Madrid City Council Research Articles

Application of a short term air quality action plan in Madrid (Spain) under a high-pollution episode - Part I: Diagnostic and analysis from observations

Exceedances of NO2 hourly limit value (200 μg·m−3) imply the need to implement short term action plans to avoid adverse effects on human health in urban areas. The Madrid City Council applied the stage 3 of the NO2 protocol during a high-pollution episode under stable meteorological conditions on December 2016 for the first time. This included road traffic access restrictions to the city centre (50% of conventional private vehicles based on plate numbers). In this contribution we analyse different meteorological and air quality observations, including non-standard parameters (such as number of ultrafine particles and remote sensing techniques MAXDOAS) for a better understanding of the effectivity of short-term emission abatement measures under real conditions and to identify options to improve the NO2 protocol in the future. According to our results, the inversion base height computed from vertical temperature soundings is a meaningful index to anticipate very unfavourable conditions and trigger the actions included in the protocol. The analysis of the concentration levels of the main pollutants from the Madrid air quality monitoring network indicate that only stage 3 of the protocol had a significant effect on NO2 maximum concentrations. The restrictions applied may have prevented NO2 concentrations to further increase in the city centre (up to 15%) although pollution levels in the city outskirts, outside the area directly affected by the traffic restrictions, remained unchanged or may have been slightly increased. Nonetheless, further studies are needed to estimate more precisely the effect of the measures taken and to assess potential trade-offs. Our results suggest that emissions play an important role also under very strong stability conditions although drastic measures are needed to achieve a significant impact. This highlights the importance of an appropriate timing for short-term actions and the need of permanent abatement measures related to air quality plans and policies.

Ex-post environmental and traffic assessment of a speed reduction strategy in Madrid's inner ring-road

Since urban traffic is a major source of CO2 and NOx emissions, cities play a key role averting climate change and combating air pollution. Most researchers agree on the need of designing comprehensive mitigation strategies instead of applying isolated measures. Nevertheless, it is important to understand the specific impact and scope of each measure to look for the most effective synergies among them. In 2004, the Madrid City Council launched a plan to re-design its inner ring-road to move traffic out of the city centre. For safety reasons the planned speed limit for the full-renovated South-West section was finally reduced from 90km/h to 70km/h. Besides contributing to traffic safety, this strategy could also be seen as positive to the environment due to the associated reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions. However, lower speed limits have lower rates of community acceptance due to its impact on average travel times at the individual level. This paper conducts an ex-post evaluation of this speed reduction strategy to explore its environmental and traffic performance impacts. The results support the thesis that, in this velocity range, lower speed limits present important opportunities for reducing GHG and air pollution in the section affected by the measure, without substantially altering traffic performance. The implementation of the new speed limit policy produces a 14.4% and 16.4% reduction in CO2 and NOx emissions respectively, while global travel time remains virtually constant and the saturation rate decreases slightly. Besides, this cost-effective measure reveals great potential to reduce air pollution in highly populated urban areas located next to urban highways. This work provides local policy makers and city managers with useful insights regarding potential co-benefits of traffic optimization and speed reduction management to reduce mobile source emissions in urban environments.

Photography as an element of political comunication. The case of Madrid City Council

Political communication has reached a high degree of specialization to highlight the leadership capabilities of electoral candidates. The message requires careful design of the content and how to present it. Today it is insufficient to use reason to “sell” a product or idea; the message must get to the hearts of people and do so in a very short time. Toward this end, photography has proven to be a much more efficient tool than the spoken word; therefore, it is being used more frequently. This study investigates the evolution of photography as a communication tool by institutions, with a focus on the Madrid City Council from 2001 to 2014. To that end, we have analyzed the information content generated by the Press Office during the terms of three mayors. We found that changes in communication during these terms are representative of political communication changes in general in recent times. The results show an increased use of photography as a method of communication, similar to the model used in the United States.

