As you are riding the train into San José, you can hear the intense rush hour traffic complimented by plenty of angry honking and peddlers trying to sell their products. At first glance as you leave the train station, San José looks like any other city; however, as you spend more time in the city, it becomes clear that it is much more unique than any other city.

The historical influence of coffee and bananas can be seen all throughout San José. There are small groupings of coffee plants all throughout San José, especially near governmental or museum buildings, to pay homage to the rich history of the coffee plants in Costa Rica. Also, a representation of the influence of these two plants can be found in the train system. The railroad system was first really being constructed in order to get the bananas and coffee beans to the Caribbean side of the country as quickly as possible for shipping. Once technological advancements occurred and cheaper, more efficient ways of getting the agricultural product to its port were found, the train slowly fell out of existence. Now, the train’s sole purpose is to connect people from the central provinces and bring them into San José to work. It actually only runs around San José’s typical rush hour times and is never used besides that, This is an important influence on San José because they are the only major city to be a train stop and it creates a larger melting pot for people of different backgrounds which promotes Costa Rica’s diversity..

San José and Pittsburgh seem to have two big details in common. First, both cities have a love for one-lane roads and traffic. As we walked through San José, it seemed as though every road except major highways/roadways were one-way and they all were jam-packed with taxis and a million other cars. Even when it was past normal rush-hour traffic times, the streets were still packed with taxis and delivery vehicles. Second, both cities utilize many different public spaces for parks and other places that the community can gather. In Pittsburgh, we have Schenley Park, Frick Park, and Point State Park (just to name a few). In San José, the town center is marked by a large park full of art and different sculptures. As we walked around the city, we continued to see more and more parks with different names, still full of beautiful artwork. In both cities, the parks are used to bring the community together as a place where they can meet up, have fun, and relax.

However, San José is marked by one very large difference. They never use building numbers and rarely use street addresses, instead choosing to use reference points (such as monuments). This has a huge negative impact on logistics because if you are not a local, then you are almost guaranteed to get lost on your way to a popular tourist attraction. Even if you are a local, it is definitely still hard because you could be unfamiliar with a certain part of the city. Plus, completing everyday tasks like delivering packages and mail is a nightmare because you could easily walk a few meters too far or miscount houses. I do believe that this logistical issue is holding San José back because how can a city continue to grow when something as simple as delivering mail cannot be done well? As a city continues to grow, more foreign visitors will be coming,for business or for pleasure, and addresses are a essential part of navigating a new city.

San José is incredibly lucky to be the mixing place for so many different groups of people and different parts of history which is shown through the planting of various coffee plants and banana plants. They want to honor their heritage in any way that they can but the two popular ways are coffee plants outside of prominent buildings and the art placed in squares for everyone to see. San José has a lot of logistical problems relating back hundreds of years and it is hard for them to even be fixed. As we continue on more tours of coffee shops and other bars, we will determine if there are any more noticeable influences on the San Hosé regions!