Escola Técnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona
Abstract
The rural territory presents nowadays a complex situation with serial difficulties for the development of the
traditional activities (agriculture, stockbreeding, etc). This leads to a decline of these environments, with
consequences at very diverse levels. But in a particular way it is influencing in the abandonment of the
settlements and in the deterioration of its tangible and untangible heritage. Thus, there is a need for planning
tools that promote the sustainable development of the Rural Territory. The aim is to preserve the endogenous
potential of these areas providing reactivation strategies that encourage the local development in its physical,
social and cultural dimension. The case of Gran Canaria depicts how the Cultural Routes can configure an
efficient tool for this. In this way, the touristic potential of these rural environments is not incompatible with the
preservation of their heritage values. And the interpretation of the landscape and its memory can be a clue in
this sense.Peer Reviewe