# MADRID : from centre to suburbs



## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

diegodbs said:


> Beware of the trolls!




No need to get offensive. 

Madrid is a great city, with many different great things, a great mass transit system, great street life, wonderful parks and much more amazing things, but that doesn´t mean that a big part of the land around Madrid city itself is just wasteland, free of trees and bushes and almost desertic.

You just have to drive out of the city taken the A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, R2, R3, R4 or the R5. 

You can also drive the M40 from the A1 to the A4 or take al the roads leading to Barajas.

If you still don´t think that Madrid has a lot of areas that are almost desertic, get an AVE train from Atocha to the south or to Barcelona, and all natural spaces that you will see around Madrid are free of trees as far as your eyes can see.

If you are still not convinced try landing in Madrid Barajas and have a look to what you have to see.


Ok, maybe you don´t like the word desert for whatever reasons, so to put it in other words: Madrid really has a lot of its land totally deforested, the sooner you realize about it the best you can manage to repair the damage done or just to improve the situation.

And don´t misunderstood me, i really like Madrid a lot, i know there a lot of green areas too and many wondeful forest even within the city limits, not to mention its parks, but that´s no reason to deny that this green reallity goes in parallel with another brown reallity that is also there.

best regards.


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## JAVICUENCA (Dec 27, 2004)

:sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy:

Repeating the same negative things like a machine can make consider someone as a troll.

In general the south is dry and the north is green. OK. And what?

OK. Let´s figure you guys aren´t trolls. Then why don´t you enumerate with the same detail the parks, woods and green areas of this wonderful city?

By the way, Madrid is the second city of the world after Tokio with more number of trees.

Are they made of plastic for you? 

What is important is not the roads from where you can see the trees (many of this areas can´t be reached from big motorways) but the really enormous green surface of Madrid.

So if you aren´t a troll, now you´re invited to enumerate with the same detail the green areas, woods and parks of Madrid.

I insist in the veeery big green areas of Madrid seein you only insist in the dry ones. If you only insist in the dry ones is just because you´re a troll, obviously.

Apart from that, is it really the only interesting thing in Madrid or you want that we speak only of that in this thread (another reason to consider you a probable troll).

Why don´t you speak about other interesting issues of Madrid if you say you aren´t a troll? I inveite you to this too.


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

ok, you win, Madrid is the greener city ever seen on earth, and all the semidesertic areas i´ve talked about before are just in my mind, i dreamt on then.

By the way, if i´m trolling for expresing my mind and being repetive, you guys are as repetive as me saying how green Madrid is, so trolls aswell, right?

Before ending this, do you have any reliable data to prove that Madrid is the second city just after Tokyo in number of trees? Is not that i don´t trust you, but seems hard to believe.


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## Alvr23 (Jan 29, 2008)

Please don´t try to be right by saying things that we didn´t say. 
We admit that the lands of Madrid don´t look green in summer, that´s true. But that doesn´t mean that some areas of Madrid are desertic. I repeat that all of them are growed lands, I know it very well. And I also repeat that trees grow perfectly. In landed areas, there are no trees, in Madrid and in the greenest part of the world.

So, don´t repeat that statement, don´t try to be right by saying that we say that Madrid is the greenest city. It´s true that during summer it doesn´t look green, but doesn´t mean Madrid to be semidesertic.

I don´t know what´s your problem with that. Madrid is not semidesertic, everything you plant here, it will grow: wheat, a tree and everything you want.

Two photos near Barajas Airport:

Summer:










Spring:










*And I also thing that it is time to stop this stupid argument and invite people who is reading this tread to come and visit Madrid and see if Madrid is semidesertic or not.*


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## JAVICUENCA (Dec 27, 2004)

He´s a troll, don´t you realize?

I´ve said before that the south is dry and the north is green. But he keeps on saying that I´ve said that Madrid is the greenest city of the world.

I´m bored of this matter. Some pictures to change the subject, although our trolls will come after the pictures and repeat that Madrid is .....dry. (And their minds aren´t dry?)




madridhere said:


> Bueno, aquí pongo fotos que creo que pueden ser un resumen del estado actual de la ciudad en cuanto a proyectos terminados, edificios de siempre restaurados, infraestructuras, paseos, vida de la calle, etc, etc. Empiezo por estas fotos. Por supuesto que todo el mundo está invitado para poner todas las que quiera y enriquecerlo.
> 
> Reina Sofía de Jean Nouvel:
> 
> ...


