Urbanism Unveils New Strategic Vision for Locality Amidst Mobility, Commerce, Sustainability, and Planning Challenges
La Laguna has taken a prominent role in the First Meeting of Historical Sites of the Canary Islands, held on 17th and 18th June in Betancuria. The town showcased its experience as the only UNESCO World Heritage City in the Canary Islands and a benchmark in urban management and heritage conservation. La Laguna is also recognised for its pioneering efforts to achieve a balance between economic activity, residential life, and sustainability in a region nestled in the heart of a European-scale tourist destination.
Mayor Luis Yeray Gutiérrez participated in an institutional discussion that brought together public officials from across the archipelago to debate the future of historical centres. He presented the innovative measures being implemented to ensure the safeguarding of the exceptional universal values that have earned La Laguna its UNESCO recognition.
In his address, Mayor Gutiérrez emphasised that “La Laguna is a World Heritage Site, but above all, it is a living city. Our aim is to ensure that heritage remains a place where people live, work, and shape their future, protecting a unique legacy while embracing economic activity, university life, local commerce, and daily coexistence—elements that make our historical centre an authentic and deeply human space.”
Furthermore, Gutiérrez highlighted the significant advancements the municipality has made in recent years regarding planning and governance. “We have made a decisive leap in managing our heritage by establishing the Integrated Management Office for the Historic City, drafting the first Management Plan for the World Heritage Site, and preparing to review the Special Protection Plan. These actions position us at a historic turning point. We are constructing the framework that will define how La Laguna will evolve over the next 25 years, with a vision that integrates mobility, sustainability, citizen participation, and protection of the foundational layout.”
The Mayor also recognised the uniqueness of the La Laguna model within the Canarian and national context. “Participating in this meeting allows us to share our distinctive model, built from the experience and reality of a city that combines heritage, residential life, cultural activity, and metropolitan centrality. La Laguna proves that a historical ensemble can be a World Heritage Site without losing its neighbourhood essence, avoiding tourist saturation, and retaining its identity. Our commitment is to continue innovating to ensure that this legacy remains strong for the future,” he added.
The meeting, organised by the Government of the Canary Islands, gathered specialists in history, architecture, urbanism, cultural heritage, and public governance, alongside technical and political leaders from the main historical sites of the Archipelago and other cities. La Laguna was represented both institutionally and technically, reinforcing its role as a regional authority in heritage management.
Technical Discussion
In addition to the Mayor’s participation, the Manager of Urban Planning in La Laguna, María Bencomo, contributed to the thematic discussion on tourism, economic activity, and sustainability in historical sites. Her presentation was highly regarded for its depth and clarity. She provided a comprehensive overview of the La Laguna model, from its Renaissance foundation plan to the contemporary challenges posed by mobility, metropolitan pressure, and the need to update planning instruments.
Bencomo noted that La Laguna originated as an urban experiment ahead of its time, with an astronomically oriented grid layout conceived as a “living laboratory” that inspired the foundation of American cities. She emphasised that UNESCO’s recognition in 1999 was not solely for its architecture but for its status as the first model of an unfortified city-territory, whose design remains virtually intact more than five centuries later.
During her speech, Bencomo explained how the city has managed to avoid the phenomenon of tourist monoculture, maintaining an intensely inhabited and multifunctional historical centre that fosters real coexistence among residents, students, visitors, commerce, and administration. She highlighted that the historic district houses one-fifth of the municipal population and that La Laguna has successfully established its own model—an urban space that has not turned into a theme park but remains a vibrant and balanced city.
Bencomo also examined the current challenges arising from the success of the pedestrian model and the urban centrality of the historical centre, particularly concerning mobility, pressures on the edges of the historic ensemble, and the transformation of traditional commerce. She explained that the Special Protection Plan (PEP), approved in 2005, was crucial in revitalising the heart of the city, but now the challenge shifts to the Buffer Zone, where traffic, parking, and functional saturation issues are concentrated. In this context, she highlighted the role of the new Management Plan for the World Heritage Site, currently in preparation, as a strategic tool for the upcoming decade.
The Manager advocated for the need to integrate sustainable mobility, green corridors, regulatory uses, and citizen participation in future planning. She presented the vision of La Laguna as an “ecological corridor” between Anaga and La Esperanza, restoring the original territorial logic of the Vega Lagunera. Her address concluded with a reflection on the risks of overusing historical centres and the necessity to create new urban centralities to alleviate congestion.
Additionally, the meeting facilitated the sharing of experiences regarding rehabilitation assistance, cultural dynamism, protection of traditional commerce, universal accessibility, and citizen participation. La Laguna showcased its model of a living historical city, with vibrant cultural, educational, and administrative activities, and a heritage that is conceived not as a museum but as a functioning urban structure.
The joint participation of the Mayor and the Urban Planning Manager reinforced La Laguna’s position as a municipal benchmark in heritage management, providing a balanced perspective between conservation, economic activity, and quality of life. The Government of the Canary Islands concluded the meeting with the presentation of the Betancuria Declaration, a document aimed at serving as a common framework for the protection and revitalisation of the historical ensembles throughout the archipelago.
