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Hola from Madrid, where we’re on the ground this week at the Bloomberg CityLab conference, hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute. The event kicked off at the the historic Teatro Real with remarks from Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, along with leaders from London and Baltimore, Maryland. Here are five takeaways from Day One. To see more, you can watch a recording of today’s conversations. Madrid’s balancing act“There’s a word that defines the future of the city, and that allows us to guarantee our growth, which is balance — balance in the ability to attract and retain talent ... and at the same time to know that if we lose our identity, then we will lose our soul.” José Luis Martínez-Almeida Mayor of Madrid As we reported this week, the Spanish capital is walking a fine line as it attracts luxury tourism while trying to retain the longtime laid-back culture that makes the city special. On Tuesday, the mayor echoed the sentiment of people quoted in our story: that the city risks losing its soul. Aging in place86 years Madrid has the longest life expectancy in the European Union, according to José Fernández, a member of Madrid’s city council and a leader of local efforts to support policies for healthy aging. Steal this idea?
Arganzuela Footbridge, designed by French architect Dominique Perrault.
Linda Poon/Bloomberg
We spent a sunny afternoon visiting Madrid Rio, a winding park built on the banks of the Manzanares River, after the city pushed part of the M-30 highway underground. Considered one of the city’s most ambitious urban transformations, the park opened in 2015, after eight years of planning and construction. Not only does it offer nearly 10 kilometers (six miles) of natural and recreational space (including fountains and mist gardens for cooling down, as well as a zip line for the adventurous); pedestrian bridges like the Arganzuela Footbridge connect neighborhoods on either side of the waterway. Getting ahead of the AI boom“We don’t want to move fast and break things. We want to move fast and make things without leaving anyone behind.” Sadiq Khan Mayor of London Kahn said the city is already using AI to predict congestion, deal with poor housing conditions and speed up cancer diagnoses. Now, he’s looking to ensure residents have the skills to use the technology safely, while preparing for potential disruption of the job market. Eliminating blight, block by block11,851 The number of vacant properties in Baltimore, Maryland, as of April 2026, down from 15,672 in December 2020 — a reduction of nearly 25%, according to Mayor Brandon Scott. He credited the reduction to a community-facing program aimed at tearing down or renovating empty homes and beautifying blocks. Watch Tomorrow’s SpeakersYou can view Day 2 of the Bloomberg CityLab conference via live stream starting at 9 a.m. Madrid time here. A schedule of streamed speakers is here. Have something to share? Email us. And if you haven’t yet signed up for this newsletter, please do so here. More from Bloomberg
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