A Panama City Tied By Secret Knots
(thepanamareport.com) These days you'll read everywhere about how the Panama City is changing, exploding, for good or bad, it happens and cannot be stopped. Nor it should, but what we would prefer it's a steady hand to guide it thru this difficult transition between a colorful town and a truly cosmopolitan city, a way to make it work without sacrificing the soul, that which truly binds and make us love Panama. The government does indeed have a plan, but it changes according to the whims of the higher bidders and whatever some politic+economical gain can be obtained.
Speaking of bounds, the city limits, both geographical and economical have and will continue to constrict the sprawl. I certainly can't see what benefit will the majority of the population will obtain from the Cinta Costera with it's leased parkings, reduce public space, a hotel and marina stuck in their middle, etc; It's just a couple more lanes to accommodate the increasing number of cars. Also, you can pick up a free mag at any supermarket, all that greenery surrounding the nice project is the Canal Zone cushion area, the one that feeds the Canal, our golden eggs laying architectural wonder.
That leaves us with the city's center, no longer the nicely trimmed bonsai but wildly growing up and undecided between being a financial hub or a playground for the rich; what can be done?
I believe the answer lies in spreading the productive centers to the city outskirts in order to alleviate the traffic congestion making every hour a peak, this would put less pressure on existing waterworks, power, fuel, needed to support the knot, while helping -via taxes- to develop quality services, streets, sidewalks, security and conveniences usually not found on San Miguelito, Arraijan or Chorrera.
By moving factories and offices to those highly populated areas, the energy expenditure (because in the final analysis all economy and human activity depends upon it) would lessen. Meanwhile, other changes must be introduced, for example, the promotion of middle density housing which would help the delivery of services and diminish the need upon the dreary mass transportation "system".
I'm no urbanist, but it's easy to see how decentralization would help to better distribute the layout of the city; it's not enough to redefine its skyline, we need to look farther into what we wish Panama to become.
