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Territory and planning. Two concepts that go hand in hand in Tenerife, an Island with 49% of its surface –2,036 total square kilometers– protected and untouchable. Additionally, 72.4% of the land, seven out of every ten square kilometers, has ecological value, which limits the possibility of urbanization and housing development, the main issue for the people of Tenerife –944,000 inhabitants, 464 per square kilometer compared to a regional average of 295–. The Study by the Government of the Canary Islands for the Demographic Challenge Strategy concludes that the average age of the urban planning in the municipalities (31) is 15 years, which hinders having a fundamental tool.
Imbalance
The study details that on the Island, 28.3% of the surface consists of municipalities facing a demographic challenge related to depopulation or stagnation, while 37.2% appears as intensely occupied space. The 14 municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants cover 28% of the territory but only concentrate 4.66% of the population. The densely populated represent 37% of the surface with 34% of the inhabitants. High concentration and significant territorial occupancy with an imbalance between intensely occupied areas and depopulated areas.
Plans
The urban planning instruments have an average age of more than 15 years, although some exceed 30. 65% of the municipalities developed them between 1997 and 2007. Most of the councils need an update due to the lack of adaptation to current regulations.
The Expert
Eduardo Risueño is a graduate in Law and an urban planning technician. He states: «It is evident that the aging of urban planning does not favor the availability of either free or protected housing».
Examples
He cites examples of the Subsidiary Planning Regulations of Arico (1997) and Vilaflor (1998), as well as the Basic Adaptation Documents of the General Planning Plan of La Laguna (2005) or Santa Cruz (2006). He explains that the reserve of public protection housing of 40% of residential buildability in new urbanization projects (those that transform rural land into urbanized land, the new city) imposed by the state land legislation since 2023 pursuant to the Law for the Right to Housing «finds few real cases in which to apply because embarking on such a project is, as we see, risky».
Reserve
The former manager of Urbanism in Santa Cruz understands that «in a territory like ours, where everything or almost everything must be protected, we are left with the reservation of 20% of buildability in reform or renovation actions of already anthropized land (the made city that wants to rejuvenate).
Vacation
A situation that «is not favored by the attraction of our climate, as professional tourism is joined by the complementary one, the small owner who wants to have an additional income, changing the purpose of their property from residence to vacation, making use of the right enshrined in the Constitution, as the social function of property has not yet fully matured».
Urbanizables
Risueño details: «I stick with the logic of extending the life of the elderly developable lands from 5 to 10 years, until September 1, 2027, when they will become common rural land if not developed before». This was included in the Climate Change Law of Canary Islands of 2022 «without much justification, perhaps because it was manifest».
Modifications
The expert concludes: «Being optimistic, I support the modifications of the general plans that some municipalities are initiating to obtain 40% of protected housing and 60% free housing, which we Tinerfeños and Canary Islanders demand so much».
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