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Upon analyzing the state of the periphery in contemporary cities, it is possible to detect overlapping difficulties in physical, conceptual and social spheres, which necessitate an intervention model aimed at the integrated urban regeneration of this area. However, the interventions undertaken so far, as viewed from a normative and historical perspective, have largely been based on entirely physical actions. By studying the urban renovation of Caño Roto, Madrid --a social housing complex built between 1957 and 1963, and renovated between 1994 and 2004-- the effects of the structural and functional interventions to the building and the development on the subsequent evolution of the area are examined. To this end, the issues that affect the relationship between the complex and the city, that is to say its connectivity and those that condition its urban complexity, are discussed. Hence, this research verifies if the physical process serves as an impulse for the integration of the complex, or if on the contrary, it must be complemented with other types of specific actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]