Sunday, August 06, 2006

Constuction in Tenerife Increased 75% in 15 Years

Whilst I am still prepared to give benefit of the doubt to either side of the argument - I am neither naive enough to deny the possibility outright, nor am I entirely convinced that there is an evil plot to cover up construction excesses, but you have to admit that numbers like this tend to make you wonder.

Between 1987 and 2002 the area of land built on in the Canary Islands increased by 54.05%. In Fuerteventura, the percentage elevates to 169%, but in Tenerife province the increase is 75.9% - against 37.7% in Las Palmas.

No I don't know what the average might be in other parts of the world. Certainly, some of this will be "catching up". Those who built it will, of course, say it is all necessary, but I think it would be fair to consider it quite startling. For 500 years after the conquest, these islands somehow managed with so much building and in just 15 years, the growth of buildings manages to increase by half again.

The words sustainable and limits are the first to rush into my head.

No surprises either that some individual areas outdo the averages by far, like Adeje in South Tenerife, which had all but exploded by 194.8%.

El terreno edificado en Canarias ha aumentado un 55% en 15 años