ABSTRACT
In the 1960s the institution was split into two. The city became responsible for its own planning, and COPLACO was responsible for the metropolitan area. After this split the institution was never able to find a balance of power among the city of Madrid, the other municipalities, the state, and COPLACO itself. Metropolitan planning nearly died, as city planning nearly did in the 1920s. In the 1970s the citizens' movement temporarily broke the grasp that the government was trying to maintain. In reality the masses plugged a massive hole. Government was on the brink of collapse. The severe economic crisis due to the 1973 oil shock brought the private sector to the verge as well. Citizens swept in to fill the void left by the central government's gradual withdrawal of support from COPLACO, leaving it nearly powerless by the late 1970s. An active civil society expanded the institution into the fullest expression in its history.
