Land at the Service of the Regional Growth Coalition: Projects of Special Interest in the Region of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)

Abstract

Neoliberal urbanism land planning has led to the development of public-private coalitions associating common interest with lucrative private enterprise projects. In Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), this regional growth coalition was backed by a spatial planning instrument, known as Projects of Special Interest (PSI). The aim of this article is to analyse the PSI as a paradigmatic example, to study its key points and examine its current dimensions. This case study employs a review of the literature, desk research, content analysis, interviews and observation. The PSI scheme has permitted private initiatives and developments, and privately used public constructions of many different types, reducing timeframes through possible recourse to expropriation, using basic measures of land reclassification, undervaluing the ecosystems involved and even facilitating construction in areas that had previously been declared protected, or where resources such as water are not guaranteed. Despite the failure of many of these projects and the expected economic growth not being realised, the instrument has been revived, as it is directly linked to multinational enterprises investing in the region.