Sustainable urban development in Madrid New North

Related theme: Soil and groundwater, Site development 

Madrid New North is an urban transformation project planned for the northern area of Madrid. It is a hugely ambitious project and one of the largest urban developments in Europe. 

Project information


Period:
2021 – 2022

Client: Crea Madrid Nuevo Norte

TAUW contact person:

  • Gaspar Baleriola Sánchez

 

 

Challenge - Phase 1 ESA 

The urban development company Crea Madrid Nuevo Norte (CreaMNN) asked TAUW to assist with the Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment for the intended redevelopment of the location and to identify potential liabilities arising from current and former industrial and dumping sites. 

The site spans almost 5.5 km from north to south and is actually a patchwork of over a hundred separate plots. These have different owners and accommodate a range of different business activities. We had to obtain each owner’s permission to assess their plot.  The main difficulty was following government regulations, because these are established for single-site projects. 

 

Solution – Practical, transparent and innovative 

TAUW convinced the authorities to adapt their regulatory process for this project. The authorities permitted the Phase I and Phase 2 assessments to be conducted on a plot-by-plot basis, instead of requiring the completion of Phase I for the entire site. The regulations were supplemented with a clause legally requiring plot owners to conduct a phase 1 analysis when their plot becomes available for the project.  

GIS viewer 
A second solution that we provided was the interactive GIS viewer, which visualises all the environmental information and makes it publicly accessible. Although this mostly normal practice in the Netherlands, it was an innovation for Spain.

 

Impact - Getting the job done, first-time right 

We made a positive impact on this project by our practical solutions, our underlying technical expertise, and our transparent approach to all stakeholders. We always intend to get the job done right and within the best possible timeframe. Thanks to our solid work, Madrid Nuevo Norte is a significant step closer to achieving its aim: creating a more efficient, sustainable and prosperous capital. 

 

Partnership – Similar mindsets 

Transparency and ease of sharing info 
TAUW sets great store by being transparent and sharing information. To help the client, we set up a special TAUW Teams website to make it practical, transparent and easy to share information. The collaboration with CreaMNN was solution driven, at times demanding but always highly interesting and pleasant.  

 

“Our experience with TAUW has been completely satisfactory, not only for their client-oriented mindset and technical expertise on soil and groundwater site characterization, but also they were so flexible to adapt to our needs and also their innovative approach to spatial data management” Miguel Gonzalez, Project Manager at CreaMNN 

Our living ambition report 2022

Take a look at our annual report for many more great projects and stories. With our employees, clients and partners, TAUW makes a positive impact on the vital living environment. In our living ambition report we provide an overview of our achievements.

It's not just a daily job, it's... a living ambition

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