Do you see those numbered streets? That’s how you know you’ve arrived in Ciudad Pegaso. This neighborhood in Madrid has a unique story. It began in 1956.
Ciudad Pegaso was created for workers of the state-owned company ENASA. ENASA made Pegaso trucks. The company rented homes to its employees for very little money. Years later, they sold the homes to the people living in them.
From the start, Ciudad Pegaso had services that were rare in Spain in the 1950s. There was a school with sports facilities. Residents enjoyed swimming pools, a movie theater, and social clubs. A doctor’s office, a church, and green spaces surrounded the buildings.
The types of homes in Ciudad Pegaso depended on the job of the worker. Most workers lived in apartments in taller buildings. These apartments had three or four bedrooms. Qualified technicians and middle managers lived in houses grouped in fours. These almost single-family homes had large gardens. Engineers and executives of ENASA lived in large chalets. These homes were over 300 square meters and had big gardens.
The neighborhood’s layout remains the same today as when it was built. Even though Ciudad Pegaso no longer belongs to ENASA, its original design is still visible. The buildings and street plan are unchanged.
One of the unusual things about Ciudad Pegaso is its numbered streets. Streets and avenues are numbered from one to eleven. The only exception is the Plaza de San Cristobal at the entrance.
The festivals of Ciudad Pegaso happen around the day of San Cristobal. San Cristobal is the patron saint of drivers. This connects to the truck industry that founded the neighborhood. During the festivals, there is a procession where cars are blessed.
Luis Martinez Santa-Maria designed 36 dwellings here. His architectural design followed the neighborhood’s identity. He used brick as the main material. The dwellings are red like terracotta. This exploits a single material to get its full expression. Bricks are laid upside down. This creates deep textures and diversified nuances. The building became a space for experimentation.
Ciudad Pegaso is located in the Rejas neighborhood. It’s in the San Blas-Canillejas district. It was built on land that once belonged to Canillejas and Barajas. Ciudad Pegaso is near the Madrid-Barajas Airport. It is also close to the highway that leads to Coslada, San Fernando de Henares, Torrejón de Ardoz, and Alcalá de Henares.
Ciudad Pegaso is two kilometers from Canillejas. It is five kilometers from Ciudad Lineal-Pueblo Nuevo. These areas have a close relationship with Ciudad Pegaso.
Ciudad Pegaso has been the only residential area in Rejas for half a century. Now, new developments are being built. The population of Rejas will double.
Ciudad Pegaso covers 46,363 square meters. Its characteristics should be preserved as a garden city. The integration and balance of new buildings must be carefully managed.
So, as you wander through Ciudad Pegaso, remember its past. It was a community built for the people who built the trucks that drove Spain forward. It is a unique piece of Madrid’s history.