Cañada Real

The largest illegal settlement in a European city, it extends through the municipalities of Coslada, Rivas-Vaciamadrid and Madrid.

The irregular settlement features both high-end detached houses as well as pockets of extreme poverty.

[1] The initial settlement, started in the 1950s and 1960s, was built on what currently forms part of the Coslada urban centre; many of the residents later bought the land from the State.

[4] With around 8,048 inhabitants and 2,650 houses as of 2012, the Cañada Real was considered at the time to be the largest shanty town in Southern Europe.

[3] Valdemingómez, a quarter in the centre of Cañada Real, is controlled by drug gangs, and is scarred by violence.