20.06.2013
A Foundation will design a system of rental bicycles and bicycle stations in Costa Rica's former capital Cartago in order to improve the performance of its already existing bicycle infrastructure. The city was the first within the Greater Metropolitan Area to build a bicycle path, which was inaugurated in February 2013. The stations will be the first of its kind in Costa Rica, the system will be inaugurated in mid 2014. The project is co-financed and supported by the Municipality of Cartago and the Dutch Embassy in Costa Rica.
The design concept is based on a toolbox idea that incorporates shipping containers to house the basic functions of the rental system and additional components such as public squares, urban furniture, terraces, and large canvas roofs that protect the built structures from the local tropical climate. According to the specific locations, the elements of the toolbox will be combined and brought into an optimized relationship in response to their urban surrounding.
A Foundation promotes non-motorized transport as a means of decongesting the urban centers of Costa Rica's Greater Metropolitan Area and other locations worldwide. In Costa Rica, those initiatives respond to a series of urban planning projects such as C.C.M.E.C., P.N.S.G.A.M., Trama Verde, as well as capacity building and educational projects like Ciclociudades or Psychology and Environment. Furthermore, A Foundation supports bottom-up initiatives such as Buscando Ciclovía and hosts regular activities to claim and improve urban public spaces, ranging from classic or rock concerts to public lectures and readings, sit-ins or flash mobs to bicycle and gardening guerillas.