Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone: The Case of Fort Clayton (The Urban Book Series) 3031387694, 9783031387692

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The Urban Book Series

Graciela Arosemena Díaz Almyr Alba María Sánchez de Stapf

Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone The Case of Fort Clayton

The Urban Book Series Editorial Board Margarita Angelidou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian, The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL, Silk Cities, London, UK Michael Batty, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, UCL, London, UK Simin Davoudi, Planning & Landscape Department GURU, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK Geoffrey DeVerteuil, School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK Jesús M. González Pérez, Department of Geography, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma (Mallorca), Spain Daniel B. Hess , Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo, State University, Buffalo, NY, USA Paul Jones, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Andrew Karvonen, Division of Urban and Regional Studies, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Stockholms Län, Sweden Andrew Kirby, New College, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA Karl Kropf, Department of Planning, Headington Campus, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK Karen Lucas, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK Marco Maretto, DICATeA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Parma, Parma, Italy Ali Modarres, Tacoma Urban Studies, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA Fabian Neuhaus, Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada Steffen Nijhuis, Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands Vitor Manuel Aráujo de Oliveira , Porto University, Porto, Portugal Christopher Silver, College of Design, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA Giuseppe Strappa, Facoltà di Architettura, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Roma, Italy

Igor Vojnovic, Department of Geography, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA Claudia van der Laag, Oslo, Norway Qunshan Zhao, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

The Urban Book Series is a resource for urban studies and geography research worldwide. It provides a unique and innovative resource for the latest developments in the field, nurturing a comprehensive and encompassing publication venue for urban studies, urban geography, planning and regional development. The series publishes peer-reviewed volumes related to urbanization, sustainability, urban environments, sustainable urbanism, governance, globalization, urban and sustainable development, spatial and area studies, urban management, transport systems, urban infrastructure, urban dynamics, green cities and urban landscapes. It also invites research which documents urbanization processes and urban dynamics on a national, regional and local level, welcoming case studies, as well as comparative and applied research. The series will appeal to urbanists, geographers, planners, engineers, architects, policy makers, and to all of those interested in a wide-ranging overview of contemporary urban studies and innovations in the field. It accepts monographs, edited volumes and textbooks. Indexed by Scopus.

Graciela Arosemena Díaz · Almyr Alba · María Sánchez de Stapf

Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone The Case of Fort Clayton

Graciela Arosemena Díaz Facultad de Arquitectura y Diseño Departamento de Planeamiento Universidad de Panamá Sistema Nacional de Investigación Panama City, Panama

Almyr Alba Facultad de Arquitectura y Diseño Departamento de Arte Universidad de Panamá Panama City, Panama

María Sánchez de Stapf Facultad de Ciencias Naturales Exactas y Tecnologías Departamento de Botánica Universidad de Panamá Panama City, Panama

ISSN 2365-757X ISSN 2365-7588 (electronic) The Urban Book Series ISBN 978-3-031-38769-2 ISBN 978-3-031-38770-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Preface

The construction of the Panama Canal at the beginning of the twentieth century under the administration and operation of the United States resulted in a 1,295 km2 strip. The strip consisted of a series of towns and military forts from which the Canal Zone originated. Although not annexed to the United States, this territory was, in practice, a colonial enclave within Panama in which the laws of the United States were applied. This exclusive control of the territory of the Canal Zone lasted 75 years, from 1904 to 1979, when the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977 entered into effect, and a gradual process of reverting the territory began. This process ended on December 31, 1999. When Panama began to receive the former territories of the Canal Zone, the Panamanian State initiated management plans for the reverted territories. These plans were also accompanied by legislation regulating the uses and the possible interventions in the reverted territories. These special rules to maintain the character of the villages of the old Canal Zone are highlighted and established in Article II that says, “the garden city is considered to be the physical-spatial development applied within the Interoceanic Region (...),” which “consists of a series of autonomous communities where three basic functions take place: habitation, work and recreation, harmonize with the green and wooded areas.” This definition was based on the perception of the Canal Zone in the late twentieth century, which gave rise to the theory that the villages had been planned to harmonize with the forests. Life in these villages surrounded by nature, continuously visited by coatimundis, agoutis, deer, and numerous birds, was considered evidence of Americans’ respect for the environment, the tropical forest, and its biodiversity. This is how, the romantic idea that the planning model of the old Canal Zone is a successful example of adaptation to nature and the tropical climate is consolidated in the collective imagination. From the academic perspective, the regional planning of the Canal Zone has also been linked to the creation of forest greenbelts around the villages, as if it were a system programmed to control urban growth. Moreover, this notion resembles the model of cities self-limited by green rings created by E. Howard. These beliefs led to the idealization of the planning of the Canal Zone villages, including the authors of this book. v

