Josefina Domínguez, professor of human geography at the ULPGC, rejects talking about population overload, as it can lead to xenophobia and forgetting that the islands suffer from an aging problem. The Canary Islands Parliament is addressing, through a parliamentary commission, the demographic challenge and population balance in the Canary Islands, in which the issue of vacation rentals and its impact on residential housing has recently been put on the table. Josefina Domínguez, professor of human geography at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, points out that, when new modalities of economic activity emerge, the legislative response is slow. Thus, currently there is some local regulation at the level of some town councils, but more general regulation is missing. He considers that local studies still need to be carried out, since it does not influence the same way everywhere. Subsequently, it is necessary to define what type of regulation one wants to carry out: "This is an issue that is already on the political agenda and on which work will have to continue.
Its not that easy" Remember that the tourism moratorium was a great challenge at the time, because apartments and hotels were putting great pressure on the territory, as is the case today with vacation homes. But the same measures should not always be taken in the face of different phenomena, not to mention the invasion of foreigners wanting to buy a home in the Canary Islands, since foreigners range from large groups of vulture funds to modest workers who want to buy their home on the islands: « Its not that easy". The expert highlights the important relationship between the growth of vacation rentals, the increase in rental prices and evictions. In large cities, which are already very stressed, the problem WhatsApp Number List is even greater because the damage is more evident. It has been studied in the Isleta-Puerto area, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the strong impact of holiday housing is already evident. Population load Domínguez prefers not to enter into the debate about whether or not there are too many of us, because "it is difficult to determine when there is a demographic excess, especially in a territory as diverse as the Canary Islands, in which very busy spaces coexist with others with high population density.
Especially, he points out, if these debates generate a rejection of immigration and processes of xenophobia, especially in a context of population aging, in which the arrival of foreigners is needed to maintain services and production levels. Meanwhile, the mayor of Santa Lucía, Francisco García, recognized that the union of the three municipalities of the Southeast has facilitated progress towards sustainability, acting as a model for the entire Canary Islands. Leading national and international experts The 16% edition of the International Seminar on Sustainable Regions held at the Federico García Lorca Theater in Ingenio included the participation of prominent national and international experts on its first day, such as the director of the Fusion Technologies Division of the Energy Research Center, Environmental and Technological Studies (CIEMAT), David Rapisarda, the postdoctoral researcher at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Elena Proietti, and the professor of Applied Circular Economy and Regenerative Economy at Harvard University, Manuel Maqueda. All of these speakers also participated in a round table, moderated by Carmelo di Bartolo, architect, industrial designer and teacher at several universities, who for years has been a regular collaborator of the Sustainable Regions Seminar. On its second day, the seminar featured presentations by the head of the Water Department of the Canary Islands Technological Institute, Baltasar Peñate, by the coordinator of offshore wind energy at Naturgy, Alex Mira, and by the scientific coordinator of the Canary Islands Volcanological Institute ( INVOLCAN) and director of the Environment Area of the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute (ITER), Nemesio Pérez, of the design consultant of UNIDO and other United Nations agencies, Giulio Vinaccia, and of the CEO and Founder of Icatalist, Elena López-Gunn .