fernando pabon emu thesis

Impressionist Riverbanks, Tropical PortsMárgenes Impresionistas, Puertos Tropicales

European Postgraduate Master in Urbanism (EMU): Research by Fernando Eliseo Pabón Rico promoted by Prof. Dr. Joaquím Sabaté Bel (UPC) and Prof. Dr. Paola Viganò (IUAV)

Re-naturalization as a strategy and project for river mouths in the tropical city La re-naturalización como estrategia y proyecto para desembocaduras fluviales en la urbe tropical

European Postgraduate Master in Urbanism Fernando Eliseo Pabón Rico 2011

Table of contents

Abstract

Introduction: A territory at risk

Checklist

Definition of the problems

Methodology

Summary of the state of discourse

San Juan

Environmental History of San Juan: ground and water

Construction in time

Conclusions

Bibliography

Tabla de contenido

5

7

13

20

21

26

30

32

55

147

151

Resumen

Introducción: Un territorio en riesgo

Bosquejo

Identificación de los problemas

Metodología

Resumen del estado del arte

San Juan

Historia Ambiental de San Juan: tierra y agua

Proyecto en el tiempo

Conclusiones

Bibliografía

Acknowledgements: Special gratitude is owed to my parents and family, to my thesis tutors professors Dr. Joaquím Sabaté Bel and Dr. Paola Viganò, and to my friends and colleagues Antonio Alba Ruiz, Anna Gutierrez Merín, Ana B. Oller de Moura, Sabine Lisek, Manuel Rodriguez, Marilia Dieb, Dr. Carlos Padín Bibiloni,

Carlos Morales Agrinzoni, Lisandra Benítez Morales, Antonio González Toro, Dr. José Seguinot Barbosa, and Dr. Lorna Jara-

millo Nieves for all their help and support.

2 3


Resumen Titulo: Márgenes Impresionistas, Puertos Tropicales

Sub título: La re-naturalización como estrategia y proyecto para las desembocaduras fluviales en la urbe tropical

Tema: Ecología y espacio público La presion urbana sobre el systema hidrografico = Riesgo

Resumen: El proyecto identifica el problema latente (la presión ur-bana sobre el espacio hidrológico) desde una base espa-cial y propone una solución construida en el tiempo. Ubi-car el proyecto en la bahía de San Juan provee una visión particular de la ciudad contemporánea tropical asociada a su frágil construcción en un territorio sensitivo. Esto enfoca las operaciones de diseño en la articulación ecológicamente clave del agua y la tierra. Una lectura del proceso histórico de asentamiento y la transformación ambiental que eso implicó se argumenta como uno de los criterios esenciales a la hora de entender tanto las nece-sidades del territorio como las de sus habitantes. Esta propuesta busca definir e implementar espacio público/ libre tomando como forma una estrategia de re-natu-ralización. Esta estrategia es examinada estudiando los efectos espaciales y temporales de la convergencia entre procesos de avance, retirada y resistencia escenificados por condiciones urbanas y ambientales.

Abstract Title: Impressionist riverbanks, Tropical Ports

Sub title: Re-naturalization as a strategy and project for river mouths in the tropical city

Theme: Ecology and public space Urban pressure over the hydrographic system = Risk

Abstract: The project identifies the latent problem (urban pressure over hydrologic space) in a spatial basis and proposes a solution in time. Locating the project in the estuary of the bay of San Juan provides a particular vision of the contemporary tropical city and its associated fragile con-struction in a sensitive territory. This focuses the opera-tions of design in the key ecological junction between water and land. A reading of the historical settlement process and its associated environmental transformation is argued to be among the essential criteria to under-stand both the needs of the territory and those of its inhabitants. This proposal aims to define and implement public/ open space in the form of a strategy of re-natural-ization. This strategy is tested by studying the spatial and temporal effects of the convergence between processes of advance, retreat, and resistance as enacted by urban and environmental conditions.

4 5


IntroductionA territory at risk

IntroducciónUn territorio en riesgoLa isla-ciudad es un escenario del futuro cuya posibilidad se ha percibido por aproximadamente 20 años si las tendencias de expansión de la huella urbana se mantienen. La imagen nocturna del estado de la isla parece confirmar esta tenden-cia. Este futuro podría mayormente convertirse en realidad en aproximadamente un siglo. Es una apreciación extendida entre los arquitectos y planificadores así como por los activistas medioambientales. Fernando Abruña, un arquitecto local que posee conocimiento experto de la aplicación de consideracio-nes ecológicas a un diseño explica que a una persona dada en el mundo le corresponden aproximadamente 1.57 hectáreas de huella ecológica. A esto le añade que los puertorriqueños consumen un promedio de 9.43 hectáreas. Esto significa que los esfuerzos actuales de planificación no han atendido la inter-rogante de la sostenibilidad para el impacto de la población de la isla sobre el resto del mundo. Esto no siempre fue así.

100 años atrás las cosas no eran perfectas pero la sostenibili-dad del asentamiento urbano era sustancialmente mayor. La huella ecológica era mucho menor y con ella, los riesgos que la población tenía que aguantar. La ciudad había sido asentada en los puntos seguros, en las lomas, y había dejado el llano inundable quieto. Libre de asentamiento eran también las tier-ras inestables que demuestran un nivel freático elevado. Esto también significaba que inclusive cuando la mayor parte de la isla había sido deforestada, los manglares se hallaban may-ormente intactos, particularmente a lo largo de la costa de la

The island-city is a scenario of the future that has been under-stood for about 20 years as likely if the current trends of expan-sion of the urban footprint continue. The image above of the state of the island would seem to confirm this trend. This future could largely become reality in about a century. It is a widely held view by architects and planners as well as environmental activists. Fernando Abruña, a local architect with expert ap-plication knowledge for ecological considerations explains that a given person in the world is entitled to approximately 1.57 hectares of ecological footprint. To this he adds that Puertori-cans consume an average of 9.43 hectares. This means that current planning efforts in Puerto Rico have not addressed the sustainability question for the island’s population impact on the rest of the world. This was not always so.

100 years ago things were not perfect but the sustainability of the urban settlement was substantially better. The ecological footprint was vastly smaller and with it, the risks which the population had to endure. The city had been settled in the safe spots, the high grounds, and left the flooding plain alone. Free from settlement where the unstable soils that feature a high water table. This also meant that even if most of the island had been deforested, the mangroves where largely intact, particu-larly lining the shoreline of San Juan Bay.

The Puertorrican urban project is unfinished and static. This is particularly evident in the San Juan Bay metropolitan area.

6 7


the abandonment of traditional historic centers, of inefficient mobility. There is a surprising image that would appear to show the efficiency of the mobility of capital today: in adjacent spaces are gathered the port where merchandise arrives, the shopping mall where it is sold, and the landfill where it is dis-posed of. All three elements have contributed in their own way to cover up the ecologic and hydrographic systems that once existed while exploiting their particular circumstance as ‘waste-land’. All three enterprises where incredibly opportunistic in this sense positioning themselves even more profitably right by the planned highways. Three enormous enclaves in the middle of the metropolis. Three enclaves in the middle of the flooding plain, over unstable soil, with constant need for drainage.

balance con los sistemas ecológicos como se dio en el pasado.

Evidentemente, en San Juan hay problemas de desparrame urbano, del abandono de los cascos urbanos tradicionales, de movilidad ineficiente. Hay una imagen sorprendente que parecería mostrar por el contrario la eficiencia de la movilidad del capital hoy en día: en espacios adyacentes se encuentran re-unidos el puerto a donde llega la mercancía, el centro comercial donde se vende, y el vertedero donde se desecha. Cada uno de los tres elementos ha contribuido de su propia manera a cubrir los sistemas ecológicos e hidrográficos que una vez existieron mientras explotan su circunstancia particular como ‘tierra de desecho’. Cada una de las tres empresas fue increíblemente oportunista en este sentido, posicionándose aun mas lucrativa-

Even more so, the city’s evolution has found an obstacle of morphological personality and settlement pattern that has car-ried it on the wrong direction. The form taken by the ‘city’ to place in doubt its real urban extents, is that of the single story/ single family/ detached housing unit as the main paving / build-ing block employed throughout the territory. Industrialization urbanized the whole hinterland of San Juan within eighty years with a low population density. If much of this urbanization was done in former prime agricultural lands, much of it was done in fact over the flooding plains. Therefore, nowadays, human life is not in balance with ecological systems as was the case in the past.

Evidently, in San Juan there are problems of urban sprawl, of

bahía de San Juan.

El proyecto urbano puertorriqueño esta inconcluso y estancado. Más aun, su evolución se ha encontrado con un obstáculo de personalidad morfológica y de patrón de asentamiento que lo ha llevado por un camino desacertado. La forma tomada por la ‘ciudad’, para poner en duda su extensión real, es aquella de la vivienda unifamiliar aislada y de una sola planta utilizada como el principal bloque de pavimentación y construcción utilizado a lo largo y ancho del territorio. La industrialización urbanizo toda la campiña de San Juan en 80 años con una baja densidad poblacional. Si mucha de esta urbanización se hizo en antiguas tierras agrícolas por excelencia, mucha de ella se hizo sobre llanos inundables. Por lo tanto, en la actualidad no se vive en

8 9


To reexamine the Puertorrican urban project and that of San Juan in particular, it is necessary to bring to the drawing table the preexisting ecological systems that flow through the city, the green and the aquatic. In this way, adequate qualities will emerge to be developed, as well as those characteristics to be avoided. This urban reality should carry out the exemplary steps in development and decision making to set the founda-tions for urban and regional evolution. The actual crossroads of the environmental crisis underscores this situation and makes manifest its priority. It is time to re-envision the city and direct it towards a new evolutionary step based on the hon-est evaluation of its geographical situation.

mente justo en torno a las autopistas. Tres enormes enclaves en el medio de la metrópolis. Tres enclaves en medio del llano inundable, sobre terreno inestable, con una necesidad constante de drenaje.

Para re-encaminar el proyecto urbano caribeño es necesario traer a la mesa de dibujo los sistemas ecológicos preexistentes que fluyen a través de la ciudad. De esta manera saldrán a relucir las cualidades apropiadas a ser desarrolladas y aquel-las características a evitarse. Es en el punto clave de la ciudad portuaria donde ocurre una desembocadura fluvial (un sistema delta/estuarino) que se manifiesta el enlace y la mayor articu-lación entre el territorio firme y el mar. Esta realidad urbana debe llevar a cabo los pasos ejemplares de desarrollo y toma de decisiones para sentar las bases de la evolución urbana regional. La coyuntura actual de crisis ambiental hace evidente esta situación y pone de manifiesto su carácter prioritario. Es momento de re-vislumbrar la urbe caribeña y dirigirla hacia un nuevo salto evolutivo basado en la evaluación honesta de su situación geográfica.

10 11


Checklist Bosquejo

Ámbito: La isla de Puerto Rico con una superficie de 9.104 km² ubicada entre las latitudes 18⁰ 33’ y 17⁰ 54’ Norte y las longitudes 67⁰ 18’ y 65⁰ 30’ Oeste entre el Océano Atlántico y el Mar Caribe. En particular la desembocadura fluvial del Caño de San Fernando (también conocido como Caño de Cataño) en la ciudad portuaria de San Juan.

Temas: Ecología y espacio públicoPresión urbana sobre un sistema hidrográfico = Inundación, inestabilidad y riesgo

Intuiciones iniciales (Hipótesis): Es en el punto clave de la ciudad portuaria donde ocurre una desembocadura fluvial (un sistema delta/estuarino), que se manifiesta el enlace y la mayor articulación entre el territorio firme y el mar. La implantación de espacio público en sistemas hidrográficos será un propulsor clave para la evolución urbana venidera. Para esto es imprescindible explorar la posibilidad de re-naturalizar el espacio de las desembocaduras fluviales. Estas intervenciones servirán para rectificar errores del pasado y salvar obstáculos del desarrollo y evolución urbanos a tono con las realidades del territorio y sus habitantes. Atender el diseño de la proximidad del agua con la tierra es el punto de inflexión de cara a condiciones sociales y ecológicas en cambio. Si esto no se atiende, ha de esperarse que la situación quede fuera de

Site: The island of Puerto Rico with a surface of 9.104 km² located between latitudes 18⁰ 33’ y 17⁰ 54’ North and longitudes 67⁰ 18’ y 65⁰ 30’ West between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. In particular the river mouth of San Fernando Creek (also known as Cataño Creek) in the port city of San Juan.

Themes: Ecology, public space. Urban pressure over a hydrological system = Flooding, insta-bility, risk

Initial intuitions (Hypothesis): It is in the key location of the port city where a river meets the sea (a delta/estuarine system), where the greatest link and articulation between land and sea are manifest. The place-ment of public space on hydrographic systems will be a key catalyst for upcoming urban evolution. These interventions will serve to rectify errors of the past and overcome obstacles of urban development and evolution in tune with the realities of the territory and its inhabitants. Addressing the design of the proximity of the water to the land is the turning point in the face of changing social and ecological conditions. If this is not addressed, the situation is expected to be out of control.

