
Increased biodiversity and vegetation cover conserves soil and contributes to the prevention of desertification.
investment
maintenance
Returns ecosystem services to degraded urban lands. Chaparral plants contain more biomass below the soil surface than above.
Vegetated land cover reduces storm water runoff and contributes to a water cycle that recharges groundwater.
chaparral PROCESSES
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SEED BOMBING Medicago aborea
In large open sites without significant existing infrastructure, traditional seeding efforts are not sufficient to establish strong, drought resistant new plant communities. Broadcasting seed pods through aerial
Jasione mansanetian
distribution is a way to provide new plants with enhanced growing conditions; including water and fertilized soil to ensure a strong start. Using seed bombs over larger areas will boost the site’s resilience.
Echium acanthocarpum
Teucrium balthazaris
Arenaria sandwort
Astragalus glycyphyllos
Aardbei bloem
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EXISTING
+
DECIDUOUS
+
WATERWAY
=
RIPARIAN FOREST //75
Trees along waterways improve soil fertility by increasing the return of organic matter to the soil as a result of litter fall from above ground tree biomass and in situ decomposition of tree roots, especially those of the fine root fraction.
Connectivity between the riparian environment and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems is considered a key element for the preservation of biodiversity.
Vegetated river edges reduce the impact of nutrient pollutants on the water supply from agriculture run-off.
s development
adjacencies
M scale
L
social
environmental
value
economic
intensity Utilizing existing natural fluvial systems reduces the need for new irrigation systems to cultivate new ecologies.
investment
maintenance
Existing waterways provide a natural corridor for new trail connections and other recreational uses.
Green infrastructure in the form of riparian buffers adjacent to urban areas reduces the need for expensive storm water infrastructure systems.
riparian PROCESSES
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Field Elm Grove
White Poplar
White Willow
Travelers Joy
Winter Flame
Hawthorn
Lesser Bullrush
Snake Grass
Giant Reed
Ulmus minor
Clematis vitalba
Typha angustifolia
Populus alba
Cornus sanguinea
Equisetum sp.
Salix alba
Crataegus monogyna
Arundo donaxa
“Riparian habitat is a key element of river functioning. It can support a high biodiversity, especially in large floodplain rivers, protect the main channel from temporal changes and buffer large disturbances and provide refuge and food for wildlife. Alder
Betulacae sp.
The structure and function of this riparian habitat can either be extremely complex and heterogeneous, as in floodplain rivers, or
relatively
simple
such
as
alongside
headwater streams. Connectivity between the riparian environment and adjacent terrestrial Black Lace
Sambucus nigra
ecosystems is considered a key element for the preservation of biodiversity.�
- M. RIERADEVALL Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona
Spider Grass Juncus sp.
riparian PLANTING PALLETE
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Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
Brook Trout
Salvelinus fontinalis
Mallard
Common Pocard
Anas platyrhynchos
Spanish minnow
(Anaecypris hispanica) (endangered)
Great Cormorant
Aythya ferina
Northern Pike Esox lucius
Phalocrocorax carbo
European Chub
Squaliius carolitertii
Black Crowned Night Heron Nycticorax
Spanish Toothcarp Aphanius iberus (endangered)
Sterlet
Acipenser ruthenus (vulnerable)
Iberian Barbel Barbos comizo (vulnerable)
Iberian Nase
Chondrostoma polylepis iberus
riparian WILDLIFE
//81
EXISTING
+
PASTURE
+
OLEA EUROPEA
=
OLIVE GROVE //83
For the residents of the Spanish countryside, olive oil historically constituted the main source of nutritional fats, their most valuable export product, and was identified with their culture.
Olive cultivation is an additional income source and supports the population in rural areas during the winter period.
Chemical substances used for the production of olive oil are the lowest possible among not only its competitive products but among all other agricultural products of the Mediterranean. The olive groves, which grow mostly on inclined, shallow, and low fertility soils, and on hand-made stone terraces, have limited watering requirements and sustain the fragile natural resources of the Mediterranean.
