Casco Antiguo

Next up, Casco Antiguo. This historic district is by far my favorite part of the city, a contrast of the old and new, local and foreign. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Most of the buildings are of 16th/17th c Spanish architecture, but many of them are either abandoned or in different stages of renovation.

We visited this neighborhood after a talk from a Professor who worked for the government's office in Casco Antiguo and was responsible for many urban planning projects in the area. He explained to us that in the 1920s, there was an exile of the upper/middle class to the suburban expansions of the city, leaving behind the historical center. In the late 20th century, the area has been occupied much more by squatters in an informal housing market. This means that on one hand, you have people that have lived there for generations in dilapidated but historical buildings who don't pay rent. On the other, you have renovated government and residential buildings and beautiful restaurants and terraces. 

In one public housing project, he worked on renovating some of the very old buildings to create better living quarters for the people that had lived in the area for so long, and to legalize the housing market by making them pay subsidized rent. One women proudly showed us the inside of her new apartment.

The view from the tower in Panama Viejo, the oldest part of the city founded in 1519

This week we will begin our third and last class: Sustained Agriculture. We will be going on a week-long fieldtrip to the western part of the country that I have not been to yet. Over Easter my roomates and I are planning to climb Volcán Barú, the tallest peak in Panama! (3474 m)