Objectives:

12 13


To explore the possibility of re-naturalizing the space of the river mouth in the tropical city. To integrate maritime-regional, urban-local, and internal-rural scales within a common space that will interweave them. To bring back qualities of public territory to the natural island landscape (as a first step to re-envision the Puertorrican city). The re-visualization of a coastal port city, for the sustainable development of a territory facing extreme contrasts.

Theoretical Framework: There exists a contemporary preoccupation with the rights, obligations, and handicaps established by the regulations of the Civil Code which denominate the maritime-terrestrial zone, the right of way for river causeways, and zoning. From the environmental and technological standpoint, the realm of the Caribbean and in particular the island of Puerto Rico are a key case for study due to various studies and observations that include: the famous nighttime luminosity seen by satellites as a function of dispersed settlement, the loss of 50% of coral reef ecosystems, the poor level of municipal sustainability accord-ing to recent indexations, the high level of investment in works and industry of high shipping technology nowadays in decay or creating problematic environmental circumstances.

Items for study/ precedents: Coastal, island urban spaces; master plans for the city of San Juan, open and public spaces in the area of study. The Proj-ect of urban re-conversion for the Don River (its mouth and course) in Toronto, Canada; the flooding studies in the projects

14 15


transformative forces. The mangroves serve as a filter for the waters that pass through the city as well as habitat for a great variety of fauna. These spaces are essential to maintain the shoreline and absorb large volumes of water in flooding events. What could I know? How is the causeway of a river recuperated in the context of a port city? How is ecological space regained in a port city? What implications does this have for nearby neighborhoods? The strategies for intervention over coastal cities for an eco-logically vanguardist development, of qualitative public space. What would happen if the port cities once again are valued as the basic propellers of social, economic, and cultural develop-ment of island-based territories. How should the compact port city be developed? At what point in time does the morphology of the city adapt? In what way?

What have I learned? If one looks at the low-laying areas of the planet, one will often find large works of infrastructure such as levees, and port facili-ties. These areas are commonly rich in biodiversity and convey an initial advantage to settlers. There is plentiful fresh water! There are great economic forces to create a type of single fam-ily isolated housing construction that does not promote mixed uses, requires large amounts of terrain, and is not accessible to the public/ consumer in general. This construction pulls the population from the urban centers and detaches it from both the agricultural production of the territory and the synergic opportunities of the compact city. This kills the city in the

ecológicos, espacio público existente en área de estudio. El proyecto de re-conversión urbana para la desembocadura del Rio Don en Toronto, Canadá; Los estudios de inundabilidad en el proyecto “More space for the water” en Holanda y el proyecto del Extreme City en la región del Veneto en Italia; el diseño del parque para la bahía y marismas de Cádiz, España.

Condicionantes: La gente quiere vivir cerca de la naturaleza. La gente disfruta entornos urbanos de carácter histórico y oferta mixta de ocio. La gente sueña con una casa individual sobre el territorio, con paseos ociosos en barco, con posesiones de bienes raíces y alta tecnología que le eleven su percepción de status social, con grandes espacios donde sus niños puedan disfrutar al aire libre.

Mecanismos para verificarlas (Metodología): Presentación de ámbitos mediante dibujo y fotografía. Breve representación de un escenario. Cotejo de las ideas frente a las circunstancias. Examen de las hipótesis.

¿Qué se yo? Que el espacio fluvial en la urbe ocupa una posición desaven-tajada. Se ha considerado una molestia por su olor original y su asociación como fuente de insectos. Se ha considerado un obstáculo para el desarrollo urbano. Su función, hasta hace poco, fue generalmente ignorada. Ha sido borrado u ocultado de diversas maneras. Pero hay villas pesqueras en sus proximi-dades de carácter casi informal que expresan el sustento de un grupo de habitantes. Estos espacios no han sido caracterizados

known as “More space for the water” in the Netherlands; the project of the Extreme City in the Veneto region of Italy; the park design for the bay and marshes of Cadiz, Spain.

The call of the wild… a few conditions: In Puerto Rico people wish to live near nature. People enjoy urban surroundings of a historic character and mixed possibili-ties for leisure. People dream of an individual house in the territory, of leisurely trips by boat, of real estate and high-tech goods that may elevate their perception of social ranking, of great spaces where their children might enjoy fresh air.

Mechanisms to verify them (Methodology): Historical retracing. Brief representation of a scenario. Presen-tation of landscapes by means of plan drawings and historic and current photographs. Presentation of key sections to verify spatial proportions, sequences, and continuities. Elaboration of green and urban tissue diagrams, of systems of activities..

What do I know? The riparian, fluvial space of the city occupies a disadvantaged position. It has been deemed bothersome by the original odor and insect source association. It has been deemed an obstacle to urban development. Its function has until recently, long been ignored. It has been erased or hidden in diverse ways. But there are fishing villages, in the proximity of this hydrological space, of almost informal character that express the subsistence of a certain group of inhabitants. These spaces have not been characterized as highly functional and have been the target of

controlObjetivos: Explorar la posibilidad de re-naturalizar el espacio hidrográfico coincidente con la urbe tropical. Integrar las escalas marino-regionales, urbano-locales, e interno-rurales bajo su estudio en un espacio común que las vincule. Devolver las cualidades de espacio y territorio público al paisaje estuarino isleño (como un primer paso para re-vislumbrar la urbe caribeña). La re visualización de la ciudad costera portuaria para el desarrollo sostenible de un territorio que enfrenta contrastes extremos.

Marco teórico: Existe una preocupación contemporánea con los derechos, obligaciones, e impedimentos establecidos por los reglamentos del código civil que denominan la zona marítimo-terrestre, la servidumbre de paso para cauce fluvial y la zonificación. Desde el punto de vista ambiental y tecnológico, el ámbito del Caribe y en particular la isla de Puerto Rico son un caso de es-tudio clave por varios estudios y observaciones que incluyen: la famosa luminosidad nocturna vista por satélites en función de la urbanización dispersa, la pérdida del 50% de los ecosistemas de arrecifes coralinos, el pobre nivel de sostenibilidad munici-pal según revelan los índices de nueva creación, el alto nivel de inversión en obras e industria de alta tecnología hoy día en deterioro.

Casos de estudio: Espacios urbanos litorales isleños, examen del tratamiento en los planes maestros para y San Juan del sistema de espacios

16 17


Old Catano ferry docks on the creek. Views of 1911, 2011Viejos muelles de la lancha de Cataño en el caño. Vistas de

1911 (Almanaque de Puerto Rico), 2011

en términos ecológicos, de espacio público cualitativo? ¿Qué pasaría si las ciudades portuarias una vez más fuesen valoradas como catalíticos básicos del desarrollo social, económico y cultural de los territorios isleños? Como debería desarrollarse la ciudad compacta portuaria? ¿En qué momento se adapta la morfología de la ciudad? ¿De qué forma?

¿Qué he aprendido? Si uno mira los terrenos más bajos del planeta, a menudo encontrara grandes obras de infraestructura tales como diques y facilidades portuarias. Estas áreas son comúnmente ricas en biodiversidad y proveen una ventaja inicial a sus pobladores. ¡Hay mucha agua potable! Pero también son áreas con riesgo de inundación, de tierras de escasa estabilidad, y con alta sus-ceptibilidad a cambios geomorfológicos.Hay grandes fuerzas económicas para crear un tipo de con-strucción de vivienda unifamiliar aislada que no promueve usos mixtos, requiere grandes cantidades de terreno, y no es accesible al público y al consumidor en general. Esta construc-ción hala a la población de los centros urbanos y la desentiende tanto de la producción agrícola del territorio como de las oportunidades sinérgicas de la ciudad compacta. Esto mata la ciudad en el proceso. Un proyecto de diseño entonces se encontrará de cara a una situación compleja donde atender estas circunstancias. Una estrategia única como la de resistir no podrá realísticamente enfrentar este reto. Una combinación de estrategias parece ser el mejor equipo de herramientas para atender una combinación de problemas.

process. A design project then will find itself facing a complex situation to address these circumstances. A single strategy such as resistance will not be able to realistically meet the challenge. A combination of strategies seems the better toolkit to address a combination of problems.

Fishermen’s docks at the entrance to the creek.

Muelles de pescadores a la entrada del caño

como altamente funcionales y han sido objeto de fuerzas trans-formadoras. Que los manglares sirven de filtro para las aguas que pasan por la ciudad así como hábitat para gran variedad de fauna. Que estos espacios son esenciales para mantener las líneas de costa y absorber altos volúmenes de precipitación en eventos de inundación. ¿Qué podría saber? ¿Cómo se recupera el cauce de los ríos en el entorno de la urbe portuaria? ¿Cómo se recupera el espacio ecológico en una urbe portuaria? ¿Qué implicaciones tiene para los barrios aledaños? ¿Cuáles son las estrategias de interven-ción sobre las ciudades litorales para un desarrollo vanguardista

18 19


Definition of the problems Identificacion de los problemas

Site Specific interrelated Terminology/Topology:

Floodability: Of annual recurrence, with a moment of great-est likelihood during the hurricane season between the months of June and November. From December to February a period of strong wave action is manifest but the interior of the bay is substantially free of its effects. The original swampy character of the land should be evident if one were to dig a little on the site: water should be found within a meter of depth. This is due to a water table characterized by its closeness to the surface and the high impermeability of the soil.

Fluvial causeway: The fluvial causeway is a latent feature beneath the capital’s slums. A substantial surface has been artificially covered with rubble, myriad waste, and organic mat-ter. The causeways are not fixed however. They are in constant change and re-formation. The flood plain has been considered in other instances part of the fluvial causeway. It would seem an adequate range to reconsider as part of the right of way of the various rivers and creeks in the bay of San Juan. This would lead to a reconsideration of right of way legal frame-work and scope of opinion.

Soil: The ground/ soil is unstable and poses serious questions as to its construction suitability. In the case of seismic events, the ratio of movement and its consequences would increase in these areas. This land has an environmental value as a space of

Matthew 7:24-2724 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.- 1769 Oxford King James Bible

Mateo 7: 24-2724 Cualquiera, pues, que me oye estas palabras, y las hace, le compararé a un hombre prudente, que edificó su casa sobre la roca.25 Descendió lluvia, y vinieron ríos, y soplaron vientos, y gol-pearon contra aquella casa; y no cayó, porque estaba fundada sobre la roca.26 Pero cualquiera que me oye estas palabras y no las hace, le compararé a un hombre insensato, que edificó su casa sobre la arena;27 y descendió lluvia, y vinieron ríos, y soplaron vientos, y dieron con ímpetu contra aquella casa; y cayó, y fue grande su ruina.- 1569 La Santa Biblia (Version RVR)

20 21


Slum: These are areas that are considered “to be improved” by the local planning board. When industrialization gathered speed in the 20th century in Puerto Rico, people migrated from the countryside to the urban areas and settled in the vacant spaces. In San Juan this meant the public lands considered to be functionless and close to workplaces. The main character-istic of these lands was their marshy condition. Fuller Marvel states that the “great preoccupation with informal housing is not the housing unit itself… but its impact on the use of the land”. She further states “these communities usually locate themselves in floodable lands, along lagoons, creeks, bays, shorelines (marine-terrestrial zone), and areas susceptible to landslides”.

Wetlands: These should be understood as having various names including swamplands, marshlands, mangroves… These areas surround the bay of San Juan and occupy the low laying areas bathed by the tide (a condition for the presence of mangroves). They are also characteristic of a high water table due to largely impermeable soil. They are areas that quickly flood in the event of rain and border the mangroves as the last stage of land intermittently occupied by waterflow in the watershed. These are the areas where the estuary environment becomes evident. Therefore, the flow of water in this area is often unclear as to its precise boundaries.

Physical Property: It ought to be understood as the space, objects, animals, and vegetation for which one may be held responsible and obtains benefit. Individual property is most

protection for the coast, a space of transition between ecolo-gies, and an area to filter pollutants with inland sources. The artificiality of the state of the ground suggests therefore two strategies for intervention: Its re-naturalization, and its artificial consolidation. To understand its benefits the question to formu-late might be… How would the strategy of re-naturalization fill the needs of both the territory and the population? How would the strategy of artificial consolidation compare? Resistance or adaptation?

Extreme: This could be considered as what was (completely natural) or what is (quite artificial). In light of this, the mid-point might be the space for design. The midpoint can be the exercise to show the limits of action (playing with the limit) in terms of urban space, about the river, and on the shore. Per-haps the exploration of what means the hardness of one edge or the weakness of another can aid in arguing levels of natu-ralness at one extreme and artificiality in another. Hurricanes and flooding events are the common natural events by which the city measures the adequateness of its construction. These events make evident its weak points and strong points. The infrastructures are put to the test and certain communities suffer a greater impact than others. The extreme events reveal the social conditions of a certain area’s inhabitants. In Puerto Rico the most salient construction features of a resilient structure in the face of these common natural occurrences are: concrete as the material of choice to face the onslaught of the wind; raised footings as the strategy of choice to avoid flooding.

