‘Roots of Empowerment’ Boca la Caja, Panamá City, Panamá 2011 Department of Urban and Regional Planning Florida State University Tim Berke, Greg Boan, Alejandro Casa-Valencia, Andrew Donini, Hiba George, Tatiana Gonzalez, Kristin Murray, Brent C. Pesta, Ray Rodgers, Christine Rice, Lina Rojas, and Katelyn Widness ‘Roots of Empowerment’, a capstone project, submitted in partial fulfillment of Masters Degree requirements; Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University, December 2011 Dr. Timothy Chapin, Dr. Rebecca Miles, and Dr. Olmedo Varela advising. The ‘Roots of Empowerment’ capstone project research group would like to thank the many people who made this effort possible. First, we’d like to extend our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to the community of Boca la Caja. You welcomed us into your homes and community spaces and provided us with well appreciated access to your lives. Thank you for letting us experience your community. Secondly to the leaders of Boca la Caja, past, present, and future. Your unwavering and persistent efforts to create and support community efforts have made Boca la Caja what it is today, a community of people that care enough about one another to worry about the future. We’d like to thank the many dedicated public officials that we met in Panamá, especially Jaime Aleman. All of you helped us on and off the record to decipher the nature of the problems Boca la Caja faced, and match those problems to feasible solutions. Your honesty throughout this process and your continued efforts in the interests of communities like Boca la Caja give us faith in a bright future for the Republic of Panamá. We’d also like to thank the faculty of Florida State University for the education you’ve offered us, the experiences you’ve shared, and the opportunity you've given us to represent the University in a foreign country. Among the faculty we’d like to recognize our advising committee for the many hours they’ve devoted to this project: the hours securing the opportunity, the hours spent answering our calls for advise, and the hours spent ensuring that the final product was a good one. We couldn’t have completed this project without the help of the Florida State University support staff and would like to thank Maria-Elena Puerta for her tireless efforts to ensure that we took some time off to enjoy the beauty of Panamá. Without those much needed breaks we wouldn’t have made it. To Claudio Carrasco Poblete Liao we give a special thanks. Claudio you brought the history and places of Panamá alive and made them relevant to our work. Thank you for your wisdom. We would also like to thank many people who contributed in small but important ways to our research, including: Manual Acosta, Vasco Zuleta, and Marisin. Lastly, we’d like to thank Professor Lisa Vera for guiding us throughout our project, for providing both personal and professional counsel, and for caring about our future. Table of Contents List of Figures v List of Tables vi Executive Summary vii 1.0: STATE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 1.1 - Boca la Caja: A History 2 1.2 - Physical Form and Design 2 1.3 - Population 4 1.4 - Infrastructure 5 1.4.1 Resources 5 1.4.2 Areas of Concern 7 1.5 - Community Assets 7 1.5.1 Community Organizations 8 1.5.2 Community Leaders 8 1.5.3 Outside Organizations 9 1.6- Legal Issues 9 1.6.1 Zoning 9 1.6.2 The Floodplain 9 1.6.3 Titling 11 1.7- Conclusion 13 2.0: CRIME PREVENTION AND PUBLIC SAFETY 14 2.1 - Purpose 14 2.2 - Literature Review 14 2.2.1 Crime and the Community 15 2.2.2 Crime and the Environment 16 2.3 - Strategy and Methods 17 2.4 - Findings and Analysis 18 2.4.1 Finding a Community Identity 21 2.4.2 Modifying Neighborhood Design 35 2.5- Recommendations 36 2.6 - Conclusion 37 3.0: URBAN DESIGN 38 3.1 - Purpose 38 3.2 - Literature Review 38 i Table of Contents 3.2.1 Environment 38 3.2.2 Crime and Public Safety 39 3.2.3 Economy 41 3.3 - Strategy 43 3.4 - Methodology 44 3.4.1 Interviews 44 3.4.2 Survey 44 3.4.3 “Mi Hogar, Mi Ciudad” Student Activity 45 3.5- Findings and Analysis 45 3.5.1 Interviews 46 3.5.2 Survey 46 3.5.3 “Mi Hogar, Mi Ciudad” Student Activity 47 3.5.4 Observations: A Photo Tour of Chorillo 49 3.6- Recommendations 50 3.7- Conclusion 50 4.0: LAND TITLING 51 4.1- Purpose 51 4.2 - Literature Review 