Comparison of road traffic emission models in Madrid (Spain)

Many cities in Europe have difficulties to meet the air quality standards set by the European legislation, most particularly the annual mean Limit Value for NO2. Road transport is often the main source of air pollution in urban areas and therefore, there is an increasing need to estimate current and future traffic emissions as accurately as possible. As a consequence, a number of specific emission models and emission factors databases have been developed recently. They present important methodological differences and may result in largely diverging emission figures and thus may lead to alternative policy recommendations. This study compares two approaches to estimate road traffic emissions in Madrid (Spain): the COmputer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport (COPERT4 v.8.1) and the Handbook Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA v.3.1), representative of the ‘average-speed’ and ‘traffic situation’ model types respectively. The input information (e.g. fleet composition, vehicle kilometres travelled, traffic intensity, road type, etc.) was provided by the traffic model developed by the Madrid City Council along with observations from field campaigns. Hourly emissions were computed for nearly 15 000 road segments distributed in 9 management areas covering the Madrid city and surroundings. Total annual NOX emissions predicted by HBEFA were a 21% higher than those of COPERT. The discrepancies for NO2 were lower (13%) since resulting average NO2/NOX ratios are lower for HBEFA. The larger differences are related to diesel vehicle emissions under “stop & go” traffic conditions, very common in distributor/secondary roads of the Madrid metropolitan area.In order to understand the representativeness of these results, the resulting emissions were integrated in an urban scale inventory used to drive mesoscale air quality simulations with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modelling system (1 km2 resolution). Modelled NO2 concentrations were compared with observations through a series of statistics. Although there are no remarkable differences between both model runs, the results suggest that HBEFA may overestimate traffic emissions. However, the results are strongly influenced by methodological issues and limitations of the traffic model. This study was useful to provide a first alternative estimate to the official emission inventory in Madrid and to identify the main features of the traffic model that should be improved to support the application of an emission system based on “real world” emission factors.

Involvement of citizens in hazardous waste management and use of recycling centres in the city of Madrid (Spain)

In Spain, hazardous household waste management by citizens occurs via fixed recycling centres (FRC) and mobile recycling centres (MRC) which usually depend on local governments. This paper addresses a request by the Madrid City Council, in an attempt to improve the service it provides to the city of Madrid. The aim of the study involved analysing the information people possess in relation to hazardous waste and to the use of available equipment, and conducting a post-evaluation of the effectiveness of an environmental communication campaign conducted by the Madrid City Council and aimed at providing awareness of the existence of new FRCs and MRCs. To this end, a questionnaire was conducted with 5644 inhabitants of the city of Madrid. Qualitative data was categorized using content analysis followed by chi-squared tests, considering some socio-demographic characteristics of the sample, such as age or place of residence (district). Communication campaigns influenced citizen awareness of what constituted hazardous waste, of how to properly separate waste and of the existence of FRCs and MRCs. However, few citizens actually used FRCs or MRC (18% across four districts), a fact that might be related to a lack of knowledge of downstream waste treatment issues, or to self-limiting hindrances to householders, such as distance to recycling centres. It is recommended that future communication campaigns investigate householder needs and pre-conceptions in relation to recycling, as well as tailored education aimed at addressing the barriers, perceived or otherwise, facing citizens.

Estudio de las causas de abandono del tratamiento en un centro de atención a drogodependientes

ObjectiveTo explore reasons by which the patients voluntarily interrupt their addiction treatment. Material and methodsIts selects 25% (n=53) of desertions in 15 months (n=213) in a publicly funded Center of Treatment to Drug-Dependencies (CAD-4, Madrid City Council, Spain). They were contacted by telephone and the causes for which they give up the clinical sessions are asked. ResultsThirty one persons were contacted and acceded to respond to the interview. From them, 29% alleged not to need more treatment because they have reached their objectives, 32.3% incompatibility with job or change of address, 22.6% deficiencies in service and 9.7% lack of motivation to follow the guidelines of the treatment. ConclusionsSurprisingly, third part of sample consider finished their treatment successfully in spite of professional criteria. Relevance of criteria habitually handled by professionals is discussed to consider success of treatments and the necessity to consider patients criteria, perhaps not as demanding as the established ones habitually by rehabilitation programs. A closer pursuit of the attrition sets out to know its causes, to recover the patients or to establish success criteria more fit to the reality.