22 23


often acknowledged as real estate, vehicles, and livestock. Public property is most often acknowledged as real estate, hy-drographic space and its edge. But the boundaries and extents of property ought to be understood as well as being defined or diffuse/ shifting. Hydrographic space is diffuse public prop-erty; motor vehicles are diffused private property; migratory birds are diffuse public property; trees are defined public and private property; houses are defined private property; schools are defined public property. What are slums then? It is problem-atic private property exerting pressure in hydrographic space which is diffuse public property. What is traffic congestion? It is problematic private property inefficiently moving through diffuse public property. Is it really possible for the inhabitants of the slum, or the drivers of the motor vehicles to be held ac-countable?

24 25


Evaluation to verify or falsify their potential. I.E., how is a given solution justified? What problems does it have? Are there any conflicts between components? What are the possibilities of the solution? What are the architectural implica tions? What are the social implications? How are the nested scales expressed? This could be a foundation to compare foreign interventions.

Return to the contextual description to check ideas: Explanation of the state of discourse, the range of opinions and tendencies, the context of ideas Brief historical survey. Presentation of a timeline that includes glimpses of: historical periods, relevant ideas, works of architecture and urbanism, state of the economy, etc. This includes: urban growth, changes in the seashore and fluvial causeway, appearance of new roads, appearance and disappearance of rail infrastructures. Presentation of urban structure that can support the potential of the argued solution: Elaboration of diagrams of urban tissue systems, cadastral tissues, systems or zones of activities and dotations, of mobility according to their current ap preciation, and brief comparison with systems in master plans.

Conclusions: Verification or falsification of the hypotheses. Recommendations

Methodology Metodología

A word of caution: The method followed has not been precisely linear. It has had many twists and turns and some areas of the study have gained relevance while others have taken a second tier. This methodology has really served as a way to keep checking the progress of the research and project and is by no means exhaustive as to the project’s content. The reader will find that some items have found their way into the project naturally while others have left it naturally as well. Description of the situation: Presentation of landscapes by means of plans and historic and current photographs. Presentation of key sections to verify spatial proportions, sequences, and continuities. Representation of geographic systems that coincide with the area of study.

Representation of scenarios through the design of a possibility. What happens if… Identify project criteria and lines of action/ key strategies. Explorations: Understand the implications in various scales: In the neighborhood order, in the city order, in the territorial order. Response to the presence of water: the possibility to undo barriers, the definition of areas for retention, the expo sure of certain areas to flooding effects vs. the protection of other areas from them, the identification of buffer zones, the identification of old fluvial courses in order to expand the points of discharge to the sea, the possibil ity to distribute large volumes of water in stages and terraces… - this is addressed as resistant, resilient, or adaptive in strategy Placement of program: fishing-maritime thematic, nature reserves, sport facilities, touristic amenities, intermo dal exchange spaces… - addressed as program of new introduction, of re-introduction, of preservation, of im provement Spatial design: Tectonic distribution, Attitude to sequence, Form vs. Time, Materiality (vegetation, paths, volu metrics), Typological palette (promenade, park, docks, kiosks) – this can be understood in terms of limits or edges, hard and soft. Linking with networks: of mobility, of ecology, of cultural itineraries, and civic spaces.

26 27


El engranaje con los sistemas reticulares: de movilidad, de función ecológica, de itinerario cultural, de espacios cívicos. Valoración de verificación o falsificación de su potencial. Es decir, ¿Cómo se justifica una solución dada? ¿Cuáles son sus problemas? ¿Hay alguno conflicto entre sus componentes? ¿Cuáles son sus posibilidades? ¿Cuáles son sus implica ciones arquitectónicas? ¿Cuáles son sus implicaciones sociales? ¿Cómo se expresan las escalas inherentes? Tal vez esto puede ser en base a una comparación con intervenciones exógenas (los espacios públicos litorales y fluviales urbanos en otras islas y en España)

Vuelta a la descripción contextual para corroborar ideas: Exposición del estado del arte, el conjunto de opiniones y tendencias, el contexto de las ideas. Breve recuento histórico. Presentación de una línea cronológica que recoja: periodos históricos, ideas relevantes, obras de arquitectura y urbanismo, estado de la economía, etc. Esto incluye: el crecimiento urbano, cambios en el litoral y cauce fluvial, aparición de nuevos caminos, aparición y desaparición de infraestructuras ferroviarias. Presentación de estructura urbana que respalde el potencial de las soluciones atractivas: Elaboración de diagramas de sistemas de tejidos verde y urbano, de tejido catastral, de sistemas o zonas de actividades y equipamientos, de movilidad según se aprecian en la actualidad y breve comparación con sistemas proyectados en planes maestros.

Conclusiones: Verificación o falsificación de las hipótesis. Recomendaciones

Valga la salvedad: El método seguido no ha sido precisamente lineal. Ha tenido muchos retranqueos y torcedumbres y algunas áreas del estudio han cobrado relevancia mientras otras han tomado un segundo plano. Esta metodología realmente ha servido como una herramienta para mantener el cotejo del progreso de la investigación y el proyecto y de ninguna forma es exhaustiva a decir del contenido del proyecto. El lector encontrara también que algunos asuntos han encontrado naturalmente su camino de entrada al proyecto mientras que otros lo han dejado igual de naturalmente.

Descripción de la situación: Presentación del paisaje litoral mediante dibujo en planta y fotografías históricas y actuales que desglosen su clasifi cación tipológica general. Presentación de secciones clave que verifiquen proporciones espaciales, secuencias y continui dades. Representación de sistemas geográficos incidentes en el ámbito de estudio. Representación de la incidencia de eventos de inundabilidad sobre el paisaje.

Representación de escenarios a traves del diseno de una posibilidad. Que sucede si… Identificar criterios de proyecto y líneas de tratamiento/ estrategias clave. Algunas posibilidades: Entender las implicaciones en varias escalas: En el orden vecinal, en el orden urbano, en el orden territorial. La respuesta a la inundación: se podría explorar la desarticulación de barreras, la definición de zonas de captación para eventos de inundabilidad, la exposición de ciertas áreas a efectos de inundación y la protección de otras, la identificación de zonas de amortiguamiento, la identificación de viejas vertien tes fluviales para proveer una mayor gama de rumbos al mar, la posibilidad de introducir sistemas de alta tecnología como barreras ‘inflables’, la posibilidad de distribuir volúmenes de agua en sistemas de laminas o terrazas… - se entiende como resistente, flexible o adaptable en estrategia La ubicación de programa: Temática pesquera-marina, reserva forestal, facilidades deportivas, facilidades de investigación científica, instalaciones turísticas, espacios de transbordo… atendido como programa de nueva introducción, de re-introducción, de preservación, de mejoramiento o cualificación. Diseño espacial: Distribución tectónica, actitud hacia la secuencia, Forma vs. Tiempo, Materialidad (vegetación, pavimento, mobiliario, fachada), Gama tipológica (paseo, parque, muelles, quioscos) – esto se puede entender en terminos de límites, bordes, rígidos o moldeables.

Methodology Metodología

28 29


Summary of the state of discourse: Resumen del estado del arte

The debate on the identity crisis (the brand) of the city, its reali-ties of insertion in circuits of politics, economy, and regional culture; the situation of dynamic competitiveness or static lag-ging. What is the best strategy of definition for the city? To be experimental, to be museumificated, to be standardized?

Public territory versus public space: the context of aspirations within the American Dream, the destiny of tropical paradise, life in the countryside versus urban order. Which are the needs of the territory? How are they balanced with the needs of the inhabitants? Which are the tendencies as to property rights over the territory? Movable or static property?

The evolution of the city: What kind of city was that of the past? What is the contemporary city? What shall be the city of the future? With regards to the future, the questions to speculate on can be framed in terms of the essentials: water, food, hous-ing, energy,… (Miquel Vidal UPC)

cios básicos.

El debate de la crisis identitaria (la marca) de la ciudad, sus realidades de inserción en circuitos políticos, económicos, y culturales regionales; la situación de competitividad o de rezago. ¿Cuál es la mejor estrategia para definir la ciudad? ¿Ser experimental, ser museificada, ser normalizada?

Territorio publico versus espacio público: el contexto de las aspiraciones del sueño americano, el destino del paraíso tropi-cal, la vida en el campo versus el orden urbano. ¿Cuáles son las necesidades del territorio? ¿Cómo se equilibran con las necesidades de la gente? ¿Cuáles son las tendencias en cuanto al derecho de la propiedad sobre el territorio: bienes muebles e inmuebles?

La evolución de la ciudad: ¿Cuál era la ciudad de aquella época? ¿Cuál es la ciudad de hoy día? ¿Cuál podría ser la ciu-dad del futuro? En cuanto al futuro se especula sobre las cosas imprescindibles: comida, agua, vivienda, energía… (Miquel Vidal UPC)

Summary of the state of discourse: Resumen del estado del arte

El punto de vista ambientalista: Preocupación por efectos alarmantes del calentamiento global. Tendencia a creación de reservas naturales y agrícolas. El interés por crear enclaves y sociedades sostenibles.

El debate entre la ciudad compacta y la ciudad dispersa. Una obedece reglas de edificación en terrenos altos por motivos defensivos, de densidad critica y multiplicidad programática es-enciales para la cultura, y de una huella espacial pequeña para un presupuesto definido. La otra infraestructuraliza el territorio para mover capital, dedica grandes zonas a usos únicos para adoptar economías de escala, y normaliza la cultura en apoyo a la globalización. Es un debate entre la centralidad y la periferia que emerge en la situación contemporánea. Es evidente cuando se percibe que un área de la ciudad es ignorada y otra gana atención.

La ciudad extrema: la ciudad que muestra polarización de clases, crecimiento desregulado, ubicación en ecosistemas frágiles y sujetos a efectos de crisis ambiental; La ciudad para estudiar la nueva interrogante urbana. La ciudad de los contras-tes. (Paola Viganò, Bernardo Secchi IUAV)

Las ciudades en la incertidumbre: en el sentido estricto de la palabra pos-coloniales, pos-industriales, pos-socialistas: donde ya no hay explotación de gente o recursos naturales, donde no se produce nada, donde el estado no puede proveer los servi-

The environmentalist point of view: A preoccupation regarding the alarming effects of global warming. A tendency towards the creation of natural and agricultural reserves. An interest in creating sustainable enclaves and societies.

The debate between the compact city and the dispersed city. One obeys the laws of high ground for defensive reasons, criti-cal density and program multiplicity to support culture, limiting itself to a small footprint for a tailored budget. The other infra-structuralizes the territory to mobilize capital, dedicates large zones to single use for economies of scale, standardizes culture to support globalization. It is a debate between centrality and periphery that emerges in the contemporary situation. This becomes evident as one area of the city is ignored and another gains attention.

The extreme city: the city that shows polarization of social classes, un-checked/ independent growth, location in fragile ecosystems subject to the effects of the environmental crisis; The city to study the new urban question. The city of contrasts. (Paola Viganò, Bernardo Secchi IUAV)

Cities of uncertainty: in the strict sense of the word post-colonial, post-industrial, post-socialist: where there is no longer exploitation of people or natural resources, where nothing is significantly produced, where the state can no longer provide basic services.

30 31


San Juan San Juan

In all, the position of the city on the angle of the hill, the many gardens and yards populated by eye-catching plants, the roof-tops of many houses, some public buildings perfectly built and the proportion and straightness of the streets, give it from afar an extended and nice perspective, made beautiful by the trees and plants that stand out among the houses, forming a settled forest. This is the idea that more or less one should gather about the houses and the city of Puerto Rico.

-1788 Geographic, civil, and political history of the Island of Saint John the Baptist of Puerto Rico p.212

The (political) situation:

Puerto Rico is officially a hybrid non-incorporated territory of the United States of America. Its official Eng-lish name is Commonwealth of Puerto Rico while its official Spanish name literally translates as Free Associated State of Puerto Rico. This discrepancy in the name underscores its real condition of colony. Its entire history of colonization has lasted so far over 500 years with a few brief instances during which the Kingdom of Spain made it an autonomous province. This was particularly so during the final year of its administration in 1898. It should be noted then that for 400 years the terri-tory had an extremely controlled planning activity which even produced the foundations for the Laws of the Indies. When the American invasion took place signs of this activity were ev-

Con todo, la posición de la ciudad en el declive de la cuesta, los muchos huertos o patios poblados de vistosas plantas, las azoteas de muchas casas, algunos edificios públicos perfecta-mente construidos y la proporción y rectitud de las calles, le dan de lejos una perspectiva extensa y agradable, hermoseada de árboles y plantas que resaltan entre las casas, formando un bosque en poblado. Esta es la idea que sobre poco más o menos debe formarse de las casas y ciudad de Puerto-Rico.