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Nevertheless, these assessments simplified the reality that was perceived in the resulting landscape after more than 70 years of history. The complexity of the numerous factors that influenced the Canal Zone’s urban planning and land management was ignored and hidden by that idyllic image of the 1990s. It must, however, be recognized that in recent history we have rarely found the construction of entirely new cities, as happened in the Canal Zone. The Canal Zone was purposely managed to accomplish military, political, and strategic objectives and unintentionally turned into an interesting architectural and urban design experiment. The planning of the towns of the Canal Zone, under first-order American architects, landscapers, and engineers, left a unique urban design and environmental management print on the interoceanic region. However, there are still unresolved questions about that experience, such as: What did this urbanism consist of? How adapted to the tropical climate was it? But above all, was the integration with tropical forests indeed sought? These questions are this book’s central theme, and a detailed study has been required to solve them. This study estimates to what extent the village planning was integrated into climate, tropical forests, and their biodiversity and studies how much of this planning was intended to generate towns in balance with nature. Whatever the answers are to the questions raised, it is also necessary to address the issue of the heritage value of the grouping of forests and towns along the canal, which constitutes a cultural landscape. In the recent past, the historical importance of the architecture, urban planning, and landscaping of the old Canal Zone has been discussed. However, such a heritage declaration has never been achieved due to the persistent resentment in Panamanian civil society and the wounds caused by segregation and racism associated with the former Canal Zone. The current study addresses the problem of the heritage value of the cultural landscape of the Canal Zone based on technical criteria, including the opinions of various Panamanian population groups, that could contribute to a future heritage recognition of the Canal Zone’s cultural landscape. Fort Clayton was selected as a case study because it is a microcosm representing typical architectural and landscape designs and construction practices typical of the North American era throughout the Canal Zone. In addition, it is in a good state of conservation and presents a relatively authentic and integral environment. Chapter 1 establishes the evolution of the relationship between the different human groups that have occupied the interoceanic region and how they used the forests over the centuries. It establishes the probable impacts generated throughout history, emphasizing the importance of interoceanic transit, roads, and infrastructures that were introduced before the arrival of the United States in 1904, whom resume the works of the Canal that the French company had abandoned. The interventions carried out by Americans in the context of the Canal works are highlighted, emphasizing how the defense strategies of the Canal determined the location of Fort Clayton. Chapter 2 presents a chronological sequence of the architecture and urban layout of each period of expansion of Fort Clayton, linking the transformations of urban space and architecture to historical events and the specific defensive needs of each era. In that sense, it describes the different architectural and urban stages of Fort Clayton. The chapter also associates every stage of Clayton with American urban

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planning. It highlights how zoning applied in the Canal Zone had links to racism in the urban space organization, both in the United States and the Canal Zone. Chapter 3 discusses sanitary strategies applied to urban planning on the Canal Zone settlements and fortifications. It focuses on the health-related building regulations developed to achieve disease control. First, it studies malaria and yellow fever mosquito ecology. Then it defines the influence of mosquito ecology on environmental control strategies with building regulations promulgated, and finally, how these modeled the urban image of the Canal Zone towns. Chapter 4 focuses on urban tree planting applied in the Canal Zone and its background. This aspect is treated from the aesthetic and cultural point of view, highlighting the transisthmian railway’s landscaping and the French Canal’s landscaping legacy. The chapter also defines the links between Canal Zone landscaping and United States landscaping. It reviews how both styles of landscaping shared the concepts of health, beauty, and ideas of urban improvement. Furthermore, it analyzes the urban tree strategies developed in military fortifications in the Canal Zone. Finally, the chapter studies Fort Clayton’s tree-planting approach by analyzing the species used according to the historical context and land use. Concurrently, the landscape resulting from this entire process of occupation, intervention, and management of the territory and towns of the Canal Zone is a cultural legacy that has yet to be widely studied and recognized. That is why Chapter 5 seeks to contribute elements to the discussion on the value of the heritage of the old Canal Zone and the relevance of its protection as a cultural landscape of fundamental national and international significance. This chapter’s objective is to recognize the components of the historical-cultural landscape. At the same time, it seeks to determine the heritage value of the architecture and urbanism of the Canal Zone to create the basis for its safeguarding. The valuation and subsequent protection of cultural heritage are primarily based on its recognition by the population. Therefore, five focus groups of North American and Panamanian social actors were established. The participants were linked with the former Canal Zone in the past and present. Chapter 6 raises the need to infer whether Clayton’s urban planning foresaw and applied mechanisms that conserved natural connectivity between the forests surrounding Clayton. This issue is addressed in the chapter, based on studies of ecology, urban ecology, and ecological permeability, highlighting its territorial model’s positive and negative aspects. In addition, an important detail discussed is the estimation of the behavior of the urban model implemented in the Canal Zone’s tropical climate. This chapter also deals with the US military imprint that dominated forest management and virtually every aspect of the Canal Zone. Chapter 7, the epilogue, intends to provide closure and resolution by reviewing the Canal Zone’s authorities’ approach to tropical forest management based on the factors studied in the previous chapters, such as conservation, military defense and tests, and the towns’ sanitation. The scope of the chapter also considers how those factors defined the evolution of forest management throughout the twentieth century. Furthermore, in this final review, the urban development approach and its impact, both negative and positive, on the surrounding tropical forests are included to complete the

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picture. Above all, the chapter points to a final reflection on the heritage importance of the cultural landscape resulting from the history of the Panama Canal. Investigating historical events and works for environmental assessments using current knowledge of urban ecology and sustainability concepts can lead to misjudging past actions and decisions and their corresponding results. These concepts were not mastered or given values different from today’s thought. However, the book intends to use current knowledge about ecology and urban sustainability to understand, without any judgment, what the relationship between the Canal Zone and the environment was. In that sense, in the study of the factors that determined the management of the Canal Zone forests, the book focuses on the technical decisions associated with the operation of the Canal, urban planning, scientific and health criteria, defense strategies, and the military use of the forest. The setting followed is the context of the wars in which the United States participated, effectively marking the fate of the Canal Zone forests, leaving in the background the socio-cultural sensitivities that Americans could have about the tropics, both negative and positive. Panama City, Panama

