Page 279 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

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número 6 - junio - 2018. Pág 277 - 289

Urban Regeneration on railway lands

Pérez del Caño García, Silvia

ADIF
1
Abstract
For the first time in history, the population living in cities has surpassed the rural
population, and this trend is increasing every day. And according to the UN in 2050 the
urbanites will be 70% of the population of the planet. We have entered a new era. The
Urban Era Cities are today the engines of economic development, innovation catalysts
and investment multipliers (they already account for 70% of GDP). But they also face
serious problems arising from increased pollution, high noise levels, excessive resources
consume, CO emissions, congestion, spending of time, etc.
2
These both sides of the coin, makes necessary to work for mitigate the negative effects
of urbanization and enhance the positive ones, and the only way to do this is through a
good urban and infrastructure planning.
Faced with this challenge, major cities in developed world are carrying out major
redevelopment and Regeneration Urban Land Projects, recovering degraded areas,
industrial zones, obsolete or unused infrastructures inside the city, to create new quality
vibrant spaces for citizens, parks, housing, offices, shops and urban infrastructures on
areas with optimal accessibility and connection around the High‐Speed railway Station.
They achieve then to minimize the resources needed (soil, commute, energy and time),
and create more compact and efficient cities that face the necessary growth, in a more
sustainable way.
Milan, Perth, New York, San Francisco, Frankfurt or London have already completed
these. Redevelopment Projects and their success is setting an example for other cities
like Sydney that is following its wake with a budding macro Project now in planning stage.
All these Projects have in common the essence of recovering railway lands for the city,
increasing the value o public domain and transforming into public spaces and Real Estate
developments that help to self‐financing the expensive infrastructures required.
The main Spanish cities have already joined this trend of Urban Regeneration. Madrid
aspires to get on this boat with the largest of all the Redevelopment Projects proposed.
However, it have been found notable differences between the designed Projects in Spain
and those carried out in other countries, which can help us to understand each other and
to learn from their successes and mistakes.

Keywords: # Urban development∙ Regeneration # High‐Speed railway Station # Self financing, Projects #
Railway lands.

1 Pérez del Caño García, Silvia.Spanish Railway Infrastructure Administrator, ADIF. Email: sperez@adif.es

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 277