Abstract

The Technological Institute of Costa Rica prepared the Great Metropolitan Area plan (Plan GAM 2013-2030), during the period in which this institution was in charge of the Secretariat of the National Council of Urban Planning (Decree 31062). The plan was approved by the Government of the Republic on January 21, 2014 and published in La Gaceta through Decrees No. 383334 and 38145 of April 30, 2014. The plan encloses six dimensions: Regional-Urban, Housing and Social Resources, Environmental dimension, Infrastructure and Networks, Mobility, and Competitiveness, as well as chapters over Special Control Zones and Management.

This article refers to the Regional-Urban dimension. The Regional-Urban dimension consists in an urban network of Integral Density Centralities (CDI), aimed to several purposes such as regional balance, renewal of cantonal and district downtowns, reversion of expansive growth and low densities, improvement in the quality of life for the inhabitants, and reduction of the ecological footprint of the city. The Regional-Urban Dimension is divided into seven specific areas focused on urban compactness. For each of these areas, the most representative indicators were identified to monitor the implementation of actions. These indicators were the result of disaggregating the local scope from the regional one and submitting the initial proposals to consultative processes and workshops with the users.

This document refers to the methodology used for the implementation of indicators of advancement in the Regional-Urban dimension and complementary tools such as GeoPortal and technical documents.

Keywords: Urban planning; urban regeneration; urban indicators; Integral Density Centralities