urban development

Some 60% of Costa Rica's population lives in the GAM, which constitutes only 4% of the national territory.

“Today marks the beginning of a dream in which a group of citizens bet on a crazy idea and it’s becoming a reality," said director Federico Cartín.

Gender affects the way we use a city's spaces and services — and it should affect the way they are planned and built, according to participants at a recent conference in San José.

A virtually unused space near the train tracks in Freses, Curridabat, has become a community-designed space for chatting, gardening, listening to live music... and eating fish and chips.

Parque La Libertad may be exactly what the area needs: accessible green space, free extra-curricular classes, and a plethora of fresh-air activities, from safe jogging trails to a skate park.

The state of Río Torres, which runs through nine cantons in the San José metropolitan area, is deplorable. Not only are fecal matter and trash found in the river, but also toxic substances such as mercury and oil. It’s hard to imagine any living organism surviving in the rushing water, but believe it or not, people still bathe in the river.

Culture Minister Elizabeth Fonseca on Monday rejected another request by the Legislative Assembly's directorate to approve building permits for a new Assembly complex in downtown San José, at the legislature's current location.

At 2 p.m. on Tuesday Costa Rica's Culture Ministry issued a press release confirming they will not approve construction permits for a new complex that would have housed the Legislative Assembly in downtown San José.