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San
José Will Collapse Within 15
Years: UCR Report
A study by the Universidad de
Costa Rica (UCR) concludes that
is the disorderly growth of the
Gran Área Metropolitana (GAM) -
San José - continues,
contamination will quadruple and
quality of life will be
practically unsustainable.
The report says that by 2018 the
government should build at least
21 kilometres of new roads to
meet the growing number of
vehicles, which will add to the
contamination of the air.
Also required to meet the growth
is the construction of at least
335.000 homes to meet the
demands of a growing population,
will all add to the social
disorder if no measures are
taken today. As the
infrastructure fails and cannot
meet the number of vehicles, the
city will come apart and will
see an increase in conflict for
services and hostilities between
the rich and the poor.
The experts recommend that the
cities find a balance between
built up areas and conservation
and recreational areas. The
report says that the cities that
make up the GAM need to put into
place a system of public
transport that has priority and
study the models of other urban
centres that have placed a
priority on public transit.
Some alarming numbers from the
report:
- In the last 11 years the GAM
has grown by 80%
- More than 1.000.000 vehicles
are now circulating the streets,
a 10% growth in the last year
- 80% of the contamination is
caused by vehicles
.
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