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Microclimate Injustices across an Island Resort: The Case of Maspalomas/Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria, Spain

Holland, Jody (2024) Microclimate Injustices across an Island Resort: The Case of Maspalomas/Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria, Spain. Master thesis.

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Abstract

The growth of resort tourism in the 20th century has led to the transformation of various rural coastal and island regions into new specialised built up resort zones. This is typically in destinations fitting the Three S’s of sun, sea, and sand. One such area where this transformation has been felt acutely is Maspalomas/Playa del Inglés, located on Gran Canaria’s southern coastline. However the consequences of such development on regional microclimates is relatively unknown. This article utilises remote sensing data from the LandSat 8 satellite to map the regional distribution of surface temperatures within Maspalomas/Playa del Inglés. In this way temperature disparities are identified between cooler built up neighbourhoods dense with tourism related activities, and hotter built up neighbourhoods on the peripheries typically housing local residents and workers in the tourism sector. To explain why, links are drawn between the Tourism Area Life Cycle model and the concept of resortification to argue that, across resort regions, landscaping and environmental amenities are prioritised for touristic spaces over their non-touristic counterparts, thus causing a heat disparity. This article asserts that this constitutes a spatial injustice, and points to a broader reality of marginalisation and segregation for residents of resortified regions. To address such injustices, this article argues that resort areas must establish a Right to the Resort for residents, empowering these communities with greater democratic say over planning decisions and ensuring better provision of vital neighbourhood investment.

Item Type: Thesis (Master)
Degree programme: Spatial Sciences (Research): Islands and Sustainability (track)
Supervisor: Sijtsma, F.J.
Date Deposited: 22 Jul 2024 09:49
Last Modified: 22 Jul 2024 09:49
URI: https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4649

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