M
s development
adjacencies
scale
social
environmental
value
economic
intensity
Although an agro-ecosystem, the olive grove resembles the natural Mediterranean ecosystem and abandonment transforms them into natural Mediterranean type forests.
investment
maintenance
The ecosystem of the olive is relatively stable when compared with other agricultural ecosystems due to the stability of the environment itself, the trend of production, the small number of pernicious pests, the tolerance of pest damage, and the abundant beneficial arthropod fauna.
olive grove PROCESSES
//85
EXISTING
+
GROUND COVER
+
POPLAR
=
PLANTATION //87
Carbon sequestration in above and below ground biomass of plantations provide a direct environmental benefit estimated at 89 metric tons of carbon per hectare. The aesthetic qualities of tree stands in plantations offer a natural buffer and wind break from undeveloped territories.
Plantations restore or maintain natural biochemical cycles and contributes to creating habitats that favor biodiversity.
L
m development
adjacencies
scale
social
environmental
value
economic
intensity
Growing plantations mitigate the impacts of the significant pollution problem that currently exists in Madrid.
investment
maintenance
Opportunity for private investment and EU/Spanish subsidies for agro-forestry industry development. New employment and training opportunities in forestry industry; land preparation, cultivation, processing, and maintenance.
plantation PROCESSES
//89
Black Bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni
Great Spotted Cuckoo Clamator glandarius
30 m
20 m
10 m
Hybrid Poplar
Populus x euroamericana 25-35 m
Eucalyptus
Laurus nobilis 30-60 m
HOLM OAK
Quercus Ilex 20-27 m Native
Eurasian Black Vulture Aegypius monachus
Spanish Imperial Eagle Nycticorax
Pines have been extensively used for land restoration in the Mediterranean basin because they are stress tolerant and act as a pioneer species, facilitating the development of latesuccessional hardwoods in the long-term.
Combining pine, oak, poplar and eucalyptus plantings
provides
greater
genetic
and
economic diversity in the short term. Equally important, mixed plantation plantings provide a successionary jump start should the plantation fail and go uncultivated.
This planting pallete avoids the ecological dangers of monocropping, and provides habitat for a number of regional bird species, including the Lesser Kestrel, great spotted cuckoo, and Spanish Imperial eagle.
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris 30-35 m
plantation PLANTING PALLETE
//91
CO2
BIO MASS
carbon sequestration
WOOD CHIPS
LOGS
Economic Development employment
energy
Liquid Fuels
materials Paper
Fiber Board
Veneer
Saw Mill
plantation CARBON CYCLE
//93
EXISTING
+
GRAIN
+
POPLAR
=
POPLAR INTERCROPPING //95
The planting structure; between that of intensive monoculture agricultural systems and complex natural ecosystems, enables better exploitation of resources due to the complementarity of trees and crops in using water, nutrients and light as well as their beneficial impacts on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil.
Employment and training opportunities in the agricultural and forestry industries.
L
m development
adjacencies
scale
social
environmental
value
economic
Intercropping can play a major role in sequestering of carbon and the offsetting of other greenhouse gas emissions such as N 0. Use of fast-growing tree species such as poplar, can increase the potential for atmospheric carbon fixation.
intensity
Improved tree growth from stimulating the soil microbial biomass and mineralizing nitrogen through intercropping and from recovery by the tree roots of a significant portion of agricultural fertilizer residues.
2
investment
maintenance
The diversity and abundance of predators of agricultural pests is higher in intercropping than agricultural monoculture, which ultimately reduces dependence on costly pesticides.
poplar intercropping PROCESSES
//97
EXISTING
+ PINE / DECIDUOUS MIX +
GROUND COVER
=
MIXED FOREST //99
Investments in establishing higher landscape qualities adjacent to residential neighborhoods can increase property values and serve as a recreational amenity to many outlying communities. Irrigation infrastructure creates the potential to inform unique planting patterns and landscape design.