-1788 Historia geográfica, civil y política de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico p.212

La situación (política)

Puerto Rico es oficialmente un territorio hibrido no-incorporado de los Estados Unidos de América. Su nombre oficial en Ingles indica que comparte la riqueza de la metrópoli mientras que su nombre oficial en español es Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Esta discrepancia en su nomencla-tura marca su condición real de colonia. Toda su historia de colonización ha durado sobre 500 años con unas pocas instan-cias breves en las que el Reino de España la hizo una provincia autónoma. Esto fue así particularmente durante el último año de su administración en 1898. Se debe indicar entonces que por 400 anos el territorio tuvo una actividad de planificación extremadamente controlada que inclusive sentó los precedentes para las Leyes de Indias. Cuando la invasión Americana tuvo

32 33


erywhere and included compact, gridded urban centers, a basic road system connecting all towns and maintained by resident roadmen, extensive farms, some nature reserves, tramways in the major cities, an island wide rail system, telegraph commu-nications, and aqueduct service for the main cities. Nonethe-less, two major images would strike a contemporary observer: widespread poverty, and hardly any forests covering the land. During the course of the twentieth century some changes happened naturally while others were forced. The gen-eralized first world trend of increased scholarization, sanitation, and industrialization was observed throughout the island. The population boomed; a fantastic market was opened. The hege-monic raise of the automobile in the American system meant the gradual but sure elimination of the railway systems, the widespread construction of streets, roads, and highways, and the expansion of the urban footprint in the form of single fam-ily single story houses. The US military quickly took advan-tage of the island’s strategic location building military bases for the army, air force, and navy. The US agricultural sector lobby also took measures to virtually eliminate agriculture in the island and insure the dependability of its market. What this has meant is the regeneration of large forest areas throughout the whole island as the agricultural land lay follow. It also meant something else: poverty remained albeit with a different form. While much of the population formerly resided in the country-side, the pace of urbanization and its promise of employment drew them to the city. In the city, the only place the poor could afford to live was the slum. Today, Puerto Rico is an island of contrasts. It is a

lugar, habían señales de esta actividad por doquier e incluían centros urbanos cuadriculados y compactos, un sistema de car-reteras conectando todos los pueblos y mantenido por camine-ros residentes, fincas extensas, algunas reservas naturales, tranvías en las ciudades principales, un sistema de ferrocarril de circunvalación, comunicaciones por telégrafo y servicio de acueductos para las ciudades principales. Sin embargo, dos imágenes sorprenderían a un observador contemporáneo: pobreza como regla y casi ningún bosque en toda la isla. Durante el curso del siglo veinte algunos cambios ocurrieron naturalmente mientras que otros fueron forzados. La tendencia generalizada en el primer mundo de un aumento en la escolaridad, la sanidad, y la industrialización fue ob-servada a lo largo y ancho de la isla. La población despunto; un mercado fantástico fue abierto. El alza hegemónica del automóvil en el sistema americano significo la gradual pero decidida eliminación de los sistemas de rieles, la construcción de calles, carreteras, y autopistas, y la expansión de la huella urbana en forma de casas unifamiliares de una planta. La rama militar de los EEUU rápidamente tomo ventaja de la ubicación estratégica de la isla construyendo bases militares para el ejér-cito, la fuerza aérea, y la marina. Cabilderos del sector agrícola americano tomaron medidas para virtualmente eliminar la agricultura en la isla y asegurar la dependencia de su mercado. Lo que esto significo fue la regeneración de grandes áreas de bosque alrededor de toda la isla según la tierra era abandonada. Esto también significo algo más: la pobreza continuo aunque de una forma distinta. Mientras mucha de la población antes vivía en la ruralía, el paso de la urbanización y su promesa de

34 35

major stop for migratory birds, whales and other species, but half of the corals reefs are dead. It is one of the gateways for drug traffic into the United States, and it is still poorer than the poorest US state. As usual, it is visited on average once every decade by a strong hurricane, but drought is a recur-rent problem. Every Puertorrican is a US citizen and most are Protestants but the spoken language is Spanish and the culture Roman Catholic. And while the island exports music, rum, and baseball players, it must import 90% of the food, all of its fuel, and most manufactured products. Some of these facts are very positive indicators of the well being of the island. However, some of them are symptoms of a hindered development and alarming in their extremeness.

Some philosophical considerations: What is known? What is the unknown? What should be made known? Among the commonly held knowledge, prom-inent features include the historic walled city across the bay, the Bacardi liquor industrial site, the cruise ships as expressions of mass tourism, summer weather all year round. The unknown includes facts such as the global scale of container shipping activity carried out in the bay; the vast watershed system that feeds the bay and its ecology, the fishing communities scattered around the bay, the 500 mile radius of military control.

From the standpoint of urbanism, what appears as a good can-didate to be known is the natural resource system surrounding the bay and its protagonism in the life of the city and the island of Puerto Rico. The excellent protective qualities of the harbor


empleo la llevo a la ciudad. En la ciudad, el único lugar donde los pobres podían permitirse vivir era el arrabal. Hoy, Puerto Rico es una isla de contrastes. Es una parada significativa para aves migratorias, ballenas y otras es-pecies, pero la mitad de los arrecifes de coral están muertos. Es una de las puertas de entrada para el narcotráfico a los EEUU, y es también más pobre que su estado más pobre. Como de costumbre, es visitada en promedio una vez por década por un huracán fuerte, pero la sequia es un problema recurrente. Todo puertorriqueño es ciudadano de los EEUU y la mayoría son protestantes pero el idioma hablado es el español y la cultura es católica. Y mientras la isla exporta música, ron, y jugadores de pelota, le es necesario importar el 90% de su alimento, todo su combustible, y la mayor parte de los productos manufac-turados. Algunos de estos hechos son indicadores positivos del bienestar de la isla. Sin embargo, otros son síntomas de un desarrollo accidentado y alarmante en sus características extremas.

Algunas consideraciones filosóficas:¿Qué se conoce? ¿Qué se desconoce? ¿Qué debería dares a conocer? Entre los elementos de común conocimiento , sobresale la histórica ciudad murada al otro lado de la bahía, el emplazamiento industrial de licor de Bacardi, los barcos crucero como expresiones de turismo de masas, el clima vera-niego de todo el año. Lo desconocido incluye datos como la escala global de la actividad de transportación de contenedores llevada a cabo en la bahía, el vasto sistema hidrográfico que nutre la bahía y su ecología, las comunidades pesqueras espar-

36 37

Literature: Elements of the collective imagination

Poem: Rio Grande de Loiza by Julia de Burgos (Early-Mid XXth century)Novel: La Guaracha del Macho Camacho by Luis Rafael Sánchez (1976); Short Story: En el fondo del caño hay un negrito by José Luis González (1954)Play: Purificación en la Calle del Cristo or Los Soles Truncos by René Marqués (1959)Novel: The house on the lagoon by Rosario Ferré (1995)

have been witness to both the trans-oceanic commerce and the day to day activities of its inhabitants. In the past the image could be said to have consisted of many small ships coming and going about the harbor. Nowadays the image is dominated by cruise ships and container cargo vessels. Small fishing ves-sels are precisely that, hardly noticeable, but they are a clue to the communities that inhabit the area. Therefore the bay and its surroundings are scene and medium for social movement, for diversity and as an expression of the historic circumstances.

Regarding nature the bay presents the collision between the hu-man will to exercise control over the medium, over the object of study and exploit its opportunities and with the natural pro-cesses present. The extreme situations of flooding, hurricanes, and swampland collide with the desire to make a useful port and house the population that will make it work. This is a con-trast of urban realities and ecological realities. In this light two actors are evident: the urban and the natural. Perhaps in San Juan, the logical point of reference should be nature in order to start visualizing the city’s evolution.


Literature: Elements of the collective imaginationLiteratura: Elementos del imaginario colectivo

Poem - Poema: Rio Grande de Loiza por Julia de Burgos (Temprano a mediados del siglo XX)Novel - Novela: La guaracha del Macho Camacho por Luis Rafael Sánchez (1976)Short Story - Cuento: En el fondo del caño hay un negrito por José Luis González (1954)Play - Obra de teatro: Purificación en la calle del Cristo o Los Soles Truncos por René Marqués (1959)Novel - Novela: The house on the lagoon por Rosario Ferré (1995)Song - Canción: En mi viejo San Juan por Noel Estrada (1943)

cidas por la bahía, el radio de control militar de 500 millas.

Desde el punto de vista del urbanismo, lo que aparenta ser un buen candidato para darse a conocer es el sistema de recursos naturales que rodea la bahía y su protagonismo en la vida de la ciudad y la isla de Puerto Rico. Las excelentes cualidades pro-tectoras del puerto han sido testigo tanto del comercio transo-ceánico como de las actividades del día a día de sus habitantes. En el pasado, la imagen podría decirse que consistió de muchas pequeñas embarcaciones yendo y viniendo por la bahía. Hoy, la imagen está dominada por barcos crucero y barcos cargueros de contenedores. Las pequeñas lanchas pesqueras son precisa-mente eso, pasan desapercibidas pero dan una clave acerca de las comunidades que habitan el área. Por lo tanto la bahía y sus alrededores son escena y medio para el movimiento , social, para la diversidad, y como expresión de las circunstancias históricas.

En cuanto a la naturaleza la bahía presenta el choque entre la voluntad humana de ejercer control sobre el medio, sobre el objeto de estudio y explotar sus oportunidades, con los pro-cesos naturales presentes. Las situaciones extremas de inun-dación, exposición a vientos huracanados, y vasta presencia de pantanos choca con el deseo de crear un puerto útil y alojar la población que lo haga funcionar. Esto es un contraste entre realidades urbanas y realidades ecológicas. Esto arroja luz a la existencia de dos actores, el urbano y el natural. Tal vez en San Juan, el punto de referencia lógico deba ser la naturaleza antes de comenzar a visualizar la evolución de la urbe.

38 39


Crónica de la Guerra Hispanoamericana en Puerto Rico which describes the state of infrastructures in the island in 18981908 – Oak Park Illinois, Jacksonville Florida – Garden City/ Residential Park/ Prairie Style, cottages and bungalows1909 – First social housing in Finland1917 – Laws of forests are written (Bosques Insulares de Puerto Rico: Ciénaga de la Mar –Bayamon) 1917 – Construction of Highway #21919 – Vanderbilt Hotel – American tourism model (End of 1st World War)1920 – Wetlands reclamation begins around Isla Grande1923 – San Juan Bay becomes landing space for hydroplanes1929 – Severe economic crisis1929 – San Juan International Airport begins operations in Isla Grande1930’s – New York model in the Chrysler Building and Art Deco1936 – Bacardi rum distillery established1936 – Aerial images show urban pressure over Martin Peña wetlands, San Antonio Creek, Cataño wetlands1939 – End of Spanish Civil War, influx of exiles1941 – German U-Boats lay naval blockade to Puerto Rico1942 – Inauguration of Normandie Hotel (transatlantic steamship golden age)1945 – End of 2nd World War1946 – Rexford G. Tugwell, planner & last American governor of Puerto Rico, writes The Stricken Land1946 – Tramways of San Juan are eliminated1947-52 – Unite d’habitation by Le Corbusier1949 – Inauguration of Caribe Hilton, tropical hotel, International Style1950 – Construction of levees forming La Malaria Creek1954 – Jose Luis Gonzalez writes En el fondo del caño hay un negrito making a portrait of poverty in the mangroves1955 – Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP) establishes codes to renovate colonial cities1955 – Caracas - Suburban shopping malls, supermarkets, and highways1955 – Inauguration of New International Airport in Isla Verde

1955-72 – Vietnam War1956 – Eduardo Barañano, architect, San Juan Metropolitan Area Regional

Plan

1957 – Island-wide rail system eliminated1960 – Urban Renewal projects1962 – Slum covers fluvial causeway in Cataño1962 – Construction of new wharves begins, substantial dredging of the bay, relocation of cargo shipping facilities to southern part of the bay1967 – Floods in Cataño1969 – Nuevo Centro de San Juan (Ciudad Modelo project) 1976 – Luis Rafael Sánchez writes La Guaracha del Macho Camacho / Macho Camacho’s Beat testifying to the social effects of urbanization1980 – Canalization of Bayamón River1983 – Old San Juan declared World Heritage Site1992 – Colombus’s Voyage 500th Anniversary (Spanish Government Urbanism Funding Grants)1995 – Rosario Ferré writes The house on the Lagoon / La casa de la laguna fictionalizing life in the tropical bay city2000 – Curitiba (Brazil), Portland (Oregon), Singapore experiences consid ered2004 – Metro line in San Juan begins operation

