The Cabildo of Lanzarote, through the Arrecife Capital of the Biosphere project directed by Juan Palop-Casado, presented a preliminary project of a Biosquina for Tanganillo Street to more than fifteen residents of the Argana Alta neighborhood. The meeting was aimed at them learning about the project firsthand and being able to contribute ideas and suggestions for the following phases of development.
The president of the Island Council, María Dolores Corujo, recalls that this is "an initiative that aspires to contribute to the urban, social, economic and environmental recovery of Arrecife"
Palop-Casado and the specialist in citizen participation, Cristina Suárez, presented the projects in Argana Alta including a visit to the future location of the Biosquina. The meeting concluded with a debate where the neighbors were able to make proposals and define functional needs for this new public space.
The Biosquinas projects are part of the proposals included in the Arrecife Capital of the Biosphere project led by the Office of the Reserve of the Cabildo of Lanzarote. This initiative aims to contribute to the urban, social, economic and environmental recovery of Arrecife, according to the framework established by the City Council of the capital.
In addition to a series of Biosquinas distributed throughout the neighborhoods of Arrecife, the project includes other proposals such as the Water Paths, a series of multimodal interchanges and Civic Platforms.
In the same way as the Biosquina on Tanganillo Street, each action has a citizen participation process, so that the neighbors are the ones who configure and appropriate these spaces.
The Biosquinas are inspired by some existing corners in the capital that stand out in the middle of the arid urban landscape of Arrecife for generating urban and environmental life, providing shade, a tree and an area to sit, in addition to being a place of visual reference.
An example of these first biosquinas are those of Cuatro Esquinas, in the area of the Charco de San Ginés, and the one located at the intersection of Doctor Fleming and Blas Cabrera streets, among others.
The new Biosquinas are a contemporary version of their predecessors, to which they add more bio-functionalities. In addition to trees, gardens, shaded spaces and seating areas, the new Biosquinas include a sustainable drainage system that captures, filters and stores rainwater in cisterns, in the same way that it used to happen when water was a scarce and valuable resource in Lanzarote.
