Metropolitanization of Spanish Urban Areas: Trends, Challenges and the Special Case of Madrid

Urban growth and metropolitanization have characterised the spatial development of Spain in the second-half of the twentieth century. However, there is as yet no stabilised institutional model of how to respond to the governance challenges that Spanish metropolitan areas face. The article explores the organisation of metropolitan governance in Madrid, Spain's largest metropolitan area. It argues that state reforms in the wake of democratisation, EU accession and increasing international competition have led to the establishment of the Autonomous Community of Madrid as a strong metropolitan government.