Graciela Arosemena Díaz

Acknowledgments

This book deals with the relationship between the Canal Zone villages, the climate, and the tropical rainforest. My interest in the tropical forest and landscaping of the Zone has been latent for a long time. My relationship with the jungle began when I was two years old and my late grandfather, Luis Cervantes Díaz, acquired a farm with a small patch of forest near the Panamanian town of Capira, about 40 minutes from Panama City. On that farm, without knowing it then, I got a very accurate idea about the landscape, that was probably very similar to that seen in the villages of the old Canal Zone. The house on my grandfather’s farm had been moved from a village in the old Canal Zone and rebuilt following the same architecture. Moreover, it was landscaped with pruned grass, and planted with fruit trees, near the tropical forest. I was indirectly aware of the Canal Zone landscape long before conceiving this book. Hence, the genesis of this book goes back to when I was an architecture student at the University of Panama, which coincided with an unprecedented historical moment experienced by our nation when the former territories of the Canal Zone reverted to the Panamanian nation. This historical moment also converged with the plans to build a highway that crossed and segregated an old military reserve that had been converted into a secondary forest and that, upon reverting to Panama, came under the protected category and became the Metropolitan Natural Park. This highway would mean the fragmentation of the forest and its isolation from the Curundú River, which was the primary water source for fauna. My interest in searching for a balance between urban development and nature arose from these events. As a result, I became acquainted with and learned from the rich dissertations of Dr. Stanley Heckadon, a researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute who advocated for the ecological and natural values of the Park. Shortly after, I developed my bachelor’s thesis on Gamboa, a small village located at the mouth of the Chagres River in the Panama Canal. The United States strategically built this town to control the dredging of the Culebra Cut. The thesis was about the establishment of a tropical forest scientific research center, and fostered my interest in the forests and villages of the old Canal Zone. ix

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Acknowledgments

Concurrently, Professor Almyr Alba also worked on the value of architecture in the town of Gamboa in a study carried out with the late Dr. Eduardo Tejeira-Davis, an assiduous professional researcher specialized in the historical and architectural heritage of Panama. The interests of Professor Almyr Alba converged with mine in 2015 when we began to prepare a research project on the urbanism and landscaping of the old Canal Zone and its heritage value. The idea for this research arose from our concern regarding the lack of heritage protection for the old Canal Zone’s towns and forests. Another great motivation was to understand how the villages were integrated into the forests and how they adapted to the tropical climate through the case study of Fort Clayton. In this process of early planning of the research, we considered incorporating a botanist, so I proposed Dr. María Stapf, a disciplined researcher, to be a part of the research team; she accepted immediately. Professor Stapf had been involved in several studies on diversity and floristic composition in the Panama Canal Watershed, so she already knew the study area. Finally, the research proposal bore fruit in the Senacyt (acronym in Spanish for National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation from the Republic of Panama) public call for R&D in 2017, when the project was endorsed for its execution. This book shows the results of our research. This publication has been possible thanks to several contributions. We would like to highlight the fundamental role of the Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación which through its R&D program has financed the development of the research behind this (Panama’s National Research System) has also been an essential source of funds for the various tasks needed for this publication. We are also grateful to the University of Panama and the Faculty of Architecture and Design for supporting this research project. Special thanks to the Fundación Ciudad del Saber, whose campus is in the historic center of the old Fort Clayton, for allowing us to carry out the studies for this research. Special thanks to Dr. Xavier Carceller, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, for his advice during the execution of this project. We also wish to thank the following people for their support both in the implementation of the research and in the logistical assistance provided for the book: Doctor Félix Durán, Master Sc Elizabeth García, Architect Ariel Arosemena, Architect Ariadna Mora, Biologist Sandy Mosquera, as well as Paula Pino, Eneida Sención, Mariana Aguilar, and Yogban Ortíz. Graciela Arosemena Díaz Facultad de Arquitectura y Diseño, Departamento de Planeamiento Universidad de Panamá, Sistema Nacional de Investigación Panama City, Panama

Contents

1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact of Human-Nature Interaction in the Interoceanic Region (6000 BC–1950) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Environmental Description of the Pacific Transisthmian Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes in the Interoceanic Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.1 Pre-Hispanic Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2 Impact of Interoceanic Transit During the Colony . . . . . . 1.2.3 The Interoceanic Railway Metabolism Landscape . . . . . . 1.2.4 Impact of French Canal Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 United States Canal Construction (1904–1914) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1 Environmental Transformations of the US Canal Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.1 The Canal Defense Plan and Cronkhite Commission . . . . 1.4.2 Before Clayton: Environmental Historic Approach . . . . . . 1.4.3 Livestock as a Defense Strategy for the Canal and Its Impact in the Repopulation of the Forests (1916–1950) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fort Clayton’s Urbanism and Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Brief Background of Early Twentieth-Century Urban Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1.1 Urban Planning, Zoning, and Racial Segregation in the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Historical Stages of Urban Growth of Fort Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1 Period of Urban Military Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 3 4 5 8 11 14 18 21 23 25

29 34 39 39 40 43 45

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Contents

2.2.2

Stages of Suburb Expansions of Fort Clayton and Their Formal Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 The Architecture of Fort Clayton Through the Twentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 Architecture from 1919 to 1922 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2 Architecture from 1923 to 1932 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.3 Architecture from 1933 to 1939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.4 Architecture from 1932 to 1939 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.5 Architecture from 1940 to 1943 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.6 Architecture from 1948 to 1949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.7 Architecture from 1950 to 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.8 Architecture from 1960 to 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Fort Clayton Urban Housing Final Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Construction of Sanitary Urban and Anti-Mosquito Landscaping in the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Miasmatic Theory, Malaria, Health, and the Conception of the Tropics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Sanitary Approaches During the French Canal Construction . . . . . 3.3 The Hygienic City in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Sanitary Situation in Panama at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 The Canal Zone Suburban Model and Its Sanitary Scope . . . . . . . . 3.6 Influence of Malaria and Yellow Fever Mosquitoes’ Ecology in Building Regulations, Architecture, and Landscape . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1 Aedes Ecology Influence on Sanitary Solutions . . . . . . . . . 3.6.2 Anopheles Ecology Influence on Sanitary Solutions . . . . . 3.7 Mosquito Control Influence on the Fort Clayton Urban Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Historical, Cultural, and Urban Analysis of the Landscaping of the Canal Zone. Case of Fort Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Landscaping and the Construction of Human Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Influence of the French Canal Era on the Landscaping of the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 American Cultural Context in the Early Twentieth Century . . . . . . 4.3.1 City Beautiful Movement, Sanitation, and the Panama Canal Zone Landscaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.2 Balboa Landscaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Urban Arborization in the First Permanent Settlements of the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 The Conception of Balboa Landscaping and the Visual Effect of Arborization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48 56 57 58 59 59 61 62 63 63 65 65 69 69 72 74 76 80 83 84 85 92 95 99 99 101 104 107 108 112 113

