Abstract
Although sustainable development has been sharply associated to energy savings and decrease of contamination, the concept deserves more comprehensive consideration. It encompasses a broad variety of technical, economic, cultural, and behavioral issues. In the light of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, the recovery of abandoned singular infrastructures for alternative uses (leisure time activities for human welfare) are studied. In this research, the so called “El Caminito del Rey” is analyzed as paradigmatic model of successful achievement. The path is located in Málaga, and was originally built to provide access to a hydroelectric power plant. Due to the construction of new routes, the track and walkways were progressively abandoned. The recovery enterprise was conceived in the framework of a circular economy-based planning and full respect to environmental requirements. The facts and figures of this singular case show that the rehabilitation of obsolete infrastructures located in natural spaces is suitable, feasible and profitable. The main objective of the current work is to demonstrate that obsolete abandoned facilities can be rehabilitated into worthwhile amenities that may turn into key factor for the sustainable development of determined rural areas. And, more in particular that “El Caminito del Rey” experience could represent a model for similar development projects. Upon this basis the rehabilitation of the “Tranvia de Sierra Nevada” route for similar uses may be worth additional study.
Presenters
Antonio Esteban LopezDefense Counselor at the Organization of American States, Secretary General, Ministry of Defense, District of Columbia, United States Antonio Peña García
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad de Granada, Spain Agustín Castillo Martínez
Profesor, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Minera, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Changing Dimensions of Contemporary Leisure
KEYWORDS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN WELFARE, NATURAL SPACES, LEISURE TIME, ABANDONED INFRASTRUCTURE, TOURISM