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## Motorways (Jul 1, 2009)

JAVICUENCA said:


> He´s a troll, don´t you realize?
> 
> I´ve said before that the south is dry and the north is green. But he keeps on saying that I´ve said that Madrid is the greenest city of the world.
> 
> I´m bored of this matter. Some pictures to change the subject, although our trolls will come after the pictures and repeat that Madrid is .....dry. (And their minds aren´t dry?)


look mate, i don´t know you and you don´t know me. So stop calling me troll.

obviously i was been sarcastic when i said that Madrid was the greenest city on earth, that doesn´t change the fact that you have been calling me troll since my first post on this thread, and that just show what an uneducated person you are.


if you want to belive that Madrid is the city with more trees right after Tokio as it has been said in this same thread,ok, then great for you. I hardly can believe it. 

Madrid is green in the north and dry in south? perfect,i did no said the opposite. I said that Madrid has loads and loads of fields that could be classified as arid land, wasteland or semi desertic, and the truth is that even if they get some green grass during the winter time, there no trees or forest on then, there is nothing, not even anything planted. 

And you can deny that as much times as you wanna, you can call me troll as much times as it please you, that won´t change the fact that a vast chunk of the lands surrounding Madrid city proper are just less full of green life than the Nevada Desert.

A pic of the Nevada Desert to ilustratre:










This land up there it´s often named desertic, or arid at least. So i see no reason for not using the same adjetives for some of the lands arround Madrid that are even drier. 

And the real thing is that you still take this as an insult to Madrid´s beauty, an attack to your own person or an offense to the whole nation, as if there weren´t dozens of amazing cities on arid or dry locations.

I can reckon a thousand of good things about Madrid, i also reckon that it has a lot of green parks and forest very close to the city. I have to say that Madrid is a city that really worths to be visited, that has stunning buildings, incredible corners, charming places, and a vibrant cultural life and night clubbing, but it seems that since i have seen the no so green parts of Madrid i´m here just to put down the city. You better relax and get over it, but i won´t accept you to tell me that i haven´t seen what indeed i saw with my very own eyes.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

This building, "Reina Sofía de Jean Nouvel", the design of this building is really great :cheers: its a museum?


>


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## JAVICUENCA (Dec 27, 2004)

Yes, Christos, that´s a museum of modern art. It´s where Picasso´s Guernica is kept. There are also paintings by Dalí, Miró, Gris, Kandinsky, Matisse and many others.

Thyssen also is a good museum of art (the white building) and it has classical and modern art. It´s a private colection.

And the third one is of course Prado. They´re near each other. At Paseo del Prado there are other cultural centers like Caixafórum (the building with the green wall) or Casa Encendida or Instituto Cervantes (Spanish language) or Círculo de Bellas Artes.


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## edubejar (Mar 16, 2003)

activi said:


> You have explained very well, specially in the south east from the border of the province with cuenca to the south limits of the city of Madrid the land is mainly gypsum type, not the most adequate for grass even in spring.
> 
> The long hot months of summer with almost no rains and very dry winds doesn't help to keep the grass green unless it's irrigated. I wouldn't say that madrid is in "hostile" environment because of these facts.
> 
> ...


Thank you.  Like I said, I'm not an expert in soils, climate, nor Madrid. However, I have visited the city numerous times and as a cartographer and GIS specialist who was done a lot of mapping and interpretation of satellite and aerial imagery, I easily become interested on the natural characteristics and human-built features of land. My job also forces me to research things and get people's advice and expertise, which I sometimes have to evaluate for myself. This has taught me to *discuss* (hint to some people here) over topics rather than just argue (hint once again to some people here), unless I am confident I really know what I'm talking about.

It's good to see people like you and Alvr23 who seem to like to consider the whole picture and say there is both good and bad, rather than just being a troll but also rather than just being a SSC member who calls others troll for simply stating their opinions and observations that go against their views or their city. I think troll-callers are as bad as trolls sometimes. I do admit some SSC drama can be fun sometimes, though  It ads some spice to the more boring fact-seeking members like me.


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## edubejar (Mar 16, 2003)

Motorways said:


> look mate, i don´t know you and you don´t know me. So stop calling me troll.
> 
> obviously i was been sarcastic when i said that Madrid was the greenest city on earth, that doesn´t change the fact that you have been calling me troll since my first post on this thread, and that just show what an uneducated person you are.
> 
> ...


By the way, I agree with you and I don't think you are a troll just for expressing your observations. Like you say, just because you find some parts of Madrid to look like a desert does not mean you don't like the place or qualify it as great. Like I said earlier, I too always wondered why driving out of Madrid or taking a train out always made me think of being almost in a desert. But I admit it was never towards the northwest but always towards the much vegetation-lacking southeast and east or around Barajas. I also admit I've mainly been to Madrid during the winter season so I'm not sure if that could be the reason why so much of the cropland was not green. But I could swear I've seen green cropland when flying or driving out of other European cities.