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4.5.1

The Use of Edible Species in the Balboa Landscaping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 Planning and Management of Urban Tree Planting in the Canal Zone During First Half of Twentieth Century . . . . . . . 4.7 Characterization of the Urban Tree Pattern in the Military Fortifications of the Canal Zone. Case of Fort Clayton . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.1 Evolution of Landscaping at Fort Clayton and the Influence of Land Use. The Importance of the Royal Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 Arborization Campaign Estimated to Have Occurred in 1923 . . . . 4.9 Probable Arborization Campaign of 1934 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1940s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.1 Tree Planting Patterns Concerning Land Use and the History of Fort Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Cultural Landscapes Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Cultural Landscape: An Approach to Heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Characterization of the Cultural Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Characterization of Central Fort Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Heritage Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1 Theoretical Background of Heritage Values . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.2 Categories and Subcategories of Heritage Values . . . . . . . 5.4 Cultural and Natural Landscape Values Attributed by the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.1 What’s Original in Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.2 Heritage Values of Built Elements of the Cultural Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.3 Heritage Values of Natural Elements of Cultural Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Authenticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.1 Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6 A Shared Heritage: The Official Assessment of the United States and Panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 Valuation Attributed by the Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.1 Approach to the Valuation of the Population . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.2 Photo Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.3 Photo Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 Final Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

114 115 117

120 122 125 126 127 128 136 139 139 140 141 150 151 151 152 152 154 154 156 158 159 159 160 161 161 163 164

6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments? . . . . . . . . 167 6.1 North American Regional Planning and the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . 167 6.1.1 Militarization of the Forests of the Canal Zone (1940–1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

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Contents

6.2

Territorial Model of Towns in the Canal Zone and Its Environmental Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.1 Impact of Fort Clayton on Ecological Connectivity . . . . . 6.3 Urban Ecology and the Cycle of Matter in the Towns of the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.1 Cycle of Matter in the Towns of the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . 6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.1 Urban Structure, Architecture, and Climate Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.2 Canal Zone Towns Adaptation to Tropical Insects and Its Chemical Contamination Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Taking Stock of Canal Zone Forest Management: Exploitation and Sanitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Relationship Between Villages and Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 The Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Villages and Forests of the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

179 180 186 186 192 196 201 208 213 213 217 218 219

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

About the Authors

Graciela Arosemena Díaz, Ph.D., is currently a Professor at the University of Panama in the Department of Planning in the School of Architecture and is a member of the National System of Research (Sistema Nacional de Investigación). She combines teaching and research projects on urban sustainability and landscape. She is an architect and received her Master of Science degree in Urban Environment and Sustainability and her Ph.D. in Energy and Environment in Architecture, both from Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (Barcelona Tech). She is the author and co-author of books and papers on landscape and urban sustainability. Almyr Alba, M.Sci., is currently a Professor at the University of Panamá in the School of Architecture. She teaches courses on Universal Architecture and LatinAmerican and Panamanian Architecture. Likewise, she imparts the twentieth-century site analysis course in the Central American Master on Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage. She is an architect and received her Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation with an emphasis on architectural conservation from the University of Pennsylvania. María Sánchez de Stapf, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Botany at the Universidad de Panama. She is a biologist and obtained a Master of Science in Ecology and Conservation at the Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua and a Doctorate in Science—Botany at the Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil. She is the author and co-author of several books and scientific articles on taxonomy, diversity, and ecology. Currently, her research is focused on the biology and conservation of threatened plant species.

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List of Figures

Fig. 1.1

Fig. 1.2

Fig. 1.3

Fig. 1.4

Fig. 1.5

Intermediate and lower stretch of the Río Grande, in the Pacific region of the Transisthmian region and the marshy area. Source Map of the 1875 Canal proposal, Cartographic (RDSC), Identifier 6,860,541, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6860541 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dredge used in the lower stretch of the Río Grande. In the background, a forest that could have been floodable. Source Panama Canal. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de Panama, mené par la Compagnie du canal de 1881 à 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/f25.item. r=canal%20de%20panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of Panama City and its hinterland. Source Military engineer Manuel Hernández (1764). Panamá y el Cerro del Ancón. Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Mapoteca Digital. Sección de Mapas y Planos. (59 × 78 cm). http:// catalogoenlinea.bibliotecanacional.gov.co/custom/web/ content/mapoteca/fmapoteca_238_fagn_32/fmapoteca_ 238_fagn_32.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sifting of sunlight as it passes through the different layers of the humid or mature tropical forest, like that perceived by Griswold. Former Panama Canal Zone. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the Panama Railroad route in 1858. Source Mitchell’s School Atlas (Philadelphia, PA: E.H. Butler & Co., 1863). Courtesy of the Florida Center for Institutional Technology. https://etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/000/23/23. htm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. 1.6