Tree species variety contributes to the overall potential for a diverse range of ecosystem services and environmental values associated with successional growth.
s development
adjacencies
M scale
L
social
environmental
value
economic
intensity
Forest landscapes accessible to the public provide a connection to the natural environment that is currently lacking among the majority of Madrid’s urban residents.
investment
maintenance
Establishing new forests stabilizes potentially fragmented ecosystems and provides habitat for endangered plant and animal species.
forest PROCESSES
//101
30 m
20 m
10 m
Mountain Pine Pinus uncinata 25-30m
Thymus praecox
Myrtus communis
Spanish Juniper Juniper thurifera 20-25 m
Genista aetnensis
Field Maple
Acer campestre 20-25 m Native
Rhamnus integrifolia
Water availability is the primary variable affecting the regional ecology. Generally, the higher and wetter conditions to the north and west of Madrid support coniferous and mixed forests, while the lower and drier conditions to the south and east favor Holm Oak and other draught tolerant species.
Abandoned
development
sites
have
the
potential to generate emergent ecologies by manipulating site conditions.
Changes
to grading and repurposing water mains for irrigation allow for the development of a broad range of micro conditions that support a range Spanish Fir
of plant types.
Abies pinsapo 30 m Native
Rosemary officinalis
Erica arborea
forest PLANTING PALLETE
//103
EXISTING
EVENT SPACE //105
Large-scale temporary events present the opportunity for cultural and artistic development.
Convening a large group of individuals presents the opportunity to promote volunteer planting efforts and educate the public on the value of maintaining regional ecologies.
Using existing semiurbanized territories limits the need for temporary infrastructure usually needed to hold major events.
L development
scale
social
environmental
value
economic
intensity There is a growing market for large-scale event space to hold major national and international festivals.
investment
maintenance
event space PROCESSES
//107
Major International Event
Significant National Event
Regional Event
Minor Local Event
Local Short Term Repurpose
events investment
successional value
Many of the abandoned sites within the proposed territorial framework and throughout the Madrid Region benefit from direct access to regional and high speed rail lines or even international airports. These sites present an opportunity to generate immediate economic resources by organizing temporary events that take advantage of, or require direct access.
Within the overall context of establishing an ecological legacy that connects the regions’ natural resources, these sites present an opportunity to offset investment costs that may initially exceed the value generated by the newly planted landscapes.
As the ecological, social and economic value of the planting strategy increases, these events may be organized less often or may not take place
event space PROGRAMS
//109
The temporary events that take place within these abandoned sites will provide visitors with the opportunity to visualize a future scenario where the ecological legacy has been fully realized. Through an Augmented Reality framework for the sites associated with temporary events, users will be able to interact with the surrounding landscape by holding their mobile phone or geo-located device up to access a real-space comparison of the site’s mature growth. In the future, similar devices can be used to demonstrate what these sites looked like before the initial planting strategies.
event space PROJECTIONS
//111
INTERCROPPING
PLANTATION
OLIVE GROVE
intensity
scale
development
adjacencies
water
URBAN FOREST
s
investment
M
maintenance
M
investment
L
maintenance
M
investment
L
maintenance
s
investment
M
maintenance
MIXED FOREST
s
investment
M
L
maintenance
RIPARIAN FOREST
s
investment
M
L
maintenance
CHAPARRAL
s
investment
M
EVENT SPACE
L
maintenance
L
investment
maintenance
//113
future SCENARIOS
//115
2002 +40˚15’36” N + 3˚54’33” W
Arroyomolinos This stalled development along the periphery of
2004
an existing suburban settlement is characteristic of many abandoned sites between the A-5 and the R-5 to the southwest of Madrid. Surrounded by chaparral, forest, agriculture, and urbanized land, the typologies most appropriate for this site include forest, chaparral, and plantation.
2006
Projecting future scenarios based on these initial planting efforts offers insight into the value of implementing this strategy, regardless of an uncertain future.