I will repeat again though that what I do find a lot is that Madrid region does not have a lot of grass (e.g. pastures for animal grazing or just open fields of grass). What I do see is a lot of trees and shrubs to the west but not the grass. And so I think it's partly the fault of the soil and rock type. Also, many areas around cities have been deforested but for some reason those tracts of land are always covered with grass, even often in the winter. The grass just looks a bit dull but there is still grass. Like many trees that are not evergreens will loose their leaves but the grass remains.


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## Ribarca (Jan 28, 2005)

It's interesting how one comment I made in response to why Madrid according to me has so much space to expand and why it has less lowrise outside of the city center compared to other cities has been taken out of context and has led to a war of words. Again it was not meant in a negative way. And despite what others claim I have been to Madrid several times, flew over Madrid a dozens times and have this summer traveled by AVE from Sevilla via Madrid to Barcelona. After being attacked I made my arguments clear. If others disagree fine but there is no need to act with having such a chip on the shoulder. Maybe the reaction of some has more to do with my signature than anything else.

Finally, this is the urban showcase and all the posting of images by others than the thread opener goes against the rules.


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## Alvr23 (Jan 29, 2008)

Stop it, please, watch photos of Madrid, north, south, est, west, everypart you want. But, please, don´t lie. And please difference between lands and forests. If you planted trees in those aparently desertic lands they would grow perfectly. Do I have to repeat the same again? And that´s not true that some areas of Madrid are drier than Nevada desert, even the same, it´s completely false. I repeat again: MADRID IS NOT SEMIDESERTIC. Can you see the photos I posted earlier? Please watch them.


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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

Well stupid arguments aside, those pictures over the past few pages are fantastic. I loved Madrid when I visited in the spring (when the countryside around it was green ) and I can't wait to return and see places I didn't visit.


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## madridhere (Oct 10, 2005)

Thank you, MIke, I remember perfectly the magnificent thread you made of this city.


As to the musums, Christos, this is the front part of Reina Sofía. And NOuvel´s building is the back.

Manuel´s picture is simply amazing.

9. Glass crowning Reina Sofia









By the way, I love the modern museum of classical art in Athens. It´s in the perfect balance betwen the modern and the old. I loved the glasses where you coul see the things there.


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## Alvr23 (Jan 29, 2008)

Some photos to proove what I said.
Southern Madrid:



















Northern Madrid (mountains):



















Monte del Pardo, in the city of Madrid:










Lands of Madrid:



















Photos have been taken from Wikipedia and Flickr


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## Peshu (Jan 12, 2005)

Friend of mine just got back to Melbourne from a teachers convention held in Seville . He landed at Madrid barajas to catch the AVE to Seville . Because he had a couple of spare hours he had a bit of a walk from Atocha up the paseo del prado and up to the newly renovated Puerta del sol . 

He called me on the mobile phone to express his dis-belief at how grand and beautiful the Spanish capital is . He decided to cut short one day in Seville so that he could explore Madrid for a whole day and night . When i asked him if i exaggerated when i thought Madrid to be Europes greatest city , his reply was . '' Madrid certainly has a very good case in believing itself as Europes greatest city. Incredible architecture , restaurants , monuments, and nightlife beyond believe'' . He also visited the awesome Bernabeu stadium .

Unfortunately though . Many people that just pass thru Barajas airport can get the idea that it isn't in a green and priveledged location . So yes from the north east to the south there is quite a bit of arid land . This is quickly changing though as it is being more constructed with buildings and more and more trees being planted .

The north west and east of madrid is a totally different matter though . Full of magnificent forests and low rise houses .

Fact is Madrid these days has no challengers what so ever with in Spain . It is nowdays in a class of its own . Majority of multinational corporations are there . The money is there . And its population is exploding . Madrid is fast becoming one of the greatest cities on earth . On par these days with the big capitals of the world .


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## Peshu (Jan 12, 2005)

Sorry i meant the Northwest and west .


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## activi (Oct 28, 2002)

And some pictures, real ones taken by google streetview, not the kind of pictures taken to be a postcard where a landfill looks like a must see place.

The arid part of Madrid, southeast, M45 highway over high speed tracks, thats what you will see coming to Mdrid from Barcelona and Sevilla as they share the same tracks for several km.

In summer it looks really arid and awful, there aren't even farmland, are abandoned terrains. From november to may it turns green, but not too much










aerial










A3higway, heading to the most poor lands in Madrid, a mix of farmland, bvad land and reforested areas. It's not a desert as rainfall is over the amounts of rain that are taken in count to consider a desert or semi-desert.
Looks like taken in summer, yellow and brown coloured farmfields, only trees remain green. Grass is dry, notice that spain is not too far from sahara and in summer heat waves and even dust from sahara aren't uncommon.

