The concept of the '15-Minute City,' which promotes the proximity of essential services for citizens, highlights deficiencies in the Spanish capital. The Socialist Municipal Group in the City Council of Madrid has created maps detailing residential areas with limited access to essential public facilities.
PSOE data indicates that 36% of Madrileños, over 1.2 million people, do not have a nearby municipal sports center. This figure rises to 42% for public libraries, affecting more than 1.4 million residents. The most alarming situation concerns social services, where nearly half the population, approximately 1.8 million people, lacks an accessible center within a reasonable radius.
The thematic maps reveal patterns of inequality. Social services show deficits in neighborhoods within districts such as Chamartín, Tetuán, or Salamanca, as well as in peripheral areas of Latina, Fuencarral, or Ciudad Lineal. Libraries, although better distributed in the city center and the eastern zone, show scarcity in Hortaleza, Aravaca, Latina, and northern Fuencarral, in addition to southern Arganzuela.
Regarding sports facilities, the 'inner city' is well-covered, with exceptions in neighborhoods like Argüelles or high-income areas of Chamberí. However, areas such as San Blas, Hortaleza, or Carabanchel show islands of limited access. Public swimming pools reflect the greatest inequality, with large areas, both central and peripheral, lacking proximity coverage.
The Madrid PSOE has denounced this disparity, attributing it to unbalanced public investment. They argue that the municipal government's model fosters a 'two-speed' city, with districts receiving investments while others suffer from historical deficiencies.
Socialist councilor Pedro Barrero criticized the facilities policy, calling it a 'chain of disconnected announcements' and 'propaganda,' rather than planning based on social need and territorial balance. He pointed out the complete absence of senior centers in neighborhoods like Casco Histórico de Vicálvaro, Rejas, Corralejos, Nueva España, Butarque, and Cuatro Vientos.
In response, the delegate for Public Works and Equipment defended the municipal plan to build around one hundred new facilities, 86 of which are reportedly already completed, arguing they were defined based on 'territorial rebalancing' according to district requests. She regretted that the PSOE described information campaigns about these constructions as 'propaganda'.
Sources from the Public Works and Equipment area highlighted the construction of over 100 new facilities in eight years, an unprecedented achievement, and contrasted this figure with the 11 built during the left-wing mandate. They acknowledged that 'there are still things to be done,' but stated they continue to work on them.