Response to Review of El derecho a la participación infantil de niñas, niños y adolescentes en situación de riesgo: menores no acompañados, niños y niñas afectados por conflictos armados y trabajadores infantiles [The Participation Rights of Children and Adolescents at Risk: Unaccompanied Minors, Children Affected by Armed Conflicts and Child Workers

693 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 17 No. 2 (2007) ISSN: 1546-2250 Response to Review of El derecho a la participación infantil de niñas, niños y adolescentes en situación de riesgo: menores no acompañados, niños y niñas afectados por conflictos armados y trabajadores infantiles [The Participation Rights of Children and Adolescents at Risk: Unaccompanied Minors, Children Affected by Armed Conflicts and Child Workers] Raquel González Juárez Save the Children Spain Citation: González Juárez, Raquel. (2007). "Response to Review ofEl derecho a la participación infantil de niñas, niños y adolescentes en situación de riesgo: menores no acompañados, niños y niñas afectados por conflictos armados y trabajadores infantiles [The Participation Rights of Children and Adolescents at Risk: Unaccompanied Minors, Children Affected by Armed Conflicts and Child Workers]." Children, Youth and Environments 17 (2). Children and young people often represent over 40 percent of the societies in which they live, yet they have traditionally been excluded from decision-making all over the world. In general, children and adolescents are usually considered as passive members of society, without sufficient initiative and maturity to exercise their right to expression. However, their right of participation is clearly present in several articles in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Articles 12 and 17 recognize that children have the right to freedom of expression, to form and join associations and to seek and receive appropriate information. The CRC therefore ensures that children have their place in civil society, along with opportunities to contribute, exchange ideas with other social players and be consulted about matters that concern them. Participating is not only expressing their opinion and asking; it involves being responsible, being aware, and getting involved. Save the Children works closely to foster child participation because: 694  Children can shape their own future rather than simply being beneficiaries of adult intervention.  Young people who have learned how to influence decisionmakers will be more confident as adults and may use these skills to improve their societies in the future.  Public policies on children’s issues are more effective when children are involved in the decision-making process. At Save the Children, child participation is a transversal aspect to be considered in all actions and programs aimed at children. Their participation has to be effective and seen as an ongoing process where beyond expressing their views, they are actively involved in the decision making. Yet, not only children have to be aware of their right to participation, but as adults, we have to be consistently committed to the participation of the youngest members of society. It is clearly not a simple process, but we cannot become discouraged from short-term results. This book contains the papers and conclusions of the working parties at the training workshop and seminar held in Madrid in May and June. The seminar considered the participation of children and adolescents at risk, specifically those that live in armed conflict situations, or are unaccompanied minors or child workers. We listened to the accounts of Ariel Zapana, an Argentinean child worker; Ioannis Padilla, a former child worker from Peru; Zoraida Ávarez and Beatriz Retamosa, students from Miguel Delibes High School in Madrid; Daniel Asante, an unaccompanied minor; and Sanja Kuljanin, who described what it was like to be an adolescent during the war in the former Yugoslavia. The seminar and workshops featured specialists from around the world (e.g., Argentina, Brussels, Spain, India, Peru, Sierra Leona, Sudan) who discussed their experience with child participation. A series of experts also provided us with useful tools for the effective diagnosis, assessment and application of those rights in cooperation projects for social inclusion and development. In addition, child participation was fostered with the presence of children and adolescents from different countries (e.g., Bosnia-Herzegovina, Peru, Morocco, Ghana and Spain) who told their stories and put 695 forward suggestions about what child participation should involve. In this book, we have reproduced in full the stories they told to us. In short, the training workshop and seminar, funded by the Madrid City Council, was an opportunity to bring various agents...