1493 – Christopher Colombus, explorer, lands in Boriquen, christens it San Juan (Puerto Rico)1508 – Juan Ponce de León, warrior, miner, 1st governor of San Juan (Puerto Rico), Caparra founded, Santo Domingo – city layout1521 – Isle in the harbor of Puerto Rico is settled (Caparra settlement is abandoned)1528 – French, attack and burn San Germán and other towns (second in importance to San Juan)1533 – La Fortaleza de Santa Catalina (medieval fortress is completed)1554 – French attack San Germán again1573 – Laws of the Indies are written1582 – Antonio de Santa Clara & Juan Ponce de León Troche write La Memoria de Melgarejo1589 – Bautista Antonelli & Juan Bautista Antonelli, designers, Fort San Felipe del Morro (renaissance fortress completed)1595 – Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins, English navigators and privateers, attack San Juan 1598 – Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio writes La Dragontea chronicling Sir Francis Drake’s exploits1598 – George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, English naval commander, attacks and lays siege to San Juan1624 – Dutch settle Manhattan and layout New Amsterdam1625 – Boudewijn Hendricksz, Dutch naval commander, attacks, lays siege, and burns San Juan (Dutch War of Independence)1714 – Foundation of town of Rio Piedras in the hinterland1750 – Informal Village settlement of Palo Seco1760 – Official settlement of Cangrejos (Santurce)1765 – Alejandro O’Reilly, Spanish engineer, leads completion of San Juan fortifications (Havana)1768 – Parish is built in Guaynabo (separates from Río Piedras)1775 – Hato Rey had already been settled1775 - Fernando Miyares González writes Noticias particulares de la isla y plaza de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico de scribing its settlements, economy, and geography and making suggestions such as the cultivation of rice in the wetlands of San Juan

1776 – USA declares independence1776 – Thomas O’Daly, Spanish engineer, surveys and cartographs the bay of San Juan1784 – Paving with cobblestones of the streets of San Juan begins1788 – Friar Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra writes Historia geográfica, civil y política de la Isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico1794 – Cosme de Churruca, Spanish scientist and naval commander, surveys and cartographs the bay of San Juan, suggests dredging1797 – Sir Ralph Abercrombie, English general, attacks San Juan (Napole onic Wars)1824 – David Porter American naval commander, attacks Fajardo, east of San Juan (Monroe Doctrine)1839 – Construction of docks and Royal Roadway linking Cataño and Bayamón1839 – Settlement of Cataño begins in earnest1839 – Creation of the Board of Forests, Fish, and Wildlife1851 – Francisco Coello, Spanish officer and engineer, publishes San Juan Bay cartography in Atlas de España y sus Posesiones de Ultramar1849 – Expansion plans copying La Barceloneta in Barcelona1852 – Promenade and leisure spaces copying Madrid and Havana1858 – Dredging of the bay begins1862 – Plan to demolish city walls copying expansion in Barcelona1873 – Francisco Pi y Maragall, Spanish president, orders the drainage of wetlands (1st Spanish Republic)1879 – Waters Law forbids cutting trees along riverbanks1880 – Ports Law define maritime-terrestrial zone1880 - Count Pablo Ubarri, Spanish entrepreneur, Establishment of Tram service connecting San Juan and its hinterland1882 – Línea Ferrea del Oeste: Establishment of railway service connecting San Juan with other urban centers in the hinterland and beyond1886– Completion of the North-South Cross-Island Road1887 – Evaristo de Churruca, Spanish engineer, surveys and cartographs the bay of San Juan1898 – William T. Sampson, American admiral, attacks San Juan (Spanish American War)1922 – Angel Rivero Mendez, former Spanish army officer publishes

40 41

Foundation to 1625City wall consolidation (1792)

Expansion beyond the walls (1885)Transition period to the hands of the USA

(1895-1917)Around 1930

Modernization in the decade of 1950From 1962 to 1970

Today

The city of San Juan has in its origins its settlement to the south of the bay in what was denominated the town of Caparra in 1509. In 1521 it was moved to the isle at the entrance to the bay organizing the properties around the cathedral and town square in the same way as the former settlement. The situation of colonial competition at the time provoked the successive construction of fortifications and by 1792 it was completely encircled by walls. The central road which connects the isle to the territory defined the urban growth towards the hinterland. Today this road is Avenida Ponce de Leon and it crosses the neighborhoods of Puerta de Tierra , Santurce, and Hato Rey until it reaches Rio Piedras. At this point the roads to the rest of the island connected and the summer residence of the Spanish governors was established. The territorial axis in its connective function with the south of the island is marked today by an expressway to the west of the old road.The urban centers of Cataño and Palo Seco emerged, in turn, by the ease of access to the rivers that connect to the farms and gold mines found once upon a time further afield in the region of the Toa to the west. Although they have privileged views of the bay, monumental pieces were never placed there except for a power plant and a multinational liqueur distillery.


42 43


44 45

Nolli type plan of the historic nucleous of San Juan as it ap-pears today (based on a pamphlet published by the Uni-versidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico to promote vis-its to the interior courtyards and scattered town squares).

Literature: Elements of the collective imagination

Poem: Rio Grande de Loiza by Julia de Burgos (Early-Mid XXth century)Novel: La Guaracha del Macho Camacho by Luis Rafael Sánchez (1976); Short Story: En el fondo del caño hay un negrito by José Luis González (1954)Play: Purificación en la Calle del Cristo or Los Soles Truncos by René Marqués (1959)Novel: The house on the lagoon by Rosario Ferré (1995)


46 47

Toponomy: The neighborhood names of the city give clues as to their origins, history and qualities. Puerta de Tierra was the land entrance to the walled city; Palo Seco is the dry branch at the old river mouth of the Bayamón River; Cangrejos/San-turce was originally rich in crustaceans and later became the estate of the Count of Santurce; Cantera was a hill from which limestone was quarried; Hato Rey produced for the Spanish Crown; Roosevelt was built during FDR’s presidency, and as a result of Eleanor’s preoccupation with poor people’s hous-ing; Bayamón was a native Taino chief’s village; Vietnam was squatted while the Vietnam War made headlines in the papers.

Toponomia: Los nombres de los vecindarios de la ciudad ofre-cen pistas en cuanto a su origen, historia y cualidades. Puerta de Tierra era la entrada a la ciudad amurallada; Palo Seco es el ramal de la vieja desembocadura fluvial del rio Bayamón; Cangrejos/ Santurce era originalmente rico en crustáceos y lu-ego se convirtió en posesión del conde de Santurce; Cantera se debía a un mogote del cual se extraía piedra caliza; Hato Rey producía para la Corona Española; Roosevelt se construyo du-rante la presidencia de Franklin Delano, y como resultado de la preocupación de Eleanor por la vivienda de los pobres; Bay-amón era la aldea de un cacique Taino; Vietnam se asentó mien-tras la guerra de Vietnam cubría las portadas de los periódicos.

Old San Juan Puerta de Tierra

Isla Grande

VietnamCataño

Amelia

Bayview

Palo Seco

Las Palmas

LevittownJuana Matos

Miramar

El Condado

Punta Las Marías

Cantera

Villa Palmeras

Ocean Park

Santurce

Martin Peña

Barrio Obrero

Hato Rey

Ciudad Modelo

Rio Piedras

RooseveltPuerto Nuevo

Caparra

Bayamón

0 1KM 2KM 3KM 4KM 5KM 6KM 7KM 8KM 9KM 10KM 11KM 12KM 13KM 14KM

0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


48 49

Metropolitan public spaces and parks: These spaces take ad-vantage of some opportunity such as the search for a central-ity of the stadiums, colosseums, and arenas. Others appear when the military buffer zone of the city becomes obsolete such as El Morro’s battlefield or the Urban Forest of San Patri-cio. Still others find room as components of the ecological system such as the Bayamón River walk and the Linear Park.

Parques y espacios públicos metropolitanos: Estos espacios apr-ovechan alguna oportunidad como la búsqueda de centralidad de los estadios y coliseos y canchas. Otros aparecen cuando el espa-cio de amortiguamiento militar de la ciudad ya es obsoleto como la explanada del Morro y el Bosque urbano de San Patricio. Y otros logran un espacio como componentes del sistema ecológi-co como lo son el paseo del Rio Bayamón y el Parque Lineal.


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

Paseo La Princesa

Explanada del Morro

Balneario del Escambrón

Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera

Parque de la laguna del Condado Balneario de Ocean Park

Centro de Convenciones

Parque Central

Parque Lineal

Coliseo José M. Agrelot

Centro Comercial Plaza las Américas

Campo de Golf

Coliseo Roberto Clemente, Estadio Hiram Bithorn

Bosque Urbano de San Patricio

Zona del Karso

Laguna Secreta

Paseo Marítimo de Cataño

Ciénaga Las Cucharillas

Parque del Rio Bayamón

Parque Península La Esperanza

Destilería Bacardí

Parque Isla de Cabras


50 51

Piers and launching pads in the estuary: It should be noted that a mix of scales both physical and economical of the water-craft coexist within the bay. It may also be appreciated that the fish-ing villages and ferry terminals respond to a local scale and economy. On the other hand, the cruise ship docks and the Yacht club are associated with the attractions and facilities of tourism; cargo facilities are associated with shipping infrastructures, the bathymetry of the bay and its proximity to the highways.

Muelles y pantalanes del estuario: Nótese que coexiste dentro de la bahía una mezcla de escalas tanto físicas como económicas de las embarcaciones. Además se podrá apreciar que las villas pes-queras y terminales de ferry responden a una economía y escala local. Por el contrario, los muelles de crucero y del Club Náutico van asociados a los atractivos e instalaciones del turismo; los muelles de carga se asocian a las infraestructuras de transbordo, la batimetría de la bahía y su proximidad con las autopistas.


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

Terminal Ferry

Fishing Village

Fishing Village

Fishing Village

Fishing VillageFishing Village Terminal Ferry

Cruise Ship Terminal

Cruise Ship Terminal

Launching Pads - Pantalanes

US Navy

Cargo

Old PortageOld Portage

Old Portage

Cargo

Future Ferry Terminal

Terminal Ferry

Launching Pads,Pantalanes

Club Náutico


52 53


Environmental History of San Juan: ground and water

San Juan in 1912

The design of the project begins with the analysis of the trans-formation of the territory. Reading the changes in the landscape becomes a method for designing the emergence of a new public space.

Description of the analysis. The transformation of the territory can be appreciated through the careful re-drawing of its cartography. This effort synthe-sizes the different graphic conventions used during history into a uniform vocabulary to enable the effective comparison of time periods. It primarily distinguishes the limits of the shore, wetlands, urban development, agricultural extensions, and mo-bility infrastructure. This exercise, just like everything else in the world is not new and during the course of this research, an earlier study was found that confirms its value. In 1983, José Seguinot, a geographer, stated that “Parks, residential areas, heavy industries, port facilities, recreational areas, and public services can be found together forming an urban belt surround-ing the bay. The outcome of all this human activity in the San Juan Bay area represents one of the most altered ecological sys-tems in Puerto Rico. Some of the environmental changes that occurred in the past and are still taking place in the region are dredging, landfilling, river diversion, and land clearing.” His thesis, Coastal Modification and Land Transformation in the San Juan Bay area is an essential document to study the events, characteristics and effects of human activity in the region.

Historia Ambiental de San Juan: tierra y agua

Evolution of the city and sup-pression of its ecology.

San Juan: 1917, 1956,2004

54 55


The drawings reveal that the body of water of the bay and its context of surrounding wetlands, i.e. the watershed of San Juan is the raison d’être for human settlement in the area. The wa-tershed is the primary resource, economic milieu, social stage, and aesthetic background (Seguinot). The drawings also reveal the changing attitude of the inhabitants to various features of the landscape. The evolution of the city can be understood by evaluating how the citizens forgot its natural qualities. Un-derstanding their attitude and state of ignorance can be seen in their treatment of the wetlands as wasteland, were they dumped waste, and flushed away poverty. The people’s idea of exploiting and using the territory can be inferred from the deforestation, the reclaim of marshes, and the solidification of the shoreline. The skill of the period could be put to the test by how effective the drainage of wetlands was, how thoroughly and precisely the bay could be dredged, how nature could be challenged by the rationalization of the river courses, and the modification of the hydrology. What all this activity ultimately reveals are the exacerbated problems that maximum rationali-ties carry with them far too often. And also that the imper-meabilization of the land is really just a symptom, albeit an important one, of the crisis of the city.

The drawings also describe the urban growth from the main vantage point of the isle, through the spine of the old road to the hinterland, and beyond. This growth was parallel to that of the settlements on the river mouths that met the ocean at the bay. Even before the aerial pictures taken in 1936 show it, a process of conurbation was taking place connecting all

56 57


the historic centers among themselves. It is interesting to note that the municipal boundaries have been set historically at the natural limits of the water bodies. This is how the municipal-ity of Cataño came to meet that of Guaynabo over the creek for which the project is addressed. It is how the creek got covered by the city.

