Current State and Perspectives of the Costa Rican Urban Legislation

Abstract

The study of the planning processes in other latitudes allows having a reference of the unbreakable relation that exists between different territorial scales and tendencies currently being developed around urban policies. The strategic vision of territorial development is essential to promote the cities’ competitiveness and guarantee an optimal quality of life. To understand the current situation of urban development in our country, it is mandatory to review the historical background of the economical models promoted at the beginning of the 80’s, as well as the legal regulations published in the same decade. The territory rural conditions at that moment allowed the urban area to be expanded in a horizontal way without any concerns for the pressure that the model would later generate over the agriculture and the forest protection areas, as well as in sectors where the hydric resource has the highest vulnerability. The extensive development of low-density population cities, with significant deficiencies in services and support infrastructure, a reduced stock of public spaces, and mobility problems, consume a big amount of environmental and economic resources, which makes it unsustainable. On the other hand, the “ghettoized” of the space according to the social class, results in one of the worst consequences of the urban model promoted mainly by the private sector. The lack of public policies, plans, programs and actions for an adequate urban management, has converted the Greater Metropolitan Area into one of the most lagging cities in Latin America, in terms of its territory planning, which is reflected not only in the lack of discussion of these issues but also in the omission of basic legal principles to promote an adequate land management and a balance between public and private interests.