The College of Architects of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro has characterised the felling of trees in the Rambla of Santa Cruz de Tenerife as an intervention “of significant landscape and social impact” that threatens to weaken one of the most relevant structuring elements of the public space in the capital. Therefore, the professional body has requested more “transparency” from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Council, led by José Manuel Bermúdez (Canarian Coalition) in the management of the trees. Furthermore, it has expressed its concern that the felling of Indian laurels (a measure that has been carried out in recent weeks despite community protests and requests from two associations for reports supporting this decision) “puts at risk a model of a city that seeks to recover urban areas for the enjoyment of its citizens.”
It also compromises the principles of contemporary urbanism focused on environmental quality, urban health, and social cohesion, it adds. In light of this action, the College of Architects states that it will request the reports and the execution file of the felling.
The professional institution acknowledges the need to remove those trees whose structural condition poses a risk, provided this decision is supported by rigorous studies, available for technical and public scrutiny, and at the same time demands greater transparency in municipal management concerning one of the “identity markers” of the Tenerife capital.
In this same vein, there is a call for the incorporation of more demanding protocols for diagnosis, conservation, and monitoring of urban trees, with particular attention to established species to preserve those specimens that are viable and that form part of the collective imagination and urban memory of Santa Cruz.
Regarding reforestation, the College of Architects believes that it should avoid introducing exotic species whose behaviour in response to the effects of climate change has not been adequately evaluated.
For the College of Architects, cities must be designed “by and for the citizen” and align with the principles of contemporary urbanism implemented in European cities like Barcelona, where models such as superblocks demonstrate the transformative potential of urban greenery as a unifying axis of pedestrian mobility, climatic comfort, and community life.
A model that Santa Cruz de Tenerife should not abandon in order to strengthen its image as a “friendly city” that offers spaces for walking and enjoying an urban environment with areas of natural shade, the architects add.
The management of the trees in Santa Cruz requires a long-term strategic vision that combines conservation, progressive renewal, and soil recovery as a vital support for the arboreal system, and only in this way will it be possible to maintain and enhance the structuring role of Indian laurels and other species in the configuration of a vibrant, livable city that is coherent with the environmental and social challenges of the 21st century, states the professional body.
The Council, reported to Seprona
In recent years, several associations have been denouncing the constant felling of specimens in the city of Santa Cruz, the lack of maintenance and care and the adoption of measures such as covering the soil around the trunk with concrete and other materials that hinder growth and affect the health of the specimens. The Council, however, boasts of having more than 400,000 trees, but this figure includes all the forest mass of Anaga. The Council made these statements just hours after several experts in the Canary Parliament described the situation of trees in the city as a “genuine emergency.”
Just two weeks ago, members of the associations Los Árboles Hablan and La Mesa del Árbol reported the felling of laurels on the Rambla of Santa Cruz, from number 147 to the Marina Command. These groups believe that the law is being violated, explaining this in their report, which includes photos and videos of the undertaken cuts.
Both groups made this decision after the Council did not respond to their request for access to the file in order to make allegations.