58 59

Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 1776. The hydrography and the extents of the wetlands including marshes, mangroves, and lagoons can be observed together with a large number of ponds. Public defined property is vast in comparison to private de-fined property. These same conditions however, allow the free movement of a private diffuse property: livestock. Also, both in this map and the one of 1851, the placement of sugar mills, farms, and homesteads may be observed on the riverbanks. This is because the hydrographic system was taken advantage of to take as far as possible inland goods and merchandise and thus save on problems of its portage. At this time, the population of the region is thought to have been about 10.931 inhabitants.

Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 1776. Se observan la hidro-grafía y la extensión de los humedales incluyendo manglares con gran cantidad de charcas. La propiedad pública definida es vasta en comparación a la propiedad privada definida. Estas mismas condiciones permiten también el libre movimiento de una propie-dad privada difusa: el ganado. Además, se observan tanto en este mapa como en el de 1851 la disposición de ingenios, hatos y estan-cias en las márgenes de los ríos. Esto es puesto que aprovechaban el sistema fluvial para llevar tan distante como fuese posible los bienes y mercancía y así ahorrar problemas de su acarreo. En esta época, la población de la región se estima en 10.931 habitantes.


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


60 61


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 1776.

Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 1776.

62 63

Buildings and infrastructures Edi�cacion e infraestructuras

Buildings and infrastructures Edificación e infraestructuras

Wetlands Humedales

Hidrography Hidrografía

Shallow waters Aguas llanas

Grazing land Pastizal

Agricultural land Terreno agrícola

Topographical contour lines Contornos topográficos


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


64 65

Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 1851. Agricultural activity is present in great measure over the territory. The presence of rudimentary irrigation is inferred. From this time to about 1930, the bay will experience a high presence of diffuse private property in the form of water based craft. This will be due to the improvement in roads connecting the island with Cataño and Palo Seco. The census of 1828 indicates the population as reaching 39.546 inhabitants.

Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 1851. La actividad agrícola se presenta en gran medida sobre el territorio. Se infiere la presen-cia de irrigación rudimentaria. Desde esta época hasta aproxi-madamente 1930, la bahía experimentara una alta presencia de propiedad privada difusa en forma de embarcaciones debido a la mejoría en sistemas viales de tierra firme conectores con Cataño y Palo Seco. El censo de 1828 indica una población de 39.546 habitantes.


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


66 67


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters




68 69



Wetlands Humedales







0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


70 71

Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 1887-1912. Of the large number of ponds observed in the wetlands in 1776 only some remain in the areas farthest from the bay. This is due to the orders of the government to dry marshland areas. This activ-ity shows itself contradictory to the implementation of nature reserves as evidenced in the archives of the ‘Mountain inspec-tors’, who recorded in 1.551,83 acres of extent the mangroves of the bay area. The population was estimated at 132.000 inhabitants around 1898.

Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 1887-1912. De la gran can-tidad de charcas en los humedales que se observaban en 1776 solo quedan algunas en los limites más alejados de la bahía. Esto es debido a las ordenes emitidas por el gobierno para dese-car las áreas pantanosas. Esta actividad se muestra contradicto-ria a la implantación de reservas naturales como evidencian los archivos de los inspectores de montes, que contabilizaron en 1.551,85 acres de extensión los manglares del área de la bahía. La población se estimó en 132.000 habitantes hacia 1898.


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


72 73


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters




74 75



Wetlands Humedales







0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


76 77


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 1940. The bay’s internal isles ap-pear integrated as part of the construction of the Isla Grande airport. At the moment, the wetlands area has been drastically reduced. Aproximately 45% of the mangroves have been lost according to Estudios Tecnicos, Inc. Sometime between 1940 and 1980 the city becomes unsustainable. If the cost of construction was rela-tively low, if its building was fast (each operation took 5 years or less), the ecological cost today is enormous and its rectification will take a few generations. This is evident given the problematic circumstances created by private property over public property. In 1935 the population was approximately 300.209 inhabitants.

Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 1940. Los islotes internos de la bahía aparecen integrados como parte de la construcción del aeropuerto de Isla Grande. Para este momento, el área de los humedales se ha reducido drásticamente. Aproximadamente el 45% de los mangles se ha perdido de acuerdo a un estudio de Estudios Tecnicos, Inc. En algún momento entre 1940 y 1980 la ciudad se hace insostenible. Si bien el costo de su construc-ción fue relativamente bajo , si bien su implantación fue ve-loz (cada operación tomó 5 años o menos), el costo ecológico hoy día es enorme y su corrección se prolongará por varias generaciones. Esto es evidente dadas las circunstancias prob-lemáticas creadas por la propiedad privada sobre la propiedad pública. En 1935, la población se estimó en 300.209 habitantes.

78 79



Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 1940. 0 1KM 2KM 3KM 4KM 5KM 6KM 7KM 8KM 9KM 10KM 11KM 12KM 13KM 14KM

0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

80 81



Wetlands Humedales








0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

82 83


Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 2010. The great canalization of the Bayamón River can be observed in the west end of the estu-ary. The consolidated and rectilinear front of the new cargo port can be seen in the southern part of the bay. Also, a new penin-sula and an isle show as material was piled up due to dredging of the bay in the 1960’s. The historic wetlands have been cov-ered in great measure by the conurbation. There is a possibil-ity they might have partially moved to other areas. It is also possible that these areas had not been previously indicated as wetlands by the cartography. Formal agriculture has completely disappeared. Road network extents increased from 200km to 7.000km. While the population increased 303%, the urban-ized area increased 1.286%. That means the ratio of urban to rural population shifted from 62:38 to 98:2 in proportion. The census of 2010 indicates a population of 1.144.785 inhabitants.Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 2010. Se puede observar la gran canalización del rio Bayamón en el extremo oeste del estuario. También se ve el frente consolidado y rectilíneo del nuevo puerto de carga en la parte sur de la bahía. Además, una nueva península y un islote se aprecian a partir del dragado de la bahía de los años 60. Los humedales históricos han sido cubiertos en gran medida por la conurbación. Hay una posibilidad de que se hayan des-plazado parcialmente a otras áreas o que sea el primer momento de su constancia en las mismas. La agricultura formal ha desa-parecido por completo. La extensión de la red vial aumento de 200km a 7.000km. Mientras la población aumento un 303%, el área urbanizada aumento un 1.286%. Eso significa que la razón de población urbana a rural cambió de 62:38 a 98:2 en proporción. El censo de 2010 arroja una población de 1.144.785 habitantes.0 1KM 2KM 3KM 4KM 5KM 6KM 7KM 8KM 9KM 10KM 11KM 12KM 13KM 14KM

0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

84 85



Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 2010. 0 1KM 2KM 3KM 4KM 5KM 6KM 7KM 8KM 9KM 10KM 11KM 12KM 13KM 14KM

0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

86 87



Wetlands Humedales








0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

88 89


Estuary of the bay of San Juan, 2050. The reappearance of wetland areas will be observed in areas once occupied by them as a result of re-naturalization efforts. These areas once again link the ecological tapestry and simultaneously support the system of metropolitan parks. This pilot project will propel the re- naturalization of the rest of the fluvial causeways in the city affecting not only the slums but also residential areas of the middle and upper classes.

Estuario de la bahía de San Juan, 2050. Se observará la reaparición de áreas de humedal en donde antes estuvo como resultado de esfuerzos de re-naturalización. Estas áreas enlazan nuevamente la trama ecológica y apoyan simultáneamente el sistema de parques metropolitanos. Este proyecto piloto impulsara la re-naturalización del resto de los cauces fluviales en la ciudad afectando no solo los arrabales sino también áreas residenciales de clase media y alta.


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters

90 91


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


The drawing shows urban pressure over the territory and its hydrographic system. This pressure is understood to be a result of vectorial forces produced by infrastructures and great urbanization operations. It should be noted that the freeway infrastructures of most recent construction around San Juan Bay have not exerted, within the area of study, an urbanizing pressure. It is over the older roads that the urbanizing effort supported itself. However, the recent freeway infrastructures are responsible partially but in an incremental way of the new urbanization that appears as one moves away from the center of the city. In any case, what the recent freeways have done is suburbanize (reducing the density of activity and population) vast areas previously qualified as urban.

El dibujo muestra la presión urbana sobre el territorio y su sistema hidrográfico. La misma se entiende como resultado de fuerzas vectoriales producidas por infraestructuras y grandes operaciones de urbanización. Valga la aclaración que las in-fraestructuras viales tipo autovía de mas reciente implantación entorno a la bahía de San Juan no han ejercido, dentro del área de estudio, una presión urbanizadora. Es sobre las vías de mayor edad que se apoyó el esfuerzo urbanizador. En cambio, las infraestructuras viales recientes si son responsables parcia-les y de forma incremental de la urbanización según nos ale-jamos del centro de la ciudad. En todo caso, lo que han hecho estas vías recientes es suburbanizar (reduciendo la densidad de actividad y población) vastas áreas anteriormente calificadas como urbanas.

92 93


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


Mangrove deforestation & Deforestacion del manglar &Lagoon elimination Eliminacion de lagunas

Consolidation of profiles Consolidacion de bordes

94 95


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


Extraordinary drainage Drenaje extraordinarioQuotidian drainage Drenaje cotidiano

96 97


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


Impermeabilization of the soil Impermeabilizacion del terrenoWetlands reclamation Relleno de los humedales

98 99


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


Water bodies Cuerpos de agua

Wetlands Humedales


Upper class neigborhood Vecindario de clase alta

Middle and lower class neighborhood Vecindario de clase media y baja

Public housing Vivienda publica

Slum Arrabal


0 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000750Meters


100 101


Criteria: Design Precedents

The project seeks to rescue the previous state of the riv-er mouth through an urbanistic operation over the current piers. The operation is substantial and includes new build-ing, new open spaces, placement of dotations and the exten-sion of public transport systems. All of this is done placing the emphasis on the main ecological flow and a network of pedestrian and vehicular itineraries. It is an example of ur-ban transformation where the retreat of large built surfaces seeks to find a balance and benefit from the riparian landscape.

Criterios: Precedentes para disenar

El proyecto busca rescatar el estado previo de la desembocadura del rio a través de una operación urbanística sobre los muelles actuales. La operación es grande e incluye nueva edificación, nuevos espacios libres, implantación de equipamientos y exten-sión de los sistemas de transporte colectivo. Todo esto se hace poniendo el énfasis en el flujo ecológico principal y una red de itinerarios peatonales y vehiculares. Es un ejemplo de transfor-mación urbana donde la retirada de grandes superficies constru-idas busca encontrar un balance y beneficio del paisaje fluvial.

Port Lands Estuary at the River Mouth of the Don River in Toronto – Michael Van Valken-burgh Associates, Inc. as an extension to Michael Hough’s original proposal.

Estuario en los terrenos portuarios en la de-sembocadura del Rio Don en Toronto Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. como exten-sión a la propuesta original de Michael Hough

102 103

�

Plantage Zuidwateropgave & stedelijke vernieuwing van de zuidelijke tuinsteden


The project focuses in re-visualizing a district of the city as a re-sult of the search for more space for the water. This is achieved by implementing a network of canals and selectively flooding certain parcels. This operation creates an ecological corridor while it keeps a low density residential environment in the heart of the city. In this way the functionality of the zone increas-es. The space for the water is obtained by removing particular streets and levees. Facing the forecasts of an increase in ocean levels, the design rests on a strategy of resistance to gain time.

El proyecto se enfoca en revisualizar un espacio de la ciudad a la luz de la búsqueda de más espacio para el agua. Esto se consigue implementando una red de canales e inundando se-lectivamente ciertas parcelas. Esta operación consigue crear un corredor ecológico manteniendo un ambiente residencial de baja densidad en el corazón de la ciudad. De esta forma se aumenta la funcionalidad de la zona. El espacio para el agua se consigue removiendo calles y diques particulares. De cara a los pronósticos de aumento en el nivel de los océanos, el dis-eño se apoya en una estrategia de resistencia para ganar tiempo.

Water management and urban renewal on the garden city: Plantage Zuid Rotterdam – West 8

Gestión del agua y renovación urbana de la ciudad jardín meridional: Plantage Zuid Rot-terdam – West 8

104 105


This project seeks to underline the value of the marsh landscape that surrounds the different urban centers of Puerto de Santa Ma-ria, Puerto Real, San Fernando, and Chiclana de la Frontera. The interventions are minimal by means of rustically paved paths (having removed the asphalt), delicate wooden bridges, and scat-tered interventions of an architecture akin to land art. The proj-ect reveals the ecological potential of ensuring a continuity and interweaving of riparian corridors. Furthermore it makes evident the economic value that the landscape secures through a series of nature reserves. At the same time it guarantees the critical mass-es necessary to achieve an urban project in each settlement. It is a design that seeks to strengthen the resilient qualities of the ter-ritory where the ebb and flow of the tide is the main protagonist.

