Spain's shade deficit: an urban problem paid for with health

Why is there hardly any shade on the Spanish plateau? Trees are not welcome

Walking through a village in Castile in August can be a penance: streets without a single tree, concrete squares and houses that feel like ovens. While in North African countries inner courtyards and gardens are a refuge from the heat, across large parts of Spain vegetation seems to be banned. Is it a cultural, economic or simply lazy issue? The data and experiences point to a mix of all three.

The contrast with Arab architecture: green courtyards vs. desert streets

Anyone who has visited palaces or medinas in Segarro or Andalusia knows that shade is a planned luxury. Fountains, plants and awnings create cool microclimates. In the Castilian plateau, by contrast, villages seem designed to maximise sun exposure. The whitewashed façades and narrow streets evoke the desert, but without the inner oasis. The Moorish tradition, which shaped the south so deeply, never took root in the centre: there, the tree is viewed with suspicion.

Farmers, speculation and the dictatorship of concrete

One of the most repeated explanations is agricultural pressure. In areas where arable land is scarce, trees are seen as a nuisance that takes ground away from cereals or vineyards. Paths are scraped to the very edge, and planting a tree in the countryside is seen as a waste of time. Add to this urban planning policy: when a city council decides to remodel a square, the cheapest and fastest option remains concrete. Madrid's Plaza de España is the perfect example: the project by Carmena and Almeida removed green areas and expanded the hard surface, turning it into a frying pan in summer.

The hidden cost: more heat, higher energy bills and worse health

The lack of shade is not just an aesthetic nuisance. Cities without trees suffer the urban heat island effect: temperatures can soar several degrees above those of leafy areas. In Budapest, with similar hard-paved squares, 44°C has been recorded. In Spain, heatwaves hit hardest where there is no vegetation cover. Air conditioning bills skyrocket, and public health suffers: more heatstroke, higher mortality among the elderly. A problem that could be mitigated with something as simple as planting trees, but which runs into a cultural resistance that is hard to explain.

Perhaps the next time a politician promises a "open and airy" square, we should ask how many degrees they plan to give us. Meanwhile, on the plateau they are still waiting for a shade that never seems to come.