Ordenar el territorio de La Palma tras la erupción volcánica de 2021: entre la mitigación del riesgo y la planificación neoliberal

Abstract

The 2021 eruption on La Palma demonstrated that the lack of a volcanic risk culture, had prevented the practice of land-use planning capable of reducing vulnerability and thus minimising the effects of the catastrophe. The serious consequences of the eruption opened a window of opportunity to create a change in the perception of volcanic risk, not only to reorganize the dominant dispersed population but also to relocate it to less dangerous areas. The need to draw up specific land use legislation to address the recovery and reconstruction of the Valle de Aridane provided the ideal conditions for this task. However, more than two years after the beginning of the eruption, the land and urban planning measures adopted completely ignore the existing volcanic hazards, encourage the pre-existing dispersed settlement andare clearly aligned with the ideological principies of neo-liberal urban planning.