Este proyecto busca poner en valor el paisaje de las marismas que rodean los distintos núcleos urbanos del Puerto de Santa María, Puerto Real, San Fernando y Chiclana de la Frontera. Se interviene de forma mínima por medio de senderos de pavimento rustico (habiendo removido el asfalto), delicados puentes de madera e intervenciones puntuales con una arqui-tectura afín al arte paisajístico. El proyecto revela el potencial ecológico de permitir la continuidad y el entrelazado de corre-dores riparios. Además pone en evidencia el valor económico que asegura el paisaje con una serie de reservas. Al mismo tiempo garantiza las masas criticas para lograr un proyecto urbano en cada asentamiento. Es un diseño que busca for-talecer las cualidades de flexibilidad del territorio donde el ritmo y actividad de la marea es el mayor protagonista.

Bay of Cádiz Natural Park: Los Toruños and Pathway at Algaida Pinegrove – Javier López, Ramón Pico, César Portela Parque Natural de la Bahía de Cádiz: Los Toruños y Sendero Pinar de la Algaida – Javier López, Ramón Pico y César Portela

106 107


Anecdote based on real events Anécdota basada en hechos reales

0700 hours, camp of the 374th Unit, 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, US Army, Vietnam, Sometime in May 1967.

Sergeant Mayor Smith (Colonel Wear’s assistant) – (with a smirk) Lieutenant, you have to move outta here.Colonel Wear – Good morning lieutenant.Lieutenant Pabón – Good morning sir.CW – It has been fantastic weather the last few weeks.LP – Yes, the men are getting their sun tans.CW – Well, I have received notice from headquarters that the weather will change.LP – That will turn them sour. Nothing that some hard work cannot cure.CW – Exactly. So here is an idea. By 1200 hours I need ev-eryone and the whole camp packed and ready to go. There are going to be 3 feet of water here by 1500 hours.LP – That is a great story sir!CW – I am not kidding. Look around. Your men are camping on a rice paddy.LP – (Startled) Wow. Ok. Is it going to rain that much?CW – Yes, monsoon season is getting underway. LP – Where do we move to?CW – Don’t worry. I already have a place for you. That hill you see over there. We are going to clear it (it would be mine swept). Now I need to speak with the other lieutenants. You have your orders.LP – Yes sir.

0700 horas, campamento de la 374ava Unidad, 3ra Brigada, 4ta División de Infantería, Ejercito de los EEUU, Vietnam, En algún momento de mayo del 1967.

Sargento Mayor Smith (Asistente del Coronel) – (con una son-risa) Teniente, se tiene que mover de aquí.Coronel Wear – Buenos días teniente.Teniente Pabón – Buenos días señor.CW – Hemos gozado de un clima excelente últimamente.TP – Si señor, los muchachos ya tienen sus bronceados .CW – Bueno, he recibido noticias de la base que habrá un cambio de tiempo.TP – Eso les pondrá de mal humor. Nada que un poco de tra-bajo no pueda remediar.CW – Exactamente. ¿Qué te parece esta idea?. A las 1200 horas necesito a toda la tropa y el campamento entero listos para marchar. Habrán 3 pies de agua aquí para las 1500 horas.TP – ¡Eso es un cuento muy bueno señor! CW – No estoy charlando. Mira alrededor. Tus hombres están acampando en una terraza de arroz.TP – (Sorprendido) ¡Valgame! Ok. ¿Tanto va a llover?CW – Si, la temporada lluviosa está por comenzar. TP – ¿A dónde nos mudamos?CW – No te preocupes. Ya te conseguí un lugar. Esa loma que ves allá. Lo vamos a limpiar (las minas serian neutralizadas). Ahora tengo que hablar con los otros tenientes. Tienes tus órdenes.TP – Si señor.

108 109


Construction in time

Why Demolish?There are many reasons but the man one is: there is a situation of flooding due to rain, tide, and a high water table; The soil is unstable and the consequences of an earthquake would be catastrophic; therefore there are a series of risks to the people if they keep inhabiting that place in that way. Other reasons in-clude: the cost of facing an emergency would be high; the cost of adapting the infrastructure and its upkeep is high; the cost of adapting current housing is high; Private property losses value if it remains in that territory; continued inhabitation of the area means pollution and environmental and social degradation; the presence of structures in disrepair and visible deterioration are symptoms of the problems; the benefits of the project are greater than the losses.

Why there?This is a place where the problems combine themselves be-cause: it is a municipal boundary, it is a flooding area, it is a deforested area, it is an area artificially drained, the area’s soil is unstable, the area has been forgotten and marginalized, it is an inefficient, an unprodoctive area, it is an area highly suc-ceptible to problems.

Operations:

The first operation is to identify unoccupied buildings and apartments in the historic core of Cataño and occupy, transform

Proyecto en el tiempoThe creek is beneath El caño esta debajo

110 111


and occupy, or demolish and build anew depending on the case. This operation should be simultaneous with one of identifica-tion of empty lots and building structures in them following a mixed use pattern. These operations should be able to absorb the first wave of inhabitants whose moving from their present housing will be required.

The second operation involves the selective replacement of structures along the main streets to be potentiated. This opera-tion will take place at the edge of the historic limits of the tide as well. Therefore the parcels that will be affected will have to show an overlap between the two conditions. In these spe-cific parcels, new buildings will be constructed before further demolitions are carried out. As this stage is completed, new demolitions and construction projects will be carried out along the historic limits of the tide. This will slowly create the new street walls that will face the re-naturalized public space of the river mouth.

The third operation involves the slow demolition of structures built on the creek’s course and the unstable and risky grounds on either side of it. The initial stage will be interested in revealing the approximate course of the creek hidden beneath. Subsequent stages will slowly widen its banks until the demoli-tions reach the new buildings constructed to mark the historic limits of the tide. Throughout this process special care will be exercised to preserve all trees in the area especially fruit trees such as mango, breadfruit, lemon, banana, plantain, honeyberry trees, and coconut palmtrees as observed. At the same time,

Imagining the new tide Imaginando la nueva mareathe ground in front and directly under the new buildings will be consolidated as a platform and dike to face the problem of eventual mean ocean level rise as a result of global warming.

These three operations are the execution of the two strategies: retreat and resistance. Retreat becomes the main strategy used to reveal the latent hydrological condition of the area. Resis-tance becomes the main strategy to understand the inhabitants desire to continue living in the area and the various means they employ to keep the water at bay. Retreat allows the inhabitants to find a new place to live. Resistance keeps the functional-ity of the area high. The two strategies certainly overlap at a certain point. This overlap becomes the new condition for this part of the city. It is a situation that will absorb the tidal flux of the waters, the human population changes, and fauna migrations. It will also be a process that will allow the city to absorb, to internalize, and to understand the changes that will be required of it.

112 113

Building Demolitions to…

New construction to…

New public space to…

Renovation of infrastructure and public space to...

Improve the local ecology bymeans of...

D1 clear key parcels and structures in disrepair D2 clear the water way

D3 open the tidal space D4 improve the street network

D5 avoid unstable land

C1 complete the urban fabric C2 mark key axes and façade edge

C3 establish safe levels through platforms and levees C4 sponsor new projects along historic street axes

C5 connect points to create the new façade C6 re-qualify obsolete spaces of port and industry facilities

L1 dedicate space to the riverbanks L2 clear the space of the riverbanks and the shore

L3 qualify key axes L4 re-dedicate space to the wetlands and mangroves

L5 establish urban agricultural plots L6 consolidate terrain with platforms / levees

R1 connect the maritime promenade R2 establish adequate small craft launch pads

R3 connect the park network beneath a new bridge R4 sectionally qualify key axes

R5 improve the functionality of the urban environment R6 make a positive urban fabric emerge

E1 the opening of the creek E2 the creation of the ecological corridor

E3 the provision of floodable areas E4 an increase in water purity

E5 the reduction of the heat island effect E6 support of an adequate habitat for manatees, dolphins, flamingoes, etc.


114 115


116 117

clear key parcels and structures in disrepair complete the urban fabric

qualify key axes

clear key parcels and structures in disrepair complete the urban fabric

qualify key axes


Some of the unqualified streets and deteriorated infrastructrure affected by flooding, impermeabilization, and a high water table.Se muestran una de las calles sin qualificar, la infraestructura deteriorada afectada por la inundación, la impermeabilización y un alto nivel freatico.

118 119


120 121


122 123

clear the water way mark key axes and façade edge

sponsor new projects along historic street axesdedicate space to the riverbanks

the opening of the creek

clear the water way mark key axes and façade edge

sponsor new projects along historic street axesdedicate space to the riverbanks

the opening of the creek


124 125

establish safe levels through platforms and levees connect points to create the new façade

re-qualify obsolete spaces of port and industry facilitiesclear the space of the riverbanks and the shore

establish urban agricultural plots

connect the maritime promenade sectionally qualify key axes

the creation of the ecological corridor

establish safe levels through platforms and levees connect points to create the new façade

re-qualify obsolete spaces of port and industry facilitiesclear the space of the riverbanks and the shore

establish urban agricultural plots

connect the maritime promenade sectionally qualify key axes

the creation of the ecological corridor


126 127

open the tidal spaceconnect points to create the new façade

clear the space of the riverbanks and the shore establish adequate small craft launch pads

connect the park network beneath a new bridge the creation of the ecological corridor

the reduction of the heat island effect

open the tidal spaceconnect points to create the new façade

clear the space of the riverbanks and the shore establish adequate small craft launch pads

connect the park network beneath a new bridge the creation of the ecological corridor

the reduction of the heat island effect


128 129


Old and New Section at the new plaza: The section shows the current dwellings that occupy the area formerly bathed by the bay’s tide. Also of note is its generalized typology of single story, single family, and detached unit. Also, some of the dete-riorated infrastructrure affected by flooding.

Vieja y nueva seccion mirando la nueva plaza: La sección muestra las viviendas actuales que ocupan el área anterior-mente bañada por la marea de la bahía. Además, se aprecia su tipología generalizada de una planta, unifamiliar, y de unidad aislada. Tambien se muestra la infraestructura deteriorada afectada por la inundación.

130 131


132 133


New Street Wall Nuevos limites de la ciudadOld tide limits Viejos limites de la marea

134 135


New Contour Lines - Dikes, tide limits Nuevas lineas de contorno - Diques, limites de la mareaExisting Contour Lines Lineas de contorno exitentes

136 137

Breadfruit Trees Arboles de Pana

Plantains and bananas Platanos y guineos

Mango trees Arboles de mango

Pedestrian path Itinerario peatonal

Neigborhood slow street Calle vecinal pacificada

Main circulation thoroughfare Calle de circulacion

Former streets, new paths in the park Viejas calles, nuevas veredas en el parque



138 139

sponsor new projects along historic street axes connect points to create the new façade

re-qualify obsolete spaces of port and industry facilities qualify key axes

sectionally qualify key axes improve the functionality of the urban environment

make a positive urban fabric emerge an improvement in water purity

the reduction of the heat island effect support of an adequate habitat for manatees, dolphins, flamingoes, etc.

sponsor new projects along historic street axes connect points to create the new façade

re-qualify obsolete spaces of port and industry facilities qualify key axes

sectionally qualify key axes improve the functionality of the urban environment

make a positive urban fabric emerge an improvement in water purity

the reduction of the heat island effect support of an adequate habitat for manatees, dolphins, flamingoes, etc.


140 141

Existing foliage Follaje existente

Mangroves Mangle

Wild vegetation Vegetacion silvestre

Grass and formal landscaping Cesped y ajardinamiento

Coconuts and Plam trees Palmas y cocotales

Fruit trees Arboles frutales

New low tide ponds Nuevas charcas de marea baja



142 143


144 145


Conclusions

If one looks at the low-laying areas of the planet, one will often find large works of infrastructure such as levees, and port facilities. These areas are commonly rich in biodiversity and convey an initial advantage to settlers. There is plenti-ful fresh water! There are great economic forces to create a type of single family isolated housing construction that does not promote mixed uses, requires large amounts of terrain, and is not accessible to the public/ consumer in general. This construction pulls the population from the urban centers and detaches it from both the agricultural production of the territory and the synergic opportunities of the compact city. This kills the city in the process. A design project then will find itself facing a complex situation to address these circumstances. A single strategy such as resistance will not be able to realisti-cally meet the challenge. A combination of strategies seems the better toolkit to address a combination of problems. The main argument of this thesis is of a project to har-monize the needs of the territory and the population. Through a transformation process carefully staged in time, urban development can not necessarily be re-channeled but a better, new situation of urbanization in juxtaposition to the ecological system of the bay may be built. It ends up being a situation of resistance where the continuous abandonment of the city can be countered by the transformation of its marginalized spaces. Therefore, the body of water constituted by the bay and the estuary may be rediscovered as an added value to the city. An urbanism of stone and mortar meets in the project

Conclusiones

146 147


an urbanism of living beings and processes. The risk initially encountered can be turned into an opportunity where the tide, and the periodic rain bring a rhythm and seek a space in the city. The instability of the soil is acknowledged and a new found respect displayed for its territory. This becomes the new limit and sets a rule for necessary urban development.

