Welcome to Boca la Caja

Visible from Corredor Sur, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the district of San Francisco, is Boca la Caja. Formerly home to fishermen and their families, Boca la Caja is a low-income informal settlement, home to 850 families (3000+ people) in downtown Ciudad de Panamá. The area faces development pressures due to its central location within the city. Accessed via a handful of paved roads and a dense series of winding alleyways, the low-rise homes of this neighbourhood stand in contrast to the high-rise towers throughout the rest of San Francisco. Raw sewage seeps out of crumbling exposed pipes while garbage collects in various corners. A soap factory sits among the homes, belching black smoke and ash over the neighbourhood.

Many residents are eager for a buyout but titling presents complex challenges to redevelopment efforts - many of the homes in Boca la Caja are located in the flood zone and thus residents are not legally titled to the land on which they live, despite having been there for many years, even generations.

We went into Boca la Caja to speak to community leaders and residents regarding what they would like to see happen to their neighbourhood. These are the photos taken during the visit.