PROPOSAL FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT SURGES FROM FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
A different option for Boca la Caja

A group of students from United States designed an urban project that seeks to stop tall buildings in Boca la Caja

José Arcia
jarcia@prensa.com

Last Friday September 11, in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, a group of college students talked about Boca la Caja, a humble Panamanian neighborhood located in the San Francisco District, one of the ones that has experienced a stronger real estate boom in
the country in the last six years.

The conversation revolved around the lack of an urban model in that area, and a proposal that they worked on to change the construction style that is putting pressure on the zone:
High rise luxury condominiums.

Their plan consists in building single family homes and buildings no taller than four floors high, instead of condominiums; and that the residential projects may not be offered to foreigners, instead to the actual residents of Boca la Caja, which for the most part
make a living as artisan fishermen.

The proposals are reflected in the post graduate work of Urban and Regional Planning directed from Florida State University in collaboration with their branch in Panamá.

The 12 American students enrolled in the Masters program traveled to Panamá to design the project, which they named “Seed of Hope”, which was defended the past September 11 in the main campus of the University, in Tallahassee.

The students also propose some ideas about tourist projects that could be developed for the residents (see illustration).
The main objective of the project is for the community Boca la Caja to not disappear due to the urban growth experienced in the zone, explained Olmedo Varela, Coordinating Professor of the Master program.

In the words of Andrew Johnson, a student, the project has provided the community with strategies and tools that would be beneficial for future planning. “That is better than to be
swallowed by the real estate boom”, he wrote via email.
Johnson acknowledges that Boca la Caja is a community with hope and motivation, whose value consists in the fact that its individuals maintain the traditions and the identity
of a coastal city alive.

The Panamanian architect and Urban Planner, Manuel Trute, considers that the students propose two scenarios for the urban future of the neighborhood. The first one, gathers the needs and aspirations of the population of the place, which declare that they want to continue to live there; and the second one leads to reflecting towards the possibility that the residents enter the real estate market, as owners of lots in a highly appraised sector
because of its location and accessibility.

The settlement of Boca la Caja has survived a diversity of urban development moments of the city of Panamá, he affirmed.

The student’s project was presented to the Housing Ministry and real estate developers. However, the entity informed that they are waiting for the final document to analyze its viability.

Original article published September 27, 2009 in La Prensa, Panamá, by Journalist José Arcia, translated by Marianella
Jost- Tallahassee, FL.

Attachment	Size
Urban_development_article_Sept_2909__2_.pdf	37.39 KB