The vicious circle of social segregation and spatial fragmentation in Costa Rica's greater metropolitan area

In Costa Rica around three quarters of the population is living in urban areas, the majority of which is located in the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM). The GAM is composed of four historic cities and their peripheries, which in recent decades have started growing together in a seemingly random collage of urban, suburban and rural typologies. A separation of functions on territorial scale has lead to social, economic and environmental concerns. The spatial fragmentation is a reflection of the social segregation within society and at the same time increases it. This vicious circle forms a downward spiral of the quality of life in cities, which forces local governments, in collaboration with the inhabitants and the private sector, to search for more adequate and just models of living together.