Fig. 1.7

Fig. 1.8

Fig. 1.9

Fig. 1.10

Fig. 1.11

Fig. 1.12

Fig. 1.13

List of Figures

View of the felling of forests in the layout of the French Canal at Paraíso. Forests are observed, however, on the slopes of the mountains. Source Panama Canal. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de Panama, mené par la Compagnie du canal de 1881 à 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/121 48/btv1b8451505j/f19.item.r=canal%20de%20panama . . . . . . . . Map of the route of the Canal proposed by the Compagnie Universelle du Canal de Panama, where the types of works are identified by sections depending on the biophysical conditions of the terrain. Works with dredgers between Pedro Miguel and La Boca are marked in yellow. Source Le Canal de Panama en 1886. Rapport présenté par M. Jules-Ch. Roux (1886). Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8 451505j.item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Section of the canal route shows the French’s advances in dredging the Canal in the section that goes from Pedro Miguel to La Boca. Source Panama Interocéanique Canal: Mission de Lucien N.B Wyse 1890–189. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the Panama Canal Zone and route of the Panama Canal in 1915. Source Carpenter G (1915) Carpenter’s Geographical Reader: South America (New York, NY: American Book Company). Courtesy of Florida Center for Instructional Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sharp upturn in the population of the interoceanic region with the construction of the North American Canal. Panama City and the city of Colon are not counted. Source Own elaboration based on data from Posada (1898), Isthmian Canal Commission (1904, 1912) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volume and location of the excavated material fill along the route of the Canal until 1913. Source Isthmian Canal Commission (1913) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the Miraflores locks. On one side are the Miraflores dam and the stretch of river of the remaining Río Grande. Source The Panama Canal, 1931. Identifier 6,082,362, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/6082362 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dying forest in the Gatún Lake, February 1919. Source Panama Canal Company. Still Pictures, Identifier 100,998,250 NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100 998250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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List of Figures

Fig. 1.14

Fig. 1.15

Fig. 1.16

Fig. 1.17

Fig. 1.18

Fig. 1.19

Fig. 1.20

View from 1909 to the South from the site where the Miraflores locks would be built. A large mass of forest is observed on the left bank of the Canal, which was probably associated with the gallery forest of the Cárdenas River. Source Panama Canal Company, 1909. Identifier 100,995,614, NARA. https://catalog.arc hives.gov/id/100995614 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A 1907 view of the dam between Corozal and Cerro Sosa, looking toward Cerro Sosa, built during the canal works. Floodplain forests of the old Río Grande Valley are observed. Source Panama Canal Company, 1907. Local Identifier 185-G-1134. NARA. https://catalog.archives. gov/id/100996848 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View from Balboa toward the 1914 Canal. The remains of the Río Grande near the mouth and the surrounding flood plains already intervened with pieces of filling. Despite this, patches of flooded vegetation remained. Source Panama Canal Company, 1914. Identifier 100,995,178. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100995178 . . . . . . . . . . . View of the Miraflores Locks and the bridge over the Canal built in 1942. Source Panama Canal Company, 1950. Identifier 202,798,715. NARA. https://catalog.archives. gov/id/202798715 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1907 view of the land where the original Miraflores locks would be built after vegetation clearing. Source Panama Canal Company, 1909. Identifier 100,995,512, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100995512 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Río Grande train station, showing the forests around the territory that Fort Clayton would occupy. Source Panama Canal. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de panama, mené par la Compagnie du canal de 1881 à 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica. https://gal lica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/f14.item.r=canal% 20de%20panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View of the road between Corozal and Miraflores from 1909. The vegetation present is partially appreciated. In the background, there is partially a wooded area. Source Panama Canal Company. Local Identifier 185-G-1322. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100997224 . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. 1.21

Fig. 1.22

Fig. 1.23

Fig. 1.24

Fig. 2.1

Fig. 2.2 Fig. 2.3

Fig. 2.4

Fig. 2.5

List of Figures

View of the land on which Fort Clayton would be built. The transformations made to the landscape are evident, the filling of the floodplain is already finished, and the hills that flank it are in frank deforestation except for some patches of stubble and secondary forest. Source Panama Canal Company (1919) NARA identifier: 100,997,234. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100997234 . . . . . . . . . . . Map of military roads in the Canal Zone. Pre-existing roads requiring maintenance are observed, and new ones are introduced. Source War Department. Office of the Engineers, 1936. Architectural and Engineering Drawings. NARA-Cartographic (RDSC) Identifier 12,812,061. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/192812061 . . . . . . . . Evolution of the area dedicated to livestock within the Canal Zone. Source Data were taken from the Governor of the Panama Canal, years 1917, 1919, 1922, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1948, 1951, and 1958. University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A young secondary forest located between Fort Clayton and Cardenas (former Canal Zone). Source Arosemena (2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of Balboa suburb and the segregated West Indian suburb of La Boca marked as “site for colored town.” Source Senate Documents. Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting a Report by the Commission of Fine Arts concerning the Artistic Structure of the Panama Canal (1913). The University of Florida. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOV PUB-Y1_3-e552860a951417cac085b42906c6e6ee . . . . . . . . . . . Clayton land use zoning map. General plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999) . . . . . Fort Clayton historic expansions map. Source This study is based on Tejeira-Davis (2010) and based on General Plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999), Google Earth Pro (2001) Historical Center of Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber. 8º59' 54'' N, 79º34' 52ºW, elevation 2514 m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First stage of Fort Clayton’s horseshoe-shaped infrastructure. Source This study is based on War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Map of Clayton and Corozal. Identifier 230,248,170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/230248170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View of the colonels’ row housing. Source Durán F (2021) . . . .

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List of Figures

Fig. 2.6

Fig. 2.7

Fig. 2.8 Fig. 2.9

Fig. 2.10 Fig. 2.11 Fig. 2.12 Fig. 2.13 Fig. 2.14 Fig. 2.15 Fig. 2.16 Fig. 2.17 Fig. 3.1

