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Spain has undergone a series of significant economic changes over the last decade, and the country has subsequently been faced with huge challenges in its efforts to integrate migrants into the labour market. With this in mind, the purpose of the following chapter is to analyse the Spanish labour market in the light of the new realities resulting from the effects of immigration and an increasingly pluralistic, open society. It covers Spain's achievements as well as the challenges that lie ahead, bearing in mind the global situation as well as the new social configuration of a country that has received such large numbers of migrants and refugees.

On a meso-level, various institutions play a fundamental role in the way migrants adjust to the economic, social, cultural and political spheres of Spanish society. The authors described various practices implemented by Spanish ‘business actors’, unions and NGOs for the labour integration. This research shows that coordination between the various employment policies at the meso-level has had a key influence on Spain's integration of migrants.

This paper aims to firstly depict the theoretical links between place branding and strategic spatial planning to provide further theoretical and conceptual foundations. Secondly, it aims to explore the roots of place branding theory and practice in Portugal, as well as how place branding has been approached (or not) in spatial development plans, strategic initiatives and policy documents by stating the territorial, spatial-economic and sectoral development trajectories for the country and its northern region.

A content analysis of 20 spatial development plans, strategies and policy documents (of 30 identified), published by Portuguese authorities, the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, mainly for the period between 2014 and 2020, has been used.

Empirical evidence shows that tourism-oriented promotion initiatives, investment-oriented marketing campaigns and communication strategies uniquely supported by visual elements and aesthetic values (e.g. logos and slogans) deserve more attention from authorities in charge of spatial planning and policy-making. Place branding is an absent term. Moreover, there is inconsistency between current research and practice on place branding and how it has been incorporated in strategic spatial planning at EU, national and regional levels.

Whilst some of the research findings are place-specific (Portugal and its northern region), this exploratory paper aims to present a better understanding of the way in which places and branding can be conceptually addressed, primarily by assigning a spatial dimension to the idea of branding places and its alignment with strategic spatial planning and spatial plan-making.

This paper critically explores the actual or potential roles of place branding as an instrument for the attainment of strategic spatial planning goals through its integration in plan and policy-making. By guiding the attention of academics, practitioners and policymakers towards a strategic spatially oriented approach to place branding, the paper brings an alternative view to the scholarly and professional debate on place branding.

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.

Examines the development of the Spanish non‐residential property market over the last 20 years and in particular since the Boyer reform of 1985. Explores the legal framework of property interests to demonstrate that the legal prerequisites of a mature market form are now in place. Places legal change in the context of economic pressures for the creation of a modern property investment market. Considers the professional support for transacting property and the nature of the urban planning regime as factors which constrain and mould property market activity, but which may ultimately be transformed by it. Presents market data which show that the Spanish market has experienced one turn of the property cycle in its modern form. Demonstrates that it has proved highly susceptible to extremes of under‐ and over‐supply, arguably owing to the combined influence of an extremely open market and underdeveloped information provision.

This chapter describes the use of project-based learning to foster an enterprising, innovative attitude among students enrolled at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in the context of the School of Documentation Sciences from the 2013–2014 academic year to the present.

This experiment is based on the experiential intersection of two domains: firstly, innovation and entrepreneurship, in order to drive both entrepreneurship for self-employment and also intrapreneurship in libraries or documentation institutions; secondly, the application of project management methods in library and information science (LIS), using the teaching technique known as project-based learning (PBL).

Over this period of four academic years, 159 students have taken part and have created 42 projects. A trend is seen in the development of intrapreneurship projects (i.e., projects contextualized within preexisting organizations are 79% of total).

The progression of this experiment in the fostering of entrepreneurship and innovation in LIS in Spain has been based on a dynamic in which the application of theoretical bases to a real, practical context has enabled a better exploitation and understanding of the of the contents taught; developing projects has given LIS students experience that makes them more employable.

This chapter presents the findings of a participatory research project on the impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities in Madrid, Spain. It provides a brief overview of the social policy framework with regards to people with disabilities, and how the government responded to the needs of people with disabilities during the pandemic. The research was conducted by seven co-researchers with intellectual disabilities, who explored how people with intellectual disabilities in Madrid had experienced the lockdown and sanitary restrictions from March 2020 to November 2021. Participants included people living at home with their families, in group homes and in residential care. The findings are contrasted with other studies on the impact of the pandemic in Spain. The pandemic revealed the precariousness of the care system, and the urgent need to shift towards a human rights compliant service provision. Our study shows that people with intellectual disabilities experienced restrictions in different aspects of their lives during a longer period, that people living in residential care were more isolated and that there is a general concern with the future. People living in congregated settings were subject to higher restrictions. Some people had become care providers to their parents, and digital skills had been essential to keep in touch with partners, friends and family. Furthermore, people expressed a desire to regain their freedom, meet new people and a concern with lack of employment.

This article proposes to summarize and evaluate research undertaken in Spain on tourism and economic development so as to contribute to the elaboration of an economic theory of development.. It analyzes the concept of touristic development for its evolution and changes, while also addressing the strategic function of tourism in Spanish economic development and the contributions of Spanish researchers in the last few decades to the area of macroeconomic analysis of tourism.

HelpAge International carries out work on issues of ageing and development across a worldwide network. Experience suggests that older people are struggling to be seen, heard and understood, and are still excluded from action to improve their situation. This paper also reports on the Madrid Plan, the first international agreement to recognise the potential of older people to contribute to the development of their societies.

This paper aims to investigate the European and Latin America urban cultural policies that could enhance cultural and creative sustainable tourism products development.

The methodological framework is based on a comparative case study regarding the importance, dynamics and policies associated to cultural and creative tourism in four Ibero-American cities, namely, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Lisbon and Madrid.

This exploratory analysis underlines the growing importance of cultural and creative tourism in the four capital cities. On one hand, cities reveal different tourism impacts and, on the other hand, they are associated to different cultural and creative sector structures. Cities cultural and creative performance put in evidence that sustainable cities index, global talent competitiveness index and cultural and creative cities monitor, tend to position Madrid in the first place followed by, Lisbon, Buenos Aires and Brasilia.

In general, and despite the importance of space in the creative process, there is little research on the geography of the creative industries and there is a lack of cross-country comparative studies so that it is difficult to assess the particularities of each model of creativity.

Cities could enhance more efforts in investing, not only in the traditional cultural infrastructures but also on the new forms of culture, new technologies, new makers, new audiences based on their attributes, activities and labels, in a framework of urban sustainable policies based on “innovation,” “inclusiveness” and “interconnectivity.”

The originality of the paper lies in the comparative analysis of four cities based on cultural and creative sector and tourism interconnections. Simultaneously, it lies in an exploratory model application.