52 4.2.1 Latin American Land Tenure Case Studies 52 4.2.2 Land Tenure in Panama 56 4.2.3 Cooperative Land Trust 58 4.3 - Strategy 58 4.4 - Methodology 60 4.4.1 Interviews 60 4.4.2 Parcel Data Collection 62 4.4.3 IPACOOP 65 4.4.4 Survey 65 4.5- Findings and Analysis 66 4.5.1 Collective Patrimony 66 4.5.2 Ministry of Housing, Department of Informal Settlements 68 4.5.3 National Program for the Administration of Lands, PRONAT 69 4.5.4 Women’s Meeting 73 4.5.5 Survey 74 4.6- Recommendations 76 4.7- Conclusion 77 ii Table of Contents 5.0: RECOMMENDATIONS 78 5.1- Introduction 78 5.2- Community Identity 78 5.2.1 Community Groups 79 5.2.2 Open Communication 80 5.2.3 Participation & Vecinos Vigilantes 81 5.3- Modifying Neighborhood Design 82 5.3.1 A Place for Community 82 5.3.2 Creating Security 83 5.4- Titling 84 5.4.1 Key Partnerships 84 5.4.2 Community Organization and Land Trust 86 5.5- Thinking About the Future 90 5.6- Conclusion 94 REFERENCES 95 APPENDIX A: METHODS AND TECHNIQUES A-1 A.1- Pre Collection Activity A-1 Data Sources A-1 A.2- Cooperative Agreement A-1 Survey A-1 Bureaucratic Difficulties A-1 Coding A-2 A.3- Mi Hogar, Mi Ciudad Student Activity A-4 A.4- Parcel Data Collection A-4 A.5- Mapping Methodology A-5 A.6- IPACOOP A-5 A.7- Interviews A-5 Types of Interview A-5 Interview Sample Group A-6 Snowball Sample A-6 Interviews A-6 A.8- Observations A-8 A.9- Census Data A-8 A.10- Advanced Technical Support A-8 iii Table of Contents APPENDIX B: CREATION OF COOPERATIVE B-1 B.1- Project Formulation B-1 B.2- Group Request B-3 B.3- Identification B-4 B.4- Preliminary Meeting with the Group B-4 B.5- Review of Documentation B-4 B.6- Registration of Cooperative B-4 APPENDIX C: COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION EXERCISES C-1 C.1- Using Maps and Images C-1 C.2- Messaging to External Populations C-1 iv List of Figures 1.0: STATE OF THE COMMUNITY 1.1: Trump World Tower and Boca la Caja Soccer Field 1 1.2: Boca La Caja Land Use Map 2 1.3a: Housing Types 3 1.3b: Housing Types 3 1.3c: Barred Patio Enclosure 3 1.4: Wide Alleyway 4 1.5: Sewer System 5 1.6a: Health Center 6 1.6b: Catholic Church 6 1.6c: Elementary School 6 1.7a: Trash 7 1.7b: Polluted Surface Run-off 7 1.8: Official Zoning Map of Boca la Caja and Surrounding Areas 10 1.9: Floodplain 10 1.10: Parcels without Title in Boca la Caja 12 3.0: URBAN DESIGN 3.1a: Negative Ahora 45 3.1b: Positive Ahora 45 3.1c: Futuro 45 3.1d: Futuro 45 3.2a: Chorillo Fisherman 49 3.2b: Work Training Center 49 3.2c: Fishing Cooperative Seal 49 4.0: LAND TITLING 4.1: Block Groups of Boca la Caja 62 4.2: Housing Types in Boca la Caja 63 4.3: Floodplain Limits and Cooperative Land Trust 64 4.4: Parcels without Title in Boca la Caja 71 v List of Figures 5.0: RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1: Scenario 1 91 5.2: Scenario 2 92 APPENDIX C: COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION EXERCISES C.1: Plotted Survey Responses for “Areas where residents feel unsafe.” C-2 vi List of Tables 1.0: STATE OF THE COMMUNITY 1.1 2010 Census Data for Boca la Caja 4 2.0: CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY 2.1 What is the most urgent worry of Boca la Caja? 23 2.2 What is the spirit of participation in Boca la Caja? 29 2.3 Who do you go to for protection? 31 3.0: URBAN DESIGN 3.1 Negative and Positive Ahora Illustrations 48 3.2 Ahora and Futuro Illustrations 48 4.0: LAND TITLING 4.1 Ownership Status 75 4.2 Acquisition and Willingness to Re-locate 76 vii List of Tables viii Executive Summary The Roots of Empowerment project is a community development plan created for the community of Boca la Caja in Panama City, Republic of Panama. The plan was conceived by twelve graduate students from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the Department of International Affairs at The Florida State University, under the guidance of Dr. Olmedo J. Varela, in conjunction with the community of Boca la Caja. This document presents solutions for a troubled urban Latin American community facing numerous challenges simultaneously, but honors the unique character of the community. Crime, land tenancy, control of waterfront property, social and economic isolation, poor infrastructure, organizational disorder, and nearby rapid high density construction are some of the problems that Boca la Caja faces.