148 149

Alemany Llovera, Joan. Los puertos españoles en el siglo XIX. 1993? 627.2 (46) Ale [Shows nineteenth century views of various cities in Spain and the Americas rendered by Alfred Guesdon, Leonardo Barañano and Eduardo Laplante: reference to: Isla de Cuba Pintoresca – Colección de laminas] Ayala de la Hoz, Angélica. Adaptación, superposición y barrera. Nuevas formas de relación espacial en el litoral de San Andrés. (Tesis UPC)Barcelona, 2007. 77 pages

W. Beller, P. D’Ayala, and P. Hein eds. Sustainable development and environmental management of small islands Docu-mentation of the Interoceanic Workshop on Sustainable Development and Environmental Management of Small Islands, celebrat a Humacao, Puerto Rico el Nov. 3-7, 1986 [504 Bel Trata sobre las islas del Caribe oriental además de otras en el Mediterráneo, Canadá, China, y el Pacifico. Abarca temas de relación a las islas en general, problemas y prospectos económicos, manejo de la sostenibilidad, la contribución de los recursos marinos naturales para el desarrollo sostenible, sistemas de provisión energética alterna, y unas recomendaciones por región- ver anejos.]

Bush, David M., Richard M. T. Webb, Jose Gonzalez Liboy, Lisbeth Hyman, William J. Neal eds. Living with the Puerto Rico shore. San Juan: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1995. ISBN 0-8477-0239-1 193 pages [Detailed geological description of all the coast of Puerto Rico, its hazards and aspects to take into account when planning to build.]

Busquets, Joan. Barcelona: The urban evolution of a compact city. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 2005. ISBN 8884472040 468 pages [Al final del libro argumenta: el contraste entre la diversidad versus la ho-mogeneidad; la innovación (como alta capacidad de transformación) versus la tradición; que los proyectos pequeños se benefician del conocimiento local versus los grandes que se benefician del conocimiento internacional; el acercamiento a la ciudad compacta y su evolución donde se debe evitar la asociación directa entre densidad y compacticidad o compacticidad y continuidad territo-rial; la redefinición de las relaciones entre la planificación urbana y la acción; y el espacio urbano y la integración de programas. Refiere a Richard Rogers et al. Towards an Urban Renaissance: Final Report of the Urban Task Force, a Jan Gehl. New city spaces Copenhaguen 2001, a Carlos Sambricio. Territorio y ciudad en la Espana de la ilustracion MOPT, Itu Madrid, 1991.]


Bibliography Bibliografia

150 151

tro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Sustentable, Escuela de Asuntos Ambientales, Universidad Metropolitana, 2008. ISBN 978 0615 23597 4, 178 pages

Juncos Gautier, María A., et al. Eds. Puerto Rico: En ruta al desarrollo inteligente: Recomendaciones para detener el desparrame urbano en el Área Metropolitana de San Juan. Estudios Técnicos Inc. y el Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Sustentable, Escuela de Asuntos Ambientales, Universidad Metropolitana, 200?. 175 pages [See bibliography]

Harvard Design Magazine: Urban Design Now. No. 25, 2006. [Collects the feelings of a number of designers in regard to urbanism. In pages 72 and 73 Joan Busquets enumerates a series of strategies to guide urban issues.]

Hernández Favale, Jorge Rafael. Modelos de Ordenación Territorial y de Administración de los usos del suelo en el contexto de un proyecto político sostenible: Los casos de Puerto Rico y de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (1991-2007) (Thesis)

Jopling, Carol F. Puerto Rican Houses in Sociohistorical Perspective. Knoxville, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87049-763-4 300 pages

Krier, Leon. Completar Santurce: estudio preliminar para el plan maestro de un barrio. San Juan: Oficina de Asuntos Urbanos: Oficina del Gobernador, 1992.

Leyes de Puerto Rico Anotadas Titulo 31 del Código Civil [Estos 3 anejos conciernen el tema de las servidumbres específicamente en las riberas de los ríos y establecen que “aun cuando sean de dominio

Calthorpe, Peter. The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community and the American Dream. 1993 711.4 (73) Cal 175 pages [Almost a handbook for sustainability that approaches various scales, ecology, mobility and uses (see pages 128 and 129). It bets on development around train stations, talks about FAR and parking; it also supports the implementation of program on natural space such as sports fields, and proposes a homogeneous architectonic vocabulary for neighborhoods.]

Colon Malavé, Michelle C. Pasado sostenible, futuro s.o.s temible: como el fogón de mi casa (Tesina) R-TS-Colon en mesa planta -1 [This short piece scratches the surface of the typological situation of single family homes in the city and the countryside. The focus is on the difference between the spatial configurations and materiality employed in the past versus that used in the present as a result of the geographic situation. One favors ad-dressing tropical heat and flooding events; the other favors addressing space for the car and the recurrence of hurricanes.]

Dematteis, Giuseppe. Progetto implicito : il contributo della geografia umana alle scienze del territo-rio. Milan: Franco Angeli, 1995. [ISBN 8820498308 geógrafo politécnico de Torino]

Duany, Andres y Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Towns and town-making principles. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 1991. ISBN 084781436X 119 pages, 711.4 (73) AND

Fabian, Lorenzo & Paola Vigano Eds. Extreme City: Climate change and the transformation of the waterscape. Università IUAV di Venezia: Venezia, 2010.

Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation. Smart Growth Network, 2003.

Juncos Gautier, María A., Jorge Hernández, Silvia I. Vázquez, Jorge Carbonell, Néstor Barreto eds. Hacia el desarrollo inteligente: 10 principios y 100 estrategias para Puerto Rico Bayamón, Puerto Rico: Cen-


152 153

every settlement in Puerto Rico since 1493. It is structured according to historical periods]Sepúlveda, Aníbal. San Juan: Historia ilustrada de su desarrollo urbano, 1508-1898. San Juan, Puerto Rico: CARIMAR, 1989. [A recompilation of maps of the city of San Juan and surroundings during the Spanish colonial period, it is a revised version of his planning dissertation at Cornell].

Vivoni Farage, Enrique ed. Ever New San Juan: Architecture and Modernization in the Twentieth Century. (Serie Dédalo 3) San Juan, Puerto Rico: Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2000. [A series of essays jumping back and forth between the scales of architecture and ur-banism/planning with a strong sociological flavor. Provides with the histories of development of San Juan.] Tjallingii, Sybrand. Carrying Structures:urban development guided by water and traffic networks In: Hulsbergen, E., I.Klaasen & I.Kriens (eds.) 2005 : Shifting Sense. Techne press. Amsterdam p. 355-369.

Radio Interview #388 El Caribe hispano durante los siglos XVII y XVIII Con la participación de: Dr. Juan A. Giusti Cordero. La voz del centro, Ángel Collado Schwarz May 30, 2010 [Talks about amphibi-ous zones as territorial spaces between cities or urban systems and aludes to the Aegean and Adraitic seas among others as an explanation of that regional characteristic within a larger sea. http://www.vozdelcentro.org/?p=1808]

Radio Interview #424 Los terremotos y el desarrollo sostenible. Con la participación de: Dr. José Molinelli Freytes. La voz del centro, Ángel Collado Schwarz February 7, 2011 [Specifically adresses the situation of high risk of large swaths of land in the metropolitan area of San Juan and the municipality of Cataño. These areas have the possibility of experiencing an amplification of the seismic wave and liquefac-tion of sandy soil. It also makes reference to the Spanish Ports Law of 1887 regarding the maritime-terres-

privado, están sujetas en toda su extensión y en sus márgenes, en una zona de tres (3) metros, a la servidum-bre de uso público en interés general de la navegación, la flotación, la pesca y el salvamento. Los predios contiguos a las riberas de los ríos navegables o flotables están además sujetos a la servidumbre de camino de sirga para el servicio exclusivo de la navegación y flotación fluvial. Si fuere necesario ocupar para ello ter-renos de propiedad particular, precederá la correspondiente indemnización.”]

Lizardi Pollock, Jorge. El urbanismo al revés Entorno #12 Visiones Alternas paginas 64-66 San Juan Colegio de Arquitectos y Arquitectos Paisajistas de Puerto Rico. 2008

Sanz Cabanillas, María Jesús, Ángel González Alonso, Soledad Mateos Santos, Rosa María Pérez Becero, Historiador Oficial de Puerto Rico eds. Documentación de Puerto Rico en el Archivo General Militar de Madrid, Volumen 1 Publicaciones de defensa, Ministerio de Defensa. Madrid, 2002 906 pages, ilustrated, ISBN 847823943X, 9788478239436

Secchi, Bernardo. Understanding and Planning the Contemporary European City : a new urban ques-tion, Department of Landscape and Urbanism, Aarhus School of Architecture & Centre for Strategic Urban Research, 22-23 March 2010

Segre, Roberto and Aníbal Sepulveda Tendencias Arquitectónicas y Caos Urbano en América Latina. México D.F.: G.Gili, 1986. [This work contains a section on the state of urbanism in San Juan that remains true today.]

Sepúlveda, Aníbal ed. Puerto Rico urbano: atlas histórico de la ciudad puertorriqueña. San Juan, Puerto Rico: CARIMAR, 2004. ISBN: 0963342320 [Contains maps, drawings, pictures, texts regarding


154 155

Mayaguez Bay and Approaches Porto Rico West Indies. Washington DC: Treasury Department, US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1902. Nautical Chart, Historical Map and Chart Collection, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration http://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/his-toricals/preview/image/931-12-1902 Current planimetry of San Juan, Ponce and Mayagüez Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Munici-pales (CRIM) 7.5 Minute Map United States Geological Survey (USGS) San Juan, Ponce, y Mayagüez 1982? 7.5 Minute Map United States Geological Survey (USGS) San Juan, Ponce, y Mayagüez 1940 Plano de la plaza de San Juan de Puerto Rico y sus alrededores. Cuerpo de Ingenieros Militares 1887. S.G.E. Cart. Ultr. X (Cat. 62) Plano de la plaza de San Juan de Puerto Rico. Cuerpo de Ingenieros del Ejercito F. Roldan y Navarro 1887. S.G.E. Cart. Ultr. X (Cat. 61) Plano general de la plaza de San Juan de Puerto Rico. 1775. S.G.E. Cart. Ultr. X (Cat. 55)

Aerial Photography: Google Earth San Juan, Ponce, y Mayagüez ca. 1995, 2009 Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportación: Oficina de fotogrametría: Flights of 1936, 1962, and 1964. San Juan, Ponce, and Mayagüez 1999 US Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment http://www8.nos.noaa.gov/bio-geo_public/aerial/search.aspx

Historical Photography: Yagüez River (Mayagüez), Portugués River (Ponce), San Antonio creek (San Juan), Martin Pena Creek (San Juan), and the towns respective harbors. Rodríguez Archives http://www.archivofotografi-

trial zone. Concludes indicating that the management of an emergency would be more complicated if settle-ment is going to continue in certain areas. http://www.vozdelcentro.org/?p=2039 ]

Graxirena Ortiz, Yahaira. Simbiosis y Sinergias en la Relación Puerto – Ciudad Universidad de Puerto Rico 2004. (Thesis)

Grindlay Moreno, Alejandro Luis. Los Puertos Mediterraneos Andaluces: Centralidad Urbana y Di-mension Territorial. Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada, 2001. (Thesis) ISBN 84-338-2910-6

Cartography: Coello, Francisco. Isla de Puerto Rico en Atlas de España y sus Posesiones de Ultramar: Diccionario Geografico-Estadistico-Historico. Madrid: 1851. [Contains the following maps: Contornos de Ponce, Con-tornos de Mayagüez, Contornos de San Juan de Puerto Rico among others] Drouyn, Federico. Plano de la Ciudad de Mayagüez y sus contornos. 1888 Library of Congress Insurance Rate Flood maps (Federal Emergency Management Administration) http://www.jp.gobierno.pr/AVI/Portals/0/mapaB4.htm San Juan Harbor Porto Rico. Washington DC: Department of Commerce and Labor, US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1912. Nautical Chart, Historical Map and Chart Collection, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration http://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/pre-view/image/cp2802c Ponce Harbor and Approaches Porto Rico. Washington DC: Department of Commerce and Labor, US Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1903. Nautical Chart, Historical Map and Chart Collection, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration http://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/his-toricals/preview/image/927-12-1903


156 157

fernando pabon emu thesis

Documents

and proposes a solution

my friends and

help and support

joaqum sabat bel and

my parents and family

estrategia de re

joaqum sabat bel upc

agua proyecto