Pictures by A3 near Arganda, Manzanares river, tiny but doesn't dries in summer(as many rivers do) meets Tajuña river










aerial view, 









a few km after, but looks like october or early november, poor soil but forested, doesn't look so arid, but it's just 10km and 20km after the pictures above








aerial









Now the opposite side of Madrid, exit by A6, much more forested, the terrain also changes, but still in summer only the trees are green.
This is a typical mediterranean forest, not large trees and not dense, there isn't enough water for that, but it's the climate!









aerial









We all tend to put the nicest pictures and views of our cities, doesn't your city have industrial areas with no trees? if it rains enough there grows grass and looks nicer, it's the same here, but less rains and no grass half of the year.


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## Viva_Bulgaria (Jul 6, 2008)

Alvr23 said:


>


I have always wondered, why don't you put trees on the edges of the fields? I think that the landscape would look generally better that way. Not that it is not great even without trees :cheers:

I think that the government of Comunidad de Madrid should start an initiative in that direction, See that picture of northern Spain as an example:










Obviously, it wouldn't so green around Madrid, nor you need so many forests because you will lose arable land but still, having some tree-packed areas and placing trees between the fields would be improvement according to me


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## Alvr23 (Jan 29, 2008)

I think that it would be a good thing to plant trees in some lands that now are not landed or in the borders. But the organization of lands is different here that in the north. There are big extensions of forests in the north of the Comunity and also in the south, but there are also big extensions with landed areas. In the north of Spain and Europe almost all the land is organized in that way you showed in the photo. And it's also important that Comunity of Madrid has planted 47.830 hectares of forests in the last ten years, what means ten million trees. Six million of them have been planted since 2006. But it´s true that i would like to see trees among the lands of the south.










I took that photo as an example. In the north of Spain and Europe all this area will be organized like in the photo you posted, while here in Madrid mountainous areas are covered with forest and most of plain areas are covered with fields.


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## madridhere (Oct 10, 2005)

One picture by Corleone.



CORLEONE said:


>


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## wapo5050 (Jun 28, 2008)

wapo5050 said:


> some great pics from flickr
> 
> 
> 
> ...


more pics of the same author


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing, great photo:


>


:cheers:


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## Greg (Nov 9, 2003)

Vapour said:


> Fotos de puta madre.


I have reported this. I dont think this is the appropriate language here. Especially as a mod I expect you to use better language.


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## asystem32 (Jan 26, 2009)

Greg said:


> I have reported this. I dont think this is the appropriate language here. Especially as a mod I expect you to use better language.


you must be kidding right?

anyway, i guess that all this is just misinterpretation of the words "puta madre"

I´ll try to explain you the meaning of this two words here:

Fotos *de tu *puta madre = Photos of your fucking mom.

Fotos *con tu *puta madre = Photos with your fucking mom

Fotos *de* puta madre = fucking great photos

Sorry for using such a tasteless vocabulary, but do you notice the differences?

I do understand that for a native english speaking person, even this last use of the words may be too harsh, but for a native spanish speaker from Spain that expression is so common and after all so deeply rooted in the regular vocabulary that everyone take it as innocuous as saying, for example, " great photos", at least on a casual conversation as the one that can be hold on this kind of boards.

hope it helps this post to give you a more accurated picture of the post you´ve quoted.

Ciao!


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2009)

Fotos de puta madre= fucking amazing pics.

It's not a swear word in spanish, it's just the opposite. It's an idiom, you shouldn't translate it literally.


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## Manuel (Sep 11, 2002)

Thanks to all photographers that have complemented the thread! Nice to see other people work! 
Some pretty sensational shots!


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## madridhere (Oct 10, 2005)

Thanks to you, Manuel, your pictures are really a masterpiece.:nuts::nuts::nuts:


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## wapo5050 (Jun 28, 2008)

other pics of Madrid snowed:
















from flickr


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## AAL (Sep 13, 2007)

Lovely photos of a great city!:cheers:


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2009)

FANTASTIC work mate, I have high hopes of visiting Madrid in the near future. Keep it up


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## madridhere (Oct 10, 2005)

More pictures by Gustavo from flickr.


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## JAVICUENCA (Dec 27, 2004)

Beautiful pictures.Thanks.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Lovely, great photos once again


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## claroscuro (Jul 2, 2004)

Wow! There are some really enjoyable Madrid pics in this thread!


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## madridhere (Oct 10, 2005)

A picture by Aalto of the new obelisk by Calatrava in the north of the city.



Aalto said:


> Hasta que no aparezca un vídeo, conformémonos con una imagen


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## JAVICUENCA (Dec 27, 2004)

Excellent!!!!:banana::banana::banana:


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2010)

love this thread!


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