Trama Verde translates to "green trajectory". The project proposes to reanimate the polluted urban river corridors within the individual cities of Costa Rica's Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), and to connect them to the abandoned parts of a train track network that used to link the central valley -in which the GAM is located- with both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.
Furthermore, the project proposes to reinstall train connections throughout some of the main trajectories of the railway network in order to create a public transport alternative to the currently predominant individual motorized; a first train service crossing the city in east-west direction has been inaugurated in 2006. The overall goal is to develop an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to the GAM's "grey trajectory": the congested inner-city and inter-city roads.
In combination with the connectivity aspects, the "green trajectory" is designed to function as a linear urban park and lung to deliver oxygen to the urban centers of a clearly articulated polycentric network system, as well as a green productive infrastructure providing spaces for urban agriculture and recreation within the sub-urban periphery.
Trama Verde has become an official planning tool for Costa Rica's governmental planning program of the Greater Metropolitan Area (PRUGAM), which is co-financed by the European Union (EU). It is an umbrella project for different works that were realized in the past or that will be realized in the future, including some of our own urban planning projects such as the C.C.M.E.C., El Pochote, or the Parque Metropolitana La Libertad. They all respond to the idea of a continuous and integrated green built environment within the existing urban, sub- and inter-urban fabric or develop new inner urban connections such as the Intermanzana. Different sections for bicycle and pedestrian transport are developed or supported by A Company and A Foundation in projects such as Calle Carmona and Buscando Ciclovía.
Credit
A Company (Oliver Schütte, Marije van Lidth de Jeude with project specific support).
Gran Área Metropolitana, Costa Rica, 2004-2009.