Fig. 3.2

Riverside plan, by Frederick Olmsted Senior in 1869. Source Olmsted Plans and Drawings Collection. Olmsted Job #607 Riverside, Illinois. Olmsted Plan #607-z1-pt1 General Plan of Riverside. Olmsted, Vaux and Co., LA, 1869. Courtesy of the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interior Park in Forest Hills Gardens. Source Olmsted Plans and Drawing Collection. Olmsted Job #3586, Sage Foundation Long Island, NY. Plan #3586–2015 Planting Plan for Private Park in Block No. 16. Olmsted Brothers, December 11, 1914. Courtesy of the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Current photo of the first suburb of Fort Clayton built in 1942. Source Durán F (2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graph of the evolution of street width (feet) in the suburb construction of Clayton by dates. It reflects a slight reduction in street width in the suburbs of Fort Clayton, close to the military core. Source Present research, based on Clayton Plan, courtesy of Unidad de Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (Republic of Panama) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Clayton suburb from 1948. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . Green open space from a superblock in a 1948 Clayton suburb. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clayton suburb 1970s with curved streets adapted to topography. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Clayton suburb from 1965. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . Special barracks building in 1919. Source Governor of the Panama Canal for the (1919). University of Florida . . . . . Standard barracks were built in 1933 and located in the Central Quadrangle. Source Alba (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two-family housing building from 1941. Source Alba (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two-family houses built in 1960. Source Alba (2018) . . . . . . . . . Malaria cases in Canal employees, separated by whites and non-whites, as divided in Health Department statistics. Source This study with data from the Health Department (1931) University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The dense and compact model that predominated in cities is American. New York, 1892. Source Department of Commerce. Bureau of Public Roads. Identifier: 205738455, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/205 738455 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. 3.3

Fig. 3.4

Fig. 3.5

Fig. 3.6

Fig. 3.7

Fig. 3.8

Fig. 3.9

Fig. 3.10

List of Figures

Calle 12 Este, Santa Ana Panama City, in 1906, before the paving was carried out by the United States. Source Panama Canal Company. Identifier 100997136, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100997136 . . . . . . . . . . . Frequent causes of death found at autopsy in the Board of Health Laboratory, 1904 to 1947. Source This study with data from the Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The death rate from all causes from 1905 to 1947. Source This study with data from the Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . Detail of a porch protected with anti-mosquito nets in a house inFort Amador. Source Historic American Buildings Survey (1933). Fort Amador, Officers’ Quarters, Fifth Street at the intersection with Amador Road, Panama City, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Panama Former Panama Canal Zone Panama City Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/res ource/hhh.cz0005.photos/?sp=3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the sanitized areas in the Canal Zone, Panama City, and vicinity. The Fort Clayton area is marked in dotted lines. Source Health Department of the Panama Canal (1930). University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stagnant water within tropical forest of the Panama Canal, current Soberanía National Park, former Panama Canal Zone. Source Arosemena (2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the sanitized areas at Fort Clayton by 1929. Source Current study based on information from the sanitized map (Report of the Health Department 1930. Google Earth Pro (2001) Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber, 8º59' 54'' N, 79º34' 52ºW, elevation 2,514 m. Map of Fort Clayton and Corozal from War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947) Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/230248170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contour map of Fort Clayton and Corozal. The difference in level between Fort Clayton and the Cardenas River due to the land filling in 1928 can be observed. Source War Department (1928) Office of the Chief of Engineers. Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/230248170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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List of Figures

Fig. 3.11

Fig. 3.12 Fig. 4.1

Fig. 4.2

Fig. 4.3

Fig. 4.4

Fig. 4.5 Fig. 4.6

Fig. 4.7

Fig. 4.8

Albrook Air Force Station, Company Officer’s Quarters, Former Panama Canal Zone, 1933. Source Historic American Buildings Survey (1933) Albrook Air Force Station. Panama Balboa Former Panama Canal Zone Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc. gov/item/cz0023/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barrack surrounded by grass and rainwater drains at Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gardens at the doctors’ house and at the rooms for construction employees at the French Hospital of Ancon. Source Canal de Panama. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de Panama, menés para la Compagnie du Canal de 1881à 1886. Gallica. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/ f34.item.r=canal%20de%20panama# . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ancon Hospital Street flanked by royal palms, planted by the French, circa 1907–1910. Source Postcard from the study collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral flanked by palms, probably royal palms in Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe). Circa early twentieth century. Source Postcard collection of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Royal palms planted along Bellville’s Avenue (Barbados). Circa early twentieth century. Source Postcard collection of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Royal palms planted through Cuba’s avenue circa 1907. Source Postcard collection of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engraved drawing of the Colon church accompanied by a coconut palm, by Armand Reclus, 1876–1878. Source Reclus, Armand (1881) Panama et Darien: Voyages d’exploration. Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k775176/f34.item.r= Panama%20et%20Darien%20Voyages%20d’exploration. zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drawing of the Barbacoa rail Station, accompanied by a coconut palm and a very simple fenced garden. Source Reclus, Armand (1881) Panama et Darien: Voyages d’exploration. Blibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k775176/f34.item.r= Panama%20et%20Darien%20Voyages%20d’exploration. zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Balboa’s “El Prado,” Panama Canal Zone. Source Panama Canal Company, 1949. Identifier 202800711. Still Pictures, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/202800711 . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. 4.9

Fig. 4.10

Fig. 4.11

Fig. 4.12

Fig. 4.13

Fig. 4.14

Fig. 4.15

Fig. 4.16

List of Figures

Garden of the Governor’s house in the Panama Canal Zone. Sources Garden of the Governor of Canal Zone House; Panama Canal Company, 1960. Identifier 202801053. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/202801053 . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Amador officers’ quarters had diverse street trees and shrubbery around the houses, like the picturesque landscape. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C. (1933) Fort Amador, Officers’ Quarters, Fifth Street at the intersection with Amador Road, Panama City, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Panama Former Panama Canal Zone Panama City Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/res ource/hhh.cz0005.photos/?sp=1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ornamental plants, shrubbery, palms, and trees, around the Albrook Air Force Station quarter. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C. (1933) Albrook Air Force Station, Company Officer’s Quarters, East side of Canfield Avenue, Balboa, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Panama Balboa Former Panama Canal Zone Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/res ource/hhh.cz0023.photos/?sp=5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Clayton’s Headquarters building settled in front of the Parade Field, in the horseshoe stage, by the 1930s. Its façade had a mixed landscaping with mango trees and royal palms. Source Study collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map showing Fort Clayton’s stages, marking the arborization campaigns probably developed by the Experiment Gardens. Source This study goes through Clayton’s stages from Tejeira-Davis (2010) and Clayton’s urban plan from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos, Republic of Panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Royal palms at Fort Clayton’s first officers’ quarters connected with the parade field. Fort Clayton, Canal Zone, circa 1930s. Source Study collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parade Field of Fort Clayton’s Horseshoe, circa the 1930s, showing the mango trees and royal palms aligned. Source Study collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inner courtyard of the urbanization block built in 1960 on the parade field of The Horseshoe. To the left of the photo, in red, the alignment of mango trees dates from when the barracks still existed. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Fig. 4.17

