The interplay between gentrification and touristification as the main driver of the suburbanization of poverty in contemporary Madrid

Abstract

This article examines how the processes of gentrification and touristification associated with the globalization of Madrid's economy have increased the existing socio-spatial inequalities in the city. Focusing on Lavapiés neighborhood, which is one of the most iconic historical neighborhoods of the Spanish capital, this article presents a mixed methods research based on both data extraction from official sources and conducting 22 semi-structured interviews. Findings show how the interplay between gentrification and touristification in Lavapiés has reinforced the process of expulsion of neighbors while local institutions promoted the neighborhood as the most cosmopolitan in Madrid. The final part of the article concludes that Madrid has moved in recent years towards a dual city model where the interplay between the gentrification and touristification of the historic center is the main driver of the suburbanization of poverty in contemporary Madrid.