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Madrid's major works are concentrated in Centro and Salamanca
Barriers, machinery and dug-up squares form part of the everyday landscape in the heart of Madrid. Much of the most visible urban renewal work of recent years is concentrated around Puerta del Sol and in districts such as Centro and Salamanca, a distribution that has reopened the debate over how much reaches the more distant neighbourhoods.
Data from the Dirección General de Espacio Público, Obras e Infraestructuras records 69 interventions between 2019 and 2026. Centro leads the distribution with 15 works and Salamanca has eight, while districts such as Latina, Moratalaz or Vicálvaro appear much less frequently in that list.
The Ayuntamiento maintains that this picture is incomplete because it does not include works carried out by other municipal departments. Among the examples it puts forward are new pedestrian streets in Moratalaz, the renovation of Vicálvaro's historic centre and the resurfacing of more than 139,000 square metres in Latina.
One of the most visible works at the moment is the redevelopment of Jacinto Benavente square and its surroundings, a few minutes from Sol. The project has 9.46 million euros and also covers streets such as Carretas, Bolsa and Atocha, with changes aimed at gaining pedestrian space, improving accessibility and introducing more greenery.
The transformation adds to others already completed in squares such as Tirso de Molina, España, Pontejos or Matute. In Salamanca, the works include Ortega y Gasset and the stretch of Alcalá between Cibeles and Puerta de Alcalá, where pavements have been widened and the space allocated to mobility has been altered.
There are also works outside the central almond-shaped area. In Carabanchel, Emperatriz square and the Manolito Gafotas park have been renovated, while the future redevelopment of Oporto seeks to transform one of the district's busiest points. These are joined by works in Villa de Vallecas, San Blas-Canillejas, Villaverde and Usera.
PSOE and Más Madrid question, however, that the most substantial and visible reforms continue to accumulate in central areas and call for more resources for the south and east. They also ask for the interventions to incorporate more trees, shade and spaces better able to withstand heat episodes.
The municipal Gobierno maintains that territorial rebalancing is among its priorities and puts the investments planned for the southern and eastern districts in 2026 at 300 million euros. Since 2020, it says, more than 1.2 billion euros have been allocated to actions intended to reduce differences between areas of the capital.
Sol remains the most obvious showcase of this transformation, but the map of works reveals a much broader discussion. While the squares in the centre change appearance at great speed, attention shifts to how long those improvements take to become equally visible in Carabanchel, Latina, Villaverde, Moratalaz or Vicálvaro.