Presión inmobiliaria y destrucción de sistemas agrarios y suelos de calidad. El ejemplo de la Comunidad de Madrid

This paper analyses the joint evolution of the urban and agricultural systems in the community of Madrid. The study is based on the information obtained directly with the interpretation of aerial photograph in 1956, 1980 and 2005. This has made possible to crate a geographic system of information very appropriate to obtain cartographic and statistical information about the evolution and quality of the agricultural land. The scale of the work is 1:25.000. The text analyzes this evolution, pointing out the key factors of the tendencies and processes observed in the period of time. It analyzes in depth the events occurred from 1930 to 2005, giving more detailed information about the quality and use of the involved agricultural land. In conclusion, it can be said that the introduction of the model of urban sprawl speeded up the destruction of good quality agricultural land, and the disorganization of the agricultural systems in the last period of time analyzed (1980-2005). This has been influenced by the last two building booms that have taken place in Madrid. This work is much more significant than a mere regional study, since it has established the rules of behaviour that have defined the interaction of the urban systems with the surrounding urban areas in Spain.