Lost and preserved coastal landforms after urban growth. The case of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria city (Canary Islands, Spain)

Abstract

Coastal geomorphological systems have undergone major changes in recent decades as a result of both natural and anthropic phenomena, with the growth of urban tourism having one of the biggest impacts. This has been the case of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria city (Canary Islands, Spain), which has expanded considerably since the late nineteenth century. The objective of this work is to identify the coastal landforms that existed in the city environment before 1879 and evaluate the extent to which they have been preserved or lost because of urban expansion on five dates (1879, 1954, 1966, 1981 and 2018). This evaluation was made possible through the integration, in a geographic information system, of information from historical and current documents, both cartographic and photographic, and from oral sources and field data. The results of the study reveal that 848.1 ha of the initial coastal landforms have been lost, with only 16.7% of the area they occupied remaining. The landforms that have experienced the most losses have been the aeolian sedimentary systems, which have totally disappeared since 1981. The least altered have been calcarenitic reefs, coastal active cliffs and sandy beaches. The land uses of the occupied coastal landforms, from highest to lowest, are: residential and tourist, road infrastructure, public spaces and green areas, port, facilities and industrial. The academic, social, educational and urban planning interests of this research are addressed in the discussion. Highlights • Identification of the coastal landforms that existed in LPGC city before 1879. • Evaluation of preserved vs. lost landforms areas because of urban expansion. • Loss of 848.1 ha (83.2%) of the initial coastal landforms. • Preservation of 170.2 ha (16.7%) of the original landforms. • Results of interest for academic, social, educational and urban planning.