Analyzing Transportation Sustainability in the Canary Islands Archipelago

Rui Alexandre Castanho,Ana Vulevic,Arian Behradfar,José Manuel Naranjo Gómez

doi:10.3390/infrastructures5070058

Abstract

The scarcity of resources, the limited land, and the overstressing of tourism, as well as the estrangements of movement, make the insular territories relevant case studies in terms of their regional management and governance and, consequently, sustainable development. Thereby, Transportation and Infrastructures’ Sustainability in these territories is not an exception. In this regard, the present study, through exploratory tools, expects to analyze, using accessibility and connectivity indicators, the impacts over the social-economic sphere that the local Transportation and Infrastructures may deliver to the populations of the Canary Islands Archipelago. The study enables us to identify the islands of La Palma, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, and La Gomera as those with better accessibility patterns.

Highlights

The opportunity for access and fluidity of movement to and from an area are intrinsic to sustainable growth, and transport infrastructures have a significant effect on a territory’s competitiveness and prosperity
This review shows that the transport infrastructure accessibility can effectively contribute to sustainable development in insular territories
The recent development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the European Union (EU) set up the guidelines of sustainable transportation infrastructure by contributing to accessibility assessment, socio-economic impacts and regional cohesion in insular territories [7]

Summary

Introduction

The opportunity for access and fluidity of movement to and from an area are intrinsic to sustainable growth, and transport infrastructures have a significant effect on a territory’s competitiveness and prosperity. The recent development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the EU set up the guidelines of sustainable transportation infrastructure by contributing to accessibility assessment, socio-economic impacts and regional cohesion in insular territories [7]. Insularity characterizes the general ‘atmosphere’ that determines the experiential identity of the ‘islander’ and the distinct environment and trends created in these geographic regions [8] In this regard, Licio and Pinna (2013) [9] carried out a study that showed the infrastructure accessibility and the distance are interconnected dimensions that contribute to defining the distinct groups of islands characterized by different degrees of insularity. While isolation can inhibit local people’s movement, the analysis related to the accessibility measurement and logistical infrastructures of insular territories would be based on a set of indicators or measures derived from the islands’ social, economic, and transport infrastructure characteristics. The Mediterranean region is considered a suitable study area to analyze the accessibility regarding insularity characteristics

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion and Conclusions

Findings

Final Remarks