Fig. 4.18 Fig. 4.19

Fig. 4.20 Fig. 4.21 Fig. 4.22 Fig. 4.23 Fig. 4.24 Fig. 4.25 Fig. 4.26 Fig. 4.27 Fig. 4.28 Fig. 4.29 Fig. 5.1 Fig. 5.2

Fig. 5.3

Overlay of the plane of the horseshoe on aerial photography of google earth. Source This study is based on War Department reports. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Map of Fort Clayton and Corozal. Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://cat alog.archives.gov/id/230248170; Google Earth Pro (2001) Historical Center of Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber.8º59' 54'' N, 79º34' 52ºW, elevation 693 m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . View of some of the old officers’ quarters and their landscaping. Source Arosemena (2020) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Historical landscape units. Clayton map. Source This study. Base map from Clayton’s urban plan from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos, Republic of Panama . . . . . Colonel’s quarter, Fort Clayton circa 1930s. Source Study collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Central quadrangle, Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Post field in the 1950s. Source Study Collection . . . . . . . . . Miller Field and a flamboyant tree. Source Arosemena (2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miller Field tree planting resulting from the community approach since the 1950s. Source Arosemena (2021) . . . . . . . . . Diversity index by residential landscape unit area and its year of building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tree species diversity index in Fort Clayton by landscaping and historical study area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Clayton partial Map on Simpson’s index tree diversity by applying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphic of dominant species by landscape unit area . . . . . . . . . . Fort Clayton historical center map of tree species present in each landscape unit area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diagram of Central Clayton Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D drawing of The Horseshoe (Sector 1) shows the original configuration of Fort Clayton. Source This study is based on a map of Fort Clayton and Corozal from the War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/230248170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3D drawing of the Central Quadrangle area (Drawing: Mariana Aguilar). Source This study is based on a map of Fort Clayton and Corozal from the War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog. archives.gov/id/230248170 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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126 127

128 129 130 131 132 133 133 134 134 135 135 141

142

143

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Fig. 5.4 Fig. 5.5 Fig. 5.6 Fig. 5.7 Fig. 5.8 Fig. 5.9

Fig. 5.10

Fig. 5.11

Fig. 5.12

Fig. 5.13 Fig. 6.1

Fig. 6.2

Fig. 6.3

List of Figures

Building of the old gas station, a typical wood frame building of the Service Area (Sector 3). Photo Almyr Alba . . . . A typical barrack building at the New Post (Sector 4). Photo Almyr Alba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playgrounds and two-story houses at the World War II Housing Complex (Sector 5). Photo Almyr Alba . . . . . . . . . . . . . One-story duplex houses at the Postwar Housing Complex (Sector 6). Photo Almyr Alba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Officer’s house at Miller Field (Sector 7). Photo Almyr Alba . . . Diagram of heritage values of the built landscape adapted to the particularities of an urban settlement based on the categories and subcategories of ICOMOS (1999), Appelbaum (2010), Montañez Arica (2016), Nieto (2018), and Mechato Lara (2020) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diagram of heritage values of the natural landscape based on the categories and subcategories of Hockings et al. (2008), Appelbaum (2010), and Montañez Arica (2016) . . . . . . . Situation of the heritage values of the built elements of the cultural landscape by sectors of Central Clayton area. Source Own elaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Situation of the heritage values of the natural elements of the cultural landscape by sectors of Central Clayton area. Source Own elaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Compendium of heritage values attributed by the focus group participants. Source Own elaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Garden city scheme by Howard. Source Howard, Garden Cities of To-Morrow (being the second edition of “To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform”). London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Ltd, 1902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the Pacific side of the Panama Canal showing the regional location of towns in the East slope of the former Canal Zone. Source The study is based on the map of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1948. Series published maps, 1947–2015. Identifier: 159081899. NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/159081899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the protected natural areas in the Canal Zone, marked in light green. Source War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers, 1938. Identifier 192812435, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/192812435 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

144 146 147 148 149

153

153

155

155 162

169

170

172

List of Figures

Fig. 6.4

Fig. 6.5

Fig. 6.6

Fig. 6.7

Fig. 6.8

Fig. 6.9

Fig. 6.10

Fig. 6.11 Fig. 6.12

M1E1 Abrams tank moving through Empire (Emperador) Range Complex, Canal Zone, to test their effectiveness in tropical weather. Source Department of Defense (1984) American Forces Information Services. Identifier 6385355, National Archives. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6385355 . . . . Comparison of military land occupation between 1937 and 1968. Source This study is based on data from the Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal (1937, 1943, 1947), Panama Canal Company (1958, 1968). University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weapons test at the Army Tropic Test Center. Source Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center (1984). Identifier 6385379, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/ id/6385379 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Map of the Albrook Field ammunition depot. Source War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers, Panama Canal Department (1917–1936). Identifier 192812307. NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/192812307 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hectares with indicated UXO Density in former firing ranges in the Canal Zone. Source Data from US Army Environmental Center; Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (1998). Defense Technical Information Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aerial view of the first urban stage of Fort Clayton. Source Voyage officiel du General Mangin aux Antilles française et en Amerique du sud. 1921. Bibliothèque Nationale du France (Gallica). https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8 451505j.r=canal%20de%20panama?rk=42918;4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Representation of the urban spot of Clayton with its green spaces and the fragmentation of forests. Source Current study based on General Plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999), Google Earth Pro (2001) Clayton, Ciudad del Saber and Cardenas, 8º59’56”N, 79º34’52ºW, elevation 3.63 m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ibis aquatic bird, visiting former Miller Field, Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Street tree density at Fort Clayton historical center by 2001. Source Current study based on General Plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999); Google Earth Pro (2001) Historical Center of Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber. 8º59’54”N, 79º34’52ºW, elevation 2514 m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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173

