From 19 to 29 April 2023, La Città Infinita transformed the Cultural Center Jesús Arencibia, in the neighbourhood of Tamaraceite in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria into a space for imagination, encounter and shared futures. Invited by LPA Cultura, we designed a ten-day open laboratory where neighbors of all ages could meet, play, and imagine what this peripheral territory might become.
Arriving just after a moving photographic exhibition that celebrated Tamaraceite’s memory, our work created a natural next step: from what the neighbourhood was to what the neighbourhood could be. Through our constructive play methodology, the community shifted from remembering to envisioning: collectively, freely, and without barriers.
More than 1,500 participants took part: schools, families, educators, teenagers, adults, and importantly, collectives with functional diversity who found an accessible, welcoming and barrier-free space.
Working only with reclaimed industrial wood pieces: simple, open-ended materials that invite creativity and cooperation, participants didn’t just build imaginary cities. They built connection, shared identity, and a renewed sense of belonging. For ten days, Tamaraceite became a temporary community held together by play: poetic, collaborative, and profoundly human.
Across the sessions, children and adults imagined parks, squares, bike paths, cultural spaces, protected natural areas, and neighborhoods designed for well-being and coexistence. Families reflected on Tamaraceite’s past while dreaming aloud about its future. Students spoke of beauty, nature, and places to grow. Groups with functional diversity contributed actively, showing how creativity flourishes when everyone can take part.
A collective vision emerged: a greener neighborhood, more walkable, filled with safe gathering spaces and designed with the needs of childhood - and therefore the needs of everyone - at its center. And the community left behind a powerful symbol: the pájaro-avión, a “bird-plane” imagined by children - a poetic expression of their desire to fly, to connect their island to the world, and to expand the horizons of imagination.
- We created a ten-day open participatory space where neighbors of all ages could express ideas freely, creatively, and without barriers.
- We worked exclusively with upcycled wood materials, transforming industrial waste into a catalyst for artistic and social transformation.
- We honored the neighborhood’s memory while opening a space to imagine its future together.
- We facilitated participation from schools, families, educators, and diverse functional collectives in a shared, democratic play environment.
- We helped the community build a collective city that reflected not only forms, but values: coexistence, sustainability, accessibility, and care.
- We documented the process through pedagogical observation and visual storytelling, preserving the collective imagination of Tamaraceite.
- Tamaraceite reminded us just how much potential lies in neighborhoods when they’re given a space to imagine their future collectively.
- The intergenerational experience confirmed that when a city is built together, roles dissolve - and creativity blooms across ages.
- We saw how play becomes a civic act, capable of regenerating belonging and activating community ties.
- And we left with an unforgettable reminder: imagining a city together is already a way of transforming it.
What they say
Aquí todos podemos construir. No importa la edad, siempre hay un lugar para imaginar.
Hacía falta un espacio así en el barrio: abierto, bello, donde se escucha la voz de todos.
Los niños han imaginado una Tamaraceite más verde, con plazas y caminos para caminar y encontrarse.