The Real Estate Crisis and the Deregulation of Territorial Planning (Land Use): The Case of the Canary Islands

Abstract

This paper contrasts two interrelated dimensions of the crisis in Spain and the Canary Islands. First, it examines the critical situation of the real estate sector, highlighting the most significant indicators of the phenomenon. Second, it analyses the political response by the public sector, particularly the implementation of neoliberal urban planning laws and regulations, theoretically aimed at revitalising the building sector despite their negative results in recent years. In the Canary Islands, these measures have been further justified by the rise in tourism attributed to political instability in North Africa—especially Tunisia and Egypt, traditional competitors for the Archipelago in tourism.