A New Public Space is Jaco is Already Under Construction.

Costa Rica is a country of forests — rainy, dry, and cloudy — and seemingly endless acres of beautiful nature. In its cities however, green space is at a premium. To prevent its towns from turning into concrete jungles, the Costa Rica government has built many town parks and large, green public spaces. To the delight of the country’s resident urbanites, plans have been revealed to increase the country’s public parks by three: Jacó, San José’s Desamparados, and Esparza will each have a new park.

Jacó is one of the most touristed beaches in the nation. As its popularity has grown, construction has taken off, leaving a bustling, oceanfront city in place of a once-quiet beach town. With money financed by the Chinese government, the Institute of Municipal Promotion and Consult (IFAM) will invest ¢200 million ($365,000) in an ecological and recreation park. In addition, the street that runs in front of the park’s location has already been widened so that vehicles may pass with greater ease.

In Puntarenas, the Costa Rican Institute of Pacific Ports (Incop) plans to build a park on the Esparza beach of Caldera. The public park will be aimed toward area visitors, both national and international, and will include parking, changing rooms, showers, bathrooms, and beach kiosques. The park, which will stretch down 300 meters of Caldera beach, carries a cost of approximately $500,000. Plans are 90 percent complete, and the project is planned to begin in May 2009.

Back in San José, a public park is planned for Patarrá, in the southern canton of Desamparados. The new park, called La Libertad (Freedom), will spread out over a 37 hectare (91 acre) portion of Costa Rica land, touching on the neighborhoods of more than 200,000 people. Its construction will be financed in part by a $4.8 million donation by the PNUD-Spain Fiduciary Fund in 2008. Other funding will come from an ICE-Alcatel corruption settlement, valued at $2 million.

Instead of running a fair contest to determine local cellular service providers, ICE had accepted a bribe from Alcatel and granted them an illegal contract. Part of the resulting settlement was paid for by ICE ex-directors José Antonio Lobo and Hernán Bravo, who were indicted in the infamous corruption scandal and forced to return $2 million. Instead of using the funds for other purposes, the settlements will be used to invest back into the public’s collective interests.

La Libertad Park is definitely in the public’s interest: conceived as a cultural center, it will also contain several recreation areas, a National Music System school, an auditorium for live music, and a branch of the Casa del Artista (Artist House). The La Libertad Metropolitan Park Foundation will begin a contest this month, and all interested parties will bid for the privilege of constructing the large park. Though nothing can undo a corrupt act, officials are hopeful that the misappropriated profits will now be used to give back to society, providing urbanites with a very satisfying public amenity.

Photo Courtesy of Al Dia.

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Filed under: Living on September 24th, 2008