Toward a sustainable, inclusive and resilient future
The Ecobarrio Model proposes transforming the human settlements of Poás canton into living communities where environmental sustainability, social equity and urban innovation are integrated as a single fabric. This guide presents its structure, criteria and application process for a truly regenerative territorial development.
To contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the commitments of the Paris Agreement, promoting human settlements that integrate equity, climate resilience and cultural identity as the axes of urban and territorial design in Poás canton.
The neighborhood as an urban cell is the basic unit of intervention: a space where people coexist, organize and collectively build a safe and sustainable environment. This approach prioritizes the human scale, proximity of services and the active participation of the community in the decisions that shape their territory.
Fostering local economies and inclusive economic dynamism that strengthens communities from within.
Urban balance, prevention of negative impacts and safe, accessible and vibrant public spaces.
Soil protection, climate resilience, habitat conservation and biological corridors.
Comprehensive waste management, energy sobriety and closed-cycle water management.
Universal accessibility and sustainable mobility oriented toward transit-oriented development (TOD).
Active civic participation, local identity and community ownership of the built space.
Commitment of institutional actors, implementation feasibility and continuous evaluation of results.
Digital services, smart city and bridging the digital divide with a gender perspective.
Gender mainstreaming is not an add-on, but the axis that articulates the entire model. It recognizes that people experience cities differently based on their gender, and that this difference intersects with other life conditions: disability, migration, rurality and ethnicity. This approach identifies multiple overlapping and mutually reinforcing forms of discrimination.
The specificity of this approach requires designing concrete responses to concrete needs, avoiding universalist solutions that render structural inequalities invisible.
The Ecobarrio is built on inclusion in diversity: the right to the city is universal, and its effective exercise requires removing the physical, social and symbolic barriers that limit access for people in vulnerable situations.
Accessible spaces, designed with a gender perspective, benefit the entire community: people with reduced mobility, caregivers, children and the elderly. Universal accessibility is not a concession, but a condition for shared dignity.
Site analysis, environmental, social and technical studies that support the intervention.
Definition of the spatial and organizational components of the project.
Interdisciplinary process to give physical form to the Ecobarrio's requirements.
Execution according to Ecobarrio specifications with environmental and social quality control.
Habitability, community interactions and cyclical processes of continuous improvement.
Costa Rica faces a growing housing deficit in a context of accelerated urbanization. The reduction of housing subsidies, pressure on urban land and climate demands make the adoption of innovative models like the Ecobarrio urgent — models that integrate sustainability, equity and inclusion at every stage of housing development.
The French ÉcoQuartier model offers concrete experiences that illuminate the path for Poás.
Integration of water resources as the structuring axis of urban design, with full-cycle management and open water spaces accessible to the community.
Combating urban sprawl through intelligent densification, mixed uses and high-quality public space.
Recovery of industrial heritage with mixed uses, new centralities and the memory of place as added value.
Participatory and cooperative housing with high sustainability standards and collective decisions on design.
Passive houses with local ecological materials and bioclimatic design that minimize energy demand from the outset.
Large-scale projects with ÉcoQuartier certification, a European benchmark for ambitious and systemic urban development.
Because of its mountain location and its dependence on water, coffee and volcano tourism, the Poás canton is especially vulnerable to climate change. These are the main effects on our territory.
Shifting rainfall patterns and declining springs and aquifers that supply the canton, with a higher risk of water shortages during the dry season.
Rising temperatures push coffee cultivation to higher elevations and favor pests such as leaf rust, affecting harvests and local growers.
More intense storms cause landslides, erosion and flooding on hillside areas, damaging roads, homes and crops.
Warming reduces the cold days typical of the highlands and alters the microclimates of Poasito, Fraijanes and Sabana Redonda.
The rising cloud layer threatens the cloud forest and species such as the quetzal and amphibians, highly sensitive to small changes in temperature and humidity.
Changes in cloud cover and extreme weather events affect crater visibility and visitor numbers, a livelihood for many families.
Reforest recharge areas and protect springs to secure the canton's water for the future.
Responsible waste management and lower emissions in homes, farms and businesses across the canton.
Agroecological practices and climate-resilient coffee varieties that protect soil and water.
Local risk-management plans and environmental education to face extreme events.