From a port city to a tourist city: dispossession of the public spaces in central Santa Cruz de Tenerife

We analyse the transformation of public spaces in Santa Cruz de Tenerife through interventions on its waterfront and drawing on a mixed-method approach. Changes have reconfigured not only their material characteristics but also the symbolic constructions traditionally associated with these spaces. The interventions have generated an increase in terraces and shops; the accessibility as a civic meeting place has been clearly altered. Furthermore, the spontaneous use of these spaces has been restricted, and traditional groups such as port workers have been displaced and now replaced by tourist and middle-class residents. Finally, citizen participation has been limited, with the notable exception of the most powerful and organized lobbies. These strategies reinforce the model of accumulation by dispossession; wherein public space becomes a commodified asset. This transformation reflects particular touristification dynamics, locally articulated through the marginalization of lower-class residents and the predominance of economic elites in the production of space.