Monday 11 August
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Majority Of
Costa Ricans Reject High Rise Living
ICE Contemplating
Offering Services
Outside Costa Rica
Outstripping Tourism
Brazilian Investors
Restricted Spending,
Improved Economy For
2009 Expected
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Majority Of Costa Ricans
Reject High Rise Living
The majority of Costa
Ricans have yet to
accept living in high
rises, a housing style
that represents only 28%
of the total residences
built since 2005. Costa
Ricans continue to
prefer horizontal
living, according to
information supplied by
the Cámara Costarricense
de la Construcción.
The Cámara figures show
that 72% of Costa Ricans
still prefer a patio.
A study by the Fundación
Promotora de Vivienda (Fuprovi)
shows that the main
reason for many not too
choose high rise living
is fearing a bad
relationship with their
nieghbours.
Other reasons for Costa
Ricans rejecting high
rise living is the high
cost maintenance, lack
of green space, space
for pets and that a high
rise does not give them
a sense of property
ownership.
On the other side, those
who choose high rise
living argue that the
high rise allows for
more security and a
view.
No matter what the
argument - for or
against high rise living
- one thing is for sure,
vertical construction
places less stress on
natural resources.
The Programa de
Reordenamiento Urbano de
la Gran Área
Metropolitana (Prugam)
reveals that in the next
22 years between 400.000
and 600.000 new
residences will be
required to meet the
growing demands of an
area made of the 31
cantones from San Ramón
to Paraíso.
Building that number of
residences in typical
horizontal fashion would
required some 4.500
hectares of land, while
building vertically less
than half of that is
required, which
translates into more
green space for the
metropolitan area.
Proponents of vertical
construction, which
includes Costa Rican
vice-president, Laura
Chinchilla, who remarked
earlier this year the
need for vertical
construction, say that
if the present trend of
building horizontal
continues, natural
resources are at risk as
the housing takes up
more and more of the
green areas, as well as
farming land.
"At an end will be the
recreation of enjoying
the countryside,
landscape and if the
expansion trend
continues people will be
condemned to travel
farther to and from
their jobs" said Eduardo
Brenes, director of
Prugam.
Olman Vargas, excutive
director of the Colegio
Federado de Ingenieros y
de Arquitectos, is
another proponent of
veritcal building,
saying that it is a
"necessity" to develop
more high rises for
residential living.
High rise construction
up to now has centred
mainly in Escazú, with
its high number of
foreigners, many who are
accustomed to and prefer
living in high rise, and
San José. Some of the
coastal areas in
Guanacaste and Jacó have
seen an increase in high
rise construction.
In Jacó more than a
dozen high rise
residential buildings
have been built, are
under construction or in
the planning stage.
In San José, La Sabana
park is fast becoming
surrounded by high rise
residential and
commercial buildings, as
development along the
north and western sides
of the park already have
a number of high rise
towers build, occupied,
under construction and
in the planning stage.
On the south side of the
park, the unique style
of the building that
houses the Contraloria
General de la República
is the only high rise
for now.
Vargas adds that urban
centres like Alajuela,
Heredia and Cartago can
all benefit from high
rise construction.
Randall Murillo,
executive director of
the Cámara Costarricense
de la Construcción,
remains optimistic that
the construction of high
rise will continue to
grow and that as more
projects come on line,
people will begin to
purchase and get
accustomed to high rise
living. |
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