Today, we visited San Jose and got to experience the local culture and visit museums that delved into the history of Costa Rica. Through walking down the streets, I noticed the influence of bananas and coffee on the culture. For one, there were banana and plantain stands out on the streets, and the market had many places to purchase these items. Additionally, coffee was available in the museum and various places on the street, showing its popularity. Also, the influence of bananas and coffee on the economy allows cities such as San Jose to stand. These crops bring wealth into the area and allow cities to be built. However, these crops also limit the growth of urban sprawl since much ground is needed to grow these crops. Therefore, there cannot be cities everywhere in Costa Rica since these crops need space.

San Jose and Pittsburgh have a connection due to Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie’s influence in the steel industry in Pittsburgh shaped the city, and his influence is undeniable with the presence of Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museum. In Costa Rica, Carnegie donated money for certain infrastructure to be built; therefore, there are similarities in the architecture between San Jose and Pittsburgh. I found this fascinating since these two places that are so far away from each other have the same influence from one person.

The impact of a lack of address limits the reach of certain logistics, such as mail and location access. It limits Uber rides for tourists, the ability to find certain locations, and the selling of goods since tourists cannot easily find the places they are looking for. I wonder how large companies like Amazon tackle this issue and expand to Costa Rica more effectively since this definitely limits e-commerce. This limits Costa Rica’s ability to expand their markets and influence beyond their country, and maybe even province to province. The system works well enough for the current lifestyle, but the reasons specified might hold San Jose back in the future. I also wonder if that contributes to the chaos of the area. Is there a correlation between the lack of order for addresses and the lack of order for the people? I think today proved that there is with how hard it was to navigate San Jose everywhere.