Luisa Badía and Tristán López-Chicheri
Barcelona 1992 remains a paradigmatic example: the reorganisation of infrastructure and the reopening of the city to the sea reshaped its metropolitan structure and global positioning. Since then, many events have acted as accelerators for projects that, under normal circumstances, would have taken decades to materialise.
The 2030 World Cup is generating similar dynamics. In Morocco, the expansion of the railway system, including new high-speed lines and metropolitan connections, responds not only to the immediate demands of the tournament, but also strengthens the transport network as a strategic backbone for long-term territorial development.
At the same time, stadiums and stations are increasingly conceived as hybrid urban components: infrastructures capable of accommodating diverse uses, activating their surroundings and structuring new centralities. Experience shows that when designed from an integrated perspective, combining mobility, public space, economic activity and landscape, these interventions can become drivers of regeneration.
In a global context shaped by mobility and large-scale events, the real urban challenge is not simply to build more infrastructure, but to design it so that it continues to generate value long after the event has ended.
