Pozuelo de Alarcón

Pozuelo de Alarcón
View of Pozuelo de Alarcón, looking down the Avenida de Europa.
Flag Coat of arms
Pozuelo de Alarcón shown within Madrid
Coordinates: 40°26′10″N 3°48′50″W / 40.43611°N 3.81389°W / 40.43611; -3.81389
Country	Spain
Region	Community of Madrid
Comarca	Madrid metropolitan area
Area
• Total	43.2 km2 (16.7 sq mi)
Highest elevation	690 m (2,260 ft)
Postcode	28223 and 28224
Website	www.pozuelodealarcon.es

Coordinates: 40°26′10″N 3°48′50″W / 40.43611°N 3.81389°W / 40.43611; -3.81389

Pozuelo de Alarcón is a municipality in the Community of Madrid. It is a Madrid suburb of over 85,000 inhabitants situated ten kilometers west of the Moncloa District of Madrid. It is surrounded by large Mediterranean pine-tree forests: la Casa de Campo, el Monte del Pardo, and el Monte del Pilar.

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. 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.