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January 21, 2008 | Vol. XI, Issue 18 Worlds Colliding: Gentrification and Land Use in a Developing State
This brief talk will explore outcomes of development based on work conducted during the 2007 University of Florida/University of Costa Rica Joint Program in Environmental Law. Legal Skills Professor and Program Director Tom Ankersen will describe land use issues facing Costa Rica generally, and in the increasingly upscale Canton of Santa Ana on the suburban fringe of San Jose, Costa Rica. Home | Email to a friend | Print article | Contact FlaLaw Online |
Costa Rica is making a painful transition to development. Less than 20 years ago it seemed conservationists' chief concern was deforestation due to illegal logging and the continued march of the agricultural frontier. Today, the most valuable tree species in the country are all but commercially extinct and the country is one of the few in the developing world that can boast net reforestation. Today’s issues are developed country issues; yet Costa Rica is not fully developed. Even so, real estate development and land use planning represent today’s concerns. 