Reboxetine for the treatment of patients with Cocaine Dependence Disorder

Although several approaches have been attempted for cocaine dependence, the pharmacological treatment of this serious disorder remains unclear. To date, desipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant of great noradrenergic activity, has shown the best results. Reboxetine, a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, might be an effective therapeutic option for this severe drug addiction. The aim was preliminarily to assess reboxetine in a group of cocaine dependent patients, selected from The Madrid City Council Drug Addiction Program primary care centres. Twenty six patients with a diagnosis of cocaine dependence disorder (DSM-IV 304.20) were selected to receive open treatment with reboxetine, 8 mg/day, for 12 weeks. Follow up assessments comprised cocaine consumption, treatment retention rate and change in standard structured psychometric instrument scores: cocaine selective severity assessment, Hamilton anxiety scale, Hamilton depression scale and clinical global impression, throughout the treatment period. Data were obtained from 20 patients; 10 of them remained abstinent, whereas the other 10 consumed cocaine at some time during the study. The treatment retention rate at week 12 was 61.5%. The psychometric instrument mean scores showed marked decreases throughout the treatment period. Reboxetine might be an effective and safe therapeutic option for cocaine dependence disorder. The aversive effects, as well as the high blockage reported by some patients consuming cocaine during the trial, might be related to treatment. If confirmed in large clinical trials, the trends suggested by this study would confirm the role of noradrenergic function in the treatment of cocaine dependence.

Vaciado de edificios conservando la fachada

This study, which is presented under the heading «The gutting of buildings while maintaining the facade», takes up not only the technical aspect of restructuring buildings, but also the legal aspects concerning rehabilitation and its problems. Following a brief commentary on prevailing legislation, it goes into rehabilitation in search of solutions which might lend more effectiveness to administrative work oriented towards the aim of keeping up artistic and cultural heritage. Urban standards of protection and the Municipal Bylaws for the Control of Rehabilitation Assistance are analyzed, in which one begins to see good intentions on the part of the Madrid City Council and an awareness of the problem, raising grants and financial aid, though still somewhat timidly, for the upkeep of urban patrimony. It is important to stress the distinction which is made between normal or 'ordinary* upkeep of a building and outstanding or 'extraordinary* upkeep in as much as it affects the obligations pertaining to property, as long as it does not exceed the limit of the obligation of maintenance which corresponds to it, as well as affecting the Government with respect to the obligation incumbent on it to provide the necessary assistance. Regarding the technical aspect, without trying to be rigorous, a simple and practical method is expounded for the temporary maintenance of facades while going ahead with the substitution of the interior of the building. Besides the recommendations on the precautions that should be taken and the description of the shoring-up system, the criteria for calculating the tubular metallic structure, the regulations to be applied and the approximate costs per square meter are provided.

Comunicación y Salud: nuevos escenarios y tendencias. (2011)

“Trabajamos con la convicción de que la comunicación no es una tarea exclusiva de los comunicadores sociales sino que compete a todos los agentes implicados en un problema de cambio social” Hernán Alfredo Díaz, p. 35Sirva esta cita para dejar claro que estamos ante un libro valiente y con propuestas claras para el estudioso y el profesional que tengan que enfrentase a los problemas de la comunicación y la salud en general y en materia de adicciones en concreto. Pues esa, y no otra, es la cuestión central de esta obra. Por ello tal vez su mayor, y tal vez único error, sea su título, poco explicativo de su contenido. Integrado por 10 aportaciones de otros tantos autores, e introducido por un corto y acertado prólogo de Tania Menéndez, el libro es fruto del mismo impulso que ha llevado a sus coordinadores a poner en marcha el Instituto Internacional de Comunicación y Salud (INICyS) y la Revista de Comunicación y Salud que el lector tiene en sus manos. Todo ello con el apoyo de la Fundación Abbott y de Madrid Salud (Ayuntamiento de Madrid) y el respaldo académico de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

The Construction of Schools in Spain, by DON BARNADO GINER DE LOS RIOS, Architect to the Madrid City Council

The Construction of Schools in Spain, by DON BARNADO GINER DE LOS RIOS, Architect to the Madrid City Council