Getafe - Town Planning

Town Planning

The urban portions of Getafe are organised in an almost longitudinal manner, from northeast to southwest. Thus, the elongated shape of Getafe today is due primarily to the close proximity of the Getafe Air Force Base, which impedes city growth to the southeast. The most important streets of the city are Calle Madrid and Calle Toledo. These two roads are pedestrian through the center of Getafe, and are part of what was a royal road connecting Madrid and Toledo during the Middle Ages. Getafe has other important streets and avenues organizing its neighborhoods, such as the Avenida de España, Avenida de Los Ángeles, Avenida de las Ciudades, Avenida Juan Carlos I, and Calle Ferrocarril.

The popular architectural style in Getafe is generally characterised by two story buildings with tile roofs, various small balconies on the second floor, and a bare brick façade. These types of houses can be found in the Getafe Centro neighbourhood, though their numbers are decreasing as existing houses are vacated and demolished to make room for new townhouse developments. The average height of buildings in Getafe is five floors, approximately 60 feet (17 metres). This peculiarity is due to the proximity of the Getafe Air Force Base, which places limits on the height of buildings. Few buildings in Getafe surpass eight stories in height.

Due to the developmental limitations imposed by the Air Force Base and the municipality borders, the city's parks and green spaces are important conservation areas. Two of the largest parks are located within the Sector III and La Alhóndiga neighbourhoods. These green zones include an artificial lake and river, two pine forests, and a number of hiking trails. The parks cover an area approximately the size of Getafe Centro, and make up the western part of the urban centre, separated from the east by the A-42. A series of parks of various sizes are located within the city proper. Outside of the city are two pine forests with picnic areas, fountains, and kiosks.

Getafe's urban centre is undergoing various expansions of its urban centre. One of these is the construction and establishment of the El Bercial neighbourhood. This expansion of El Bercial will quadruple the size of the neighbourhood and will allow the city to expand to the northeast, linking El Bercial to the urban centre. The Los Olivos industrial park is expanding eastward, while at the same time, the Perales del Río neighbourhood grows westward, bringing these two neighbourhoods closer together. The Área Tecnológica del Sur is being constructed in the southern parts of the municipal district, along the M-50. The Área will be an area dedicated to a number of exposition halls and areas for new industrial development.

Getafe township has a number of projects underway to expand urban areas. One of these projects is expanding the Sector III neighborhood by constructing housing at the feel of Buenavista hill. Another project involves creating a residential neighborhood called Los Molinos, located east of Getafe Norte and north of the Los Ángeles industrial park. A third project calls for the construction of a university, the Universidad Politécnica de Getafe, which will include three departments and a central building.