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In the 1970s, with the construction of the Chilibre Water Treatment Plant, an easement of 30 meters wide and 21 kilometers long was established for the pipeline to the Cerro Tinajitas storage tank. An access road was enabled on this strip for its operation and maintenance. This study analyzes how this easement has influenced the processes of land occupation in its area of influence during the last five decades. The research was developed through a longitudinal analytical-descriptive approach, combining regulatory review, analysis of historical cartography, aerial images and field trips. The results show that easement has had an unequal influence on the territorial configuration of the districts of Panama and San Miguelito. In some sectors it facilitated urbanization processes, especially where the road was paved and there is greater connectivity; in others, the settlements were developed contiguously without direct functional relationship, while in areas near the water treatment plant predominantly rural uses persist. In general terms, about two-thirds of the route is urbanized and about seven kilometers remain unoccupied, mainly in the township of Chilibre. The analysis shows weak institutional articulation in the management of easements, with overlapping formal and informal settlements, diverse morphologies, low connectivity and limited provision of public space. In line with the conclusions, the easement has operated as a hybrid infrastructure, whose territorial role has oscillated—in a non-homogeneous way—between a catalyst for occupation, a barrier, and an invisible infrastructure.
Este obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.
