Territory occupation and transportation sustainability in Madrid

Abstract

The usage of private cars contributes significantly to GHG emissions. This study examines the impact of changes in the land occupancy model in the Community of Madrid over the past two decades on mobility. It has resulted in a high consumption of land in the past two decades, but in a more peripheral manner, in increasingly distant nuclei, which may be explained in part by the rise in single-family dwelling. These functionally specialized growths have been sustained by a network of radial highways, resulting in a loss of density, variety, and the compact Mediterranean city model. Simultaneously, it is confirmed that the relocation of the industry and the set of increasingly peripheral and unconnected employment to the residential space, together with the change in the labor model and the scarce residential mobility, the product of a housing in property model, generates an increase in mobility due to work. Due to the difficulty of providing assistance with public transportation, the development of retail malls that are more peripheral, dependent on the road network, and unconnected to the home, leads to an increase in private vehicle travel. These developments have resulted in an increase in private car travel, with a clear loss of the proportion of public transportation, both of which contribute substantially to the production of GHGs and therefore to climate change, as well as excessive energy consumption. As a result, the land occupancy model has a noticeable impact on metropolitan mobility, necessitating cooperation between the urban and transportation models in order to achieve a more balanced region.