The Impact of Informal Urban Development in Panama City

We calculate the population per metro station and the size of the catchment area to assess the volume of use of each station. [...] The formal and informal areas are separated and distinct geographically: the formal settlement lies in a gridded pattern south of the metro station, while the informal settlement sprawls northwest of the metro station. [...] The social housing is limited to a small area in the east of the informal settlement, near the metro station. [...] Furthermore, growth is most likely to occur in the far reaches of the informal settlements, expanding outward from the metro station, increasing the number of households with limited access to the metro. [...] The tangled, disorganized road network of the informal settlement makes it difficult and time-consuming to access the arterial roads; in contrast, the gridded, planned road network of the formal settlement leads directly to the arterial roads, facilitating better access to the metro.