March 2003
ATAN
 La Laguna |
Versión española
Photo 1: Bajamar
in the north of La Laguna - a refuge for sun-seeking Germans. Urban development in
the area has been out of control for decades and the islanders are now paying the
price.
Note older buildings hanging over the cliffs. Many of the apartments thrown up in the
1960s and '70s are badly run down. The photo shows some of Tenerife's unique thermophile
plant species still clinging to the steepest slopes - the flatter areas have been
laid waste by the developers.
Photo 2: Awful
building at Barranco de La Sabanda, Punta del Hidalgo. Note the supporting pillars
are made not from reinforced concrete but from stacked blocks just cemented together!
The whole structure is out of kilter, with the columns beginning to give way. It
is incredible that the flats have not come tumbling down like a pack of cards. Given
such shoddy construction, it is a wonder there are not even more building collapses
in Tenerife.
Foto 3: Eyesore apartment block ruining Punta del Hidalgo's landscape.
Foto 4: A
depressing sight along Punta del Hidalgo promenade. Note the low quality cement and ugly sewer piping. This is La Laguna, World Heritage Site. Urban Development Ir a...