Valencia government identifies flood-safe land for more than 138,000 homes

The study and its figures

The Generalitat Valenciana has produced a technical study that uses the flood mapping from the 2024 dana to identify land outside flood risk in the metropolitan area of València. It was presented on Friday, 6 November 2026 at an event attended by president Juanfran Pérez Llorca, vice president and environment minister Vicente Martínez Mus, vice president Susana Camarero, València mayor María José Catalá and mayors of towns hit by the 2024 flood. The work, carried out with local councils, analysed 1,951 square kilometres across 86 municipalities. Reports of its results differ. One version gives 1,642 hectares of flood-free land with capacity for more than 138,000 homes, while another gives 1,550 hectares and more than 131,000 homes. Both versions put about 1,600 hectares of industrial and logistics land on the list.

The study was led by the architect and urbanist Alejandro Escribano, who said that land being buildable does not mean it has to be built on. Pérez Llorca made the same point, saying the document is not a proposal to urbanise automatically and not a definitive land classification.

What the study is meant to do

Pérez Llorca described the study as a tool that helps councils identify opportunities and guide decisions, rather than a plan that decides land use. He argued that the study shows building and protection can go together.

“You can build and protect at the same time.”

He also said the work could help restore confidence among residents, so that families feel their new home will be a safe place and business owners feel they can reopen their business. Industrial land identified in the study gives companies places to set up.

The growth model behind the study

Pérez Llorca said the importance of the study lies mainly in the model it proposes, with compact growth close to existing urban centres, served by public services and transport and kept away from areas with risk. He called for planned territorial growth backed by hydraulic works that reduce damage in future floods, safer buildings, and new residential and industrial developments placed under reinforced safety criteria. He also referred to other tools being promoted to raise land safety, including a revision of the Patricova, the flood-risk territorial action plan.

Housing as the stated goal

Pérez Llorca framed the study as a response to housing access, which he called one of the country's main social problems. He said the document would make it easier for town councils to locate the most suitable land for building. The mayor of València, María José Catalá, attended the presentation alongside the mayors of other municipalities affected by the 2024 flood.