Chapter 12 Knowledge integration and power relations: Pathways to sustainability in Madrid

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this chapter is to find pathways for a better stakeholder involvement in land planning issues at regional level. The case study is the Madrid region (Spain).

Methodology/approach – The work presented in this chapter follows a methodological strategy called integrative research, as a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Research implications – This kind of research seems to be the most appropriate to deal with the conflicts we have in large urban regions with “rural landscapes”, and conflicts between antagonized stakeholders.

Findings – The region of Madrid has gone through irreversible, territorial changes during the last decade. Urban growth, tourist development and abandonment of agricultural land are some of the principal causes of these land-use changes. 80 per cent of the population live in the urban area of the region. In contrast, only 5 per cent of the population live in rural areas, i.e., municipalities that have less than 1.000 inhabitants. Nevertheless, rural areas in Madrid are of great importance due to their tourism value.

Practical implications – A participatory policy tool is developed on the basis of several analyses (spatial–temporal analysis and political–-institutional analysis) to formulate policy recommendations and scenarios for sustainability.

Originality – Integrative research, combining discursive and analytical phases of work, seems a good way to improve the sustainable configuration of the region of Madrid.

Citation

Hernandez-Jimenez, V. and Winder, N. (2009), "Chapter 12 Knowledge integration and power relations: Pathways to sustainability in Madrid", Andersson, K., Lehtola, M., Eklund, E. and Salmi, P. (Ed.) Beyond the Rural-Urban Divide: Cross-Continental Perspectives on the Differentiated Countryside and its Regulation (Research in Rural Sociology and Development, Vol. 14), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 305-322. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-1922(2009)0000014015