Spain's housing institute failed to end slum housing until the 1990s
Madrid was Europe's shantytown capital in 1975. Spain's National Housing Institute built homes, but slums persisted until the 1980s and 1990s under democracy.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The myth of the INV: it did not end slum housing, and it wasn't Franco's fault alone
Did Spain's National Housing Institute (Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda) manage to eradicate slum housing during the Franco dictatorship? The answer is no. Although the INV built thousands of homes, data and testimonies show that shantytowns did not disappear until well into democracy, in the 1980s and even the 1990s.
Madrid, the slum capital of 1975
In 1975, Madrid was the European city with the most shantytowns. Millions of Spaniards migrated from the countryside to the cities in the 1960s and 1970s without any reception network, and the INV could not absorb that demand. Settlements such as Los Focos in San Blas remained active until the 1990s. The INV's efforts were insufficient, and according to some interpretations it was private developers who really drove the absorption of that population amid economic growth.
The debate over when slum housing ended
There is no consensus on when it really ended. Some point to the 1980s, with democracy; others note that the last settlements were not dissolved until the 1990s. What is clear is that the INV was not the decisive factor. The upward social mobility of rural migrants, who secured stable jobs and improved economically, was the real engine behind the disappearance of the shantytowns.
And while some credit the regime with building housing, others point out that the scale of the problem was so large that not even the INV could cope with it. One irony: the agency created to end slum housing watched it outlive it.
Did Spain's National Housing Institute (Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda) manage to eradicate slum housing during the Franco dictatorship? The answer is no. Although the INV built thousands of homes, data and testimonies show that shantytowns did not disappear until well into democracy, in the 1980s and even the 1990s.
Madrid, the slum capital of 1975
In 1975, Madrid was the European city with the most shantytowns. Millions of Spaniards migrated from the countryside to the cities in the 1960s and 1970s without any reception network, and the INV could not absorb that demand. Settlements such as Los Focos in San Blas remained active until the 1990s. The INV's efforts were insufficient, and according to some interpretations it was private developers who really drove the absorption of that population amid economic growth.
The debate over when slum housing ended
There is no consensus on when it really ended. Some point to the 1980s, with democracy; others note that the last settlements were not dissolved until the 1990s. What is clear is that the INV was not the decisive factor. The upward social mobility of rural migrants, who secured stable jobs and improved economically, was the real engine behind the disappearance of the shantytowns.
And while some credit the regime with building housing, others point out that the scale of the problem was so large that not even the INV could cope with it. One irony: the agency created to end slum housing watched it outlive it.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (20 replies).
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