La arquitectura de la «nueva periferia»: Dinámicas socioculturales urbanas en el PAU de Vallecas

Abstract

The PAU de Vallecas is one of the new neighbourhoods built during the real-estate boom of the early 21st century. The features of this «new suburb» are analysed through its architecture, which is seen as a cultural device that shapes different urban dynamics. The PAU de Vallecas is governed by a twofold rationale. The first is a functionalist morphology associated with the cultural hegemony of modern architecture and the accumulation of financial and real-estate capital. Secondly, it involves innovative-sustainable architectural projects which are linked to the shaping of a Madrid's image and to inter-city competition for resources. A brief outline is also included of some of the processes that put the «new suburb» concept in perspective. The article concludes that these different architectural rationales constitute two elements of the same urban governance model: urban entrepreneurialism.