Madrid’s sustainability mission is clear in the new Santander Park, an instant citizen and visitor destination that used to be a golf course. A 76-kilometre urban forest network with nearly half-a-million new trees will connect the city’s existing forest masses and reuse derelict sites between roads and buildings. Upon completion, this “green wall” is projected to help absorb 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually and mitigate the city’s worsening urban heat.
This investment in its outdoor realm will improve Madrid’s #52 ranking in our Air Quality subcategory, as well as its #15 Nature & Parks ranking, especially combined with how safe the city has become. Madrid’s electric bus network trails only that of Berlin in Europe and new EV charging stations and bike lanes are everywhere.
But the biggest news is the recent full approval of Madrid Nuevo Norte, the largest urban regeneration project in Europe, with more than 544 acres in the city’s underused northern rail district dedicated to the Madrid of the future. Long seen as a dead, unusable patch on Madrid’s otherwise revitalised cityscape, the area choked by the existing railway tracks leading to Chamartín station will be revitalised as a residential and business destination serviced by an integrated public transport hub.
The city is also going all-in on its already formidable Culture-scape (ranked #3),from recently opened local indie cinemas like Cines Embajadores to the mind-blowing 2023 unveiling of the Royal Collections Gallery, considered the country’s most significant museum in decades (and sure to improve Madrid’s current #12 spot for Museums). Located next to the Royal Palace of Madrid, the space was dug out from rock under Campo del Moro gardens to Armería square, and is now the centre of all Patrimonio Nacional’s cultural activities and royal collections. It’s also helping the Spanish head of state restore, conserve and share the country’s historical, cultural and natural heritage.
With all this investment, it’s a good thing the city’s Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (currently ranked #14 in our Airport connectivity subcategory) has earmarked almost €2.4 billion to become the EU’s largest, although work isn’t scheduled to be completed until 2031.