Pozuelo de Alarcón is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Bordering the Moncloa-Aravaca district of Madrid proper to its west, Pozuelo de Alarcón is surrounded by large Mediterranean pine-tree forests: the Casa de Campo, the Monte del Pardo, and the Monte del Pilar. As of 2019, it ranks as the wealthiest municipality in Spain. La Finca, an isolated luxury residential area known by its affluent residents, most notably football players, lies within the municipality bounds.
History
Pozuelo has become a low-density residential area during recent decades, as new residential developments have spread over formerly agricultural lands. New transportation infrastructure is approved by the local government. Notable infrastructure developments include the M-40 (the second, counting outwards, of Madrid’s ring motorways) and the new ‘Metro Ligero’ (light rail) line ML2 of the Madrid metro system, which was built in summer 2007 to connect Pozuelo with the Aluche district in the city of Madrid. Two stations also serve Pozuelo: ‘Pozuelo’ and ‘El Barrial-Centro Commercial Pozuelo’ of the Madrid area local train system, the ‘Cercanias‘. Road access is also provided by the A6 and the M503, with the Madrid orbital M40 running to the west.
Pozuelo has one of the highest average per capita incomes in Madrid. According to a report by the Institute of Statistics of the Comunidad de Madrid, Pozuelo’s average income level ranks highest, by a notable margin, amongst the municipalities of the Region of Madrid.[4] The standard of living in most of its neighborhoods is high, although some old town-center areas, where a growing economic immigrant population has moved in, are excluded from such wealth.
Pozuelo has a number of urban parks, some of them elongated and serving to separate different areas of the town. The Avenida de Europa is an urban development designed around a wide boulevard.
A distinct religious building in the municipality is the Catholic Church of Santa María de Caná [es], a post-conciliar brick building by Fernando Higueras.
A right-wing stronghold, the ayuntamiento (the local government institution) has been ruled by political conservatives since the first democratic elections of the modern Spanish democracy took place. The current mayoress, Susana Pérez, was elected in 2016. Among notable people that have lived there are former Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo, who resided there for nine years, and Carlos Sainz, a Spanish World Rally Champion. Sainz was also the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the town in 2010.
The local festivities, the “Fiestas Patronales”, take place in July and in the beginning of September. The municipality also celebrates las “Fiestas del Carmen,” “Fiestas de San Sebastian,” “Fiestas de La Virgen de Consolacion,” y “Fiestas de Navidad.”