Is EU urban policy transforming urban regeneration in Spain? Answers from an analysis of the Iniciativa Urbana (2007-2013)

- The study analyzes how the urban dimension of the EU policy has been implemented in Spain (through the Iniciativa Urbana) during the period 2007-2013, in order to:
- Understand whether this policy instrument has been capable of overcoming the limitations faced by the URBAN (1994-1999) and URBAN II programmes (2000-2006) in the country regarding implementation of the “URBAN method”.
- Understand if the continuation of the urban policy of the EU (Iniciativa Urbana) is contributing to overcome traditional limitations that characterize the scenario of urban regeneration in the country.
- The analysis suggests that little progress has been made following the development of URBAN II, and that the difficulties the municipalities met with at the beginning of the 2000s when designing and launching strategies according to the URBAN method still persist.
- It also demonstrates that in the cases analyzed, municipalities have adopted in their discourse the concepts and principles that guide EU action in deprived areas, but have found obstacles in their practical application.
- The study identifies the following relevant policy problem: the continuation of URBAN in Spain during the period 2007-2013 has not been able to progress (if compared with the programmes developed in the period 1994-2006).
- As a result, the study shows that the EU is influencing the practice of urban regeneration in Spain, but not in a consistent way that delivers real change. On the contrary, it is relegating pending problems inherent to the Spanish scenario to a secondary status through urban rhetoric.
- The study contributes to highlight a policy problem that is crucial to address in the present scenario, in which the instruments that will continue the urban dimension of EU policy in Spain are being developed.

Urban issues have been targeted by European Union (EU) policy action during the last three decades. The launch and implementation of the URBAN (1994-1999) and URBAN II Community Initiatives (2000-2007) introduced an innovative way of addressing urban challenges in many Member States, resulting in a relevant advancement in the field of urban regeneration.With the end of the URBAN Community Initiative for the programming period 2007-2013, the urban dimension of EU policy was mainstreamed in the Operational Programmes of the Member States, giving them the chance to implement integrated urban regeneration initiatives in their cities by putting into practice the “URBAN method”.This work stems from the recognition of the relevant contribution that the EU urban policy, and particularly the two rounds of URBAN, have made to urban regeneration in Spain, and aims to understand how the “URBAN method” was developed in the new scenario for 2007-2013 through the Iniciativa Urbana (the initiative launched by the Spanish Government to continue the transformative trend started by URBAN). This study focuses on understanding how this new instrument assumed and fostered the collaborative, integrated and innovative approach of URBAN as advised by the European Commission (EC). It also aims to understand whether through this instrument, the urban dimension of EU policy is contributing to face the traditional problems inherent to urban regeneration in the country.In order to achieve the mentioned objectives, this study analyzes the launch of the Iniciativa Urbana (IU) by the Ministry of Finance on a national scale in 2007 and two IU programmes implemented in the region of Madrid (Leganés-La Fortuna and Madrid-Villaverde) through the development of case studies.The study shows that the Iniciativa Urbana is not making relevant progress if compared with the programmes undertaken under URBAN II regarding the development of integrated, collaborative and innovative urban regeneration strategies. It also shows that it is leaving unsolved and partially unaddressed traditional problems regarding action in the urban environment in the country. The conclusions contribute to a reflection on the framework of the development of the Urban Agenda for Spain (at the moment in progress) and to a first assessment of the mainstreaming of the urban dimension in EU policies from 2007 in the context of the Member States.