Panama: City Doctors: HPT for the transformation of Colon, Panama
Like people, cities can get sick. They start losing jobs, crime rises, healthcare becomes too expensive and then, people get sick of the city and leave.
Urban decay crime and a vicious cycle continue and even accelerate with partial "solutions" such as "rebuilding", "policing" or "relocating" that fail to address the root causes that cause the city to get sick.
It started with a new concept, engaging all stakeholders involved in transforming the sick city in a livable, welcoming home for residents, visitors and investors. A team led by Mariano Bernardez, Roger Kaufman, Carmen Arias Vallarino and Architect Adam Krivatsy presented a comprehensive and systemic plan to MIVIOT, the Housing Ministry of Panama.
The City Doctors approach helped Colon City, Panama, to rebuild and fight poverty and crime, creating more than 12,000 permanent jobs and housing, sanitation and and safe environment for 5,000 families that worked on redesign and rebuild their own city.
The plan is now in its 4th year and the new city is starting to emerge, with satellite communities and new jobs for the residents and new roles for women and a young generation taken out of the streets and crime to steady employment and education.
Read how we used the City Doctors approach to transform Colon City :