2012
LEVELSCENARIO OF DEVELOPMENT A //117
INITIAL SEEDING STRATEGY
2020
GROWTH POTENTIAL
2040
DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO
2080
SUCCESSIONAL SCENARIO
2080
The unbuilt site has a variety of adjacent land covers that influence both the planting strategy and the potential growth patterns of the proposed plant community typologies. A typical planting in this location would include a chaparral pasture to the west and an expansion of the existing riparian corridor to the east. As these plant systems establish themselves, they will grow in size and scale, presenting the opportunity for in-fill planting. The chaparral begins to mature as smaller species take root among the initial planted areas. The forested area also expands beyond the areas of the initial planting strategy, growing along low points and in soils with higher moisture content. This implementation strategy presents the opportunity for the adjacent urbanized areas to grow into the underlying built infrastructure already established within the site. This scenario may involve new residential or other uses developing along the established forest to take advantage of it as an amenity. Some peripheral chaparral and forest areas may be displaced if future development expands into the seeded areas. It is also possible within the context of this typical planting strategy, that the initial growth is sustained without the pressure of future development. In this scenario, the chaparral areas begin to expand toward the growing forest, creating a landscape gradient that crosses the site and adds value to the once abandoned landscape.
//119
2001 +40˚18’53” n +3˚45’50” w
Leganés Madrid’s Programa de Actuación Urbanística
2004
(PAU) has resulted in a series of infrastructure-rich, but resident-poor landscapes with an uncertain future. This site benefits from its proximity to central Madrid, access to major highways, and a diverse mix of land uses within a short distance, however no significant building has occurred
2008
since the site was initially cleared between 2001 and 2004. Anticipating future scenarios within this context offers a contrasting view of how the regional strategy maintains its value, regardless of an uncertain future
2012
LEVELSCENARIO OF DEVELOPMENT B //121
INITIAL SEEDING STRATEGY
2020
GROWTH POTENTIAL
2040 CULTIVATED SCENARIO
2080
SUCCESSIONAL SCENARIO
2080
This vacant site with irrigation potential and agricultural adjacencies presents the opportunity to establish a poplar intercropping and plantation system at a manageable initial scale. The long contiguous block form is well suited for parallel poplar rows, and the spaces between, cultivated for annual grain production.
As these planted areas become established, they will grow in size and scale, relying less on irrigation supply and regular maintenance.
Some roadway
infrastructure not used to access planting areas may be taken over to establish continuous rows for planting.
Because these planting typologies are consistent with their agricultural surroundings, the potential for their integration with neighboring farms is a distinct future possibility. In this scenario, the irrigation infrastructure is maintained and expanded to increase planting areas and crop yields. The poplar rows are expanded and the areas between them continue to yield higher productive values than comparable monoculture crop products.
It is also possible within the context of this typical planting strategy, that sufficient resources are not available to sustain the initial plantings or maintain them beyond the initial growth period. Within this context, a potential future scenario would consist of native vegetated buffers establishing themselves within the moist fertilized soil, and potentially denser chaparral landscape emerging to take advantage of the enhanced growing conditions present on the site. //123
now WHAT?
//125
A-1
A-6
R-2 A-2
R-3
A-5
R-5
A-3
R-4
A-4 N
Individually, Madrid’s ghost cities represent a flawed investment strategy fueled by speculation; when viewed collectively, their inherent value as a regional resource begins to emerge. The unprecedented scale and ubiquity of the current situation demands a response that transforms these vacant landscapes from their status as a liability toward that of an asset, with a goal of economic productivity, positive social impact and enhanced ecological value. A Modest Proposal re-orients the approach to these sites by discarding the assumptions of investment that resulted in uncontrolled urban growth and adopting a new lens through which opportunities can be identified. //127
Seeding an ecological legacy out of abandoned and degraded landscapes will require broad support across variety of interests. A Modest Proposal stimulates a new collective thought process to move the current discourse beyond conventional site-specific problems and narrowly focused solutions.
The conversation starts here. It will continue in neighborhoods throughout Madrid, through virtual online communities, in stakeholder interest groups and in the political realm. This proposal, with its sense of purposeful opportunism will captivate and inspire action, ultimately resulting in a transformation of Madrid’s ghost cities into the valued regional asset they have the potential to become.
//129