Madrid today is Europe’s third city, after London and Paris; and the second in terms of building initiative, tailing Berlin but ahead of London. No city on the continent can currently compete with Germany’s capital, but many will be surprised to learn that Madrid is at present investing a greater amount of resources on construction and public works than the British capital, despite the euphoria of the Millennium works, the cultural projects funded by the Lottery, and the expectations aroused by the Labour government, which has proclaimed its commitment to London by giving the city the mayorship it never had. Madrid has its own mayor, but the impetus of its development is totally tangential to this authority, which witnesses the muscular growth of the urban fabric, with no other preocupation than to postpone the collapse of traffic through expressways and tunnels, and no other program than the imposition of a rancid traditionalism in the street furniture and statuary that decorates the heart of the city...[+]