175

176

177

179

181

182 183

184

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Fig. 6.13 Fig. 6.14 Fig. 6.15

Fig. 6.16

Fig. 6.17

Fig. 6.18

Fig. 6.19 Fig. 6.20

Fig. 6.21

List of Figures

Yellow-backed rafter (Icterus chrysater) in the former Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2020) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marmoset monkey (Saguinus geoffroyi) in the former Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Garbage disposal from Panama City and Canal Zone-Pacific side in 1947 ([1] Garbage disposal: Ancon, Balboa, La Boca, Diablo Heights, Fort Amador, Quarry Heights, Albrook Field, Curundu, Corozal, US Navy. [2] Garbage disposal: Gamboa, Madden Dam, Summit, Pedro Miguel, Red Tank, Miraflores, Cocoli, Fort Clayton, Paraiso, US Navy at Summit and West Bank, Howard Field, Fort Kobbe). Source Own elaboration based on data obtained from the Report of Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . Rubbish disposal from Canal Zone-Pacific side and Panama City. Source Current study, based on data from the Report of Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thermal comfort conditions in a rustic area of the old Fort Clayton, compared to the Olgyay comfort zone defined for the tropics. Source this study with climate data from US Army Tropic Test Center April (1967) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Housing of a French doctor during the construction of the canal. Source Panama Canal. From Colon to Panama. Travaux du canal de Panama, menés par la Compagnie du canal de 1881–1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/ f91.item.r=canal%20de%20panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Image from the mid-1930s of the Fort Clayton Officers Club building. Source Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The screened enclosure of the Fort Amador Officers’ Quarters veranda. Panama Canal Zone. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.cz0005. photos/?sp=13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Detail of front elevation architectural drawing, showing copper screening and wide eaves. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C (1933). Quarry Heights, Officers’ Quarters, Parkinson Lane, Balboa, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.cz0029.photos/?sp=25 . . . . . .

184 185

191

192

193

197 198

199

200

List of Figures

Fig. 6.22

Fig. 6.23

Fig. 7.1 Fig. 7.2

Aerial photograph of the town of Balboa. Source War Department. Army Air Force (1922). Identifier 68147536, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68147536 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fog of DDT when truck sprayed Panama Canal Zone villages. Source The Panama Canal Review (1954). Florida State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Management of the forests of the Canal Zone and the effects of different interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evolution of land uses (hectares) in the Canal Zone throughout the twentieth century without considering the territory covered by the artificial lakes of the Canal. Source Governor of the Panama Canal (1937, 1943), Panama Canal Company Canal Zone Government (1958), and Panama Canal Company (1968). University of Florida . . . . .

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202 214

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List of Tables

Table 1.1 Table 1.2 Table 3.1 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3

Table 4.4 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3 Table 5.4 Table 5.5 Table 5.6 Table 5.7 Table 6.1 Table 6.2

Clearance and trails associated with the installation of the Canal luminaries in 1912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Area dedicated to livestock in the Canal Zone during 1919 . . . . Canal Zone balance sheet of changes in the ecosystem from malaria control in towns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . List of plants and trees planted in Ancon between 1910 and 1912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dominant species in the landscaping of the first fortifications of the Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relationship between the Landscape Unit and the activity of the Experiment Gardens and the construction stages of Fort Clayton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Estimating the arborization pattern according to land use in Fort Clayton, 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 1—The Horseshoe, 1922 . . . . . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 2—Central Quadrangle, 1933 . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 3—Services Area, 1928–1945 . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 4—New Post, 1940–1941 . . . . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 5—Housing complex of the World War II, 1942–1943 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 6—Postwar housing complex, 1948–1949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characterization of Sector 7—Miller Field, 1933, 1942, and 1948 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distance between buildings according to building regulations of the Panama Canal Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Humidex index according to average hourly data for April 1967 (Chivo Chivo), at 2 m high . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21 32 92 113 121

122 132 143 144 145 146 147 149 150 181 195

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Table 6.3 Table 6.4

List of Tables

Data on pesticide use in Corozal and Fort Davis (Canal Zone), the calendar year 1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of indicators of contamination found in some soil samples in different military reserves of the Canal Zone . . .

203 205

Chapter 1

Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact of Human-Nature Interaction in the Interoceanic Region (6000 BC–1950) Abstract One of the main dilemmas when describing Panama’s transisthmian region has been the definition of its study area since different authors use diverse criteria. This work defines the study area as the territory used as transit routes over several centuries with political limits imposed upon the creation of the Canal Zone, regardless of the natural delimitations drawn by the geography or the river basins supplying water to the current Panama Canal. We decided to define the study area this way because the research objective is to analyze the impact of the construction of Fort Clayton on the territory within the framework of the American enclave. Keywords Landscape · Transisthmian region · Fort Clayton

1.1 Environmental Description of the Pacific Transisthmian Region The transisthmian region consists of a strip of land approximately 80 km long (45 mi) and 16 km wide (10 mi), running from the Atlantic northwest to the Pacific southeast through the narrowest part of the Isthmus of Panama and connecting North and South America. The territory is of low topography, with the highest hill reaching approximately 182 m (600 ft) and linking with a chain of higher hills and mountains, which are part of Panama’s central mountain range. A third of the territory, composed of gently sloping hills, and primarily occupied by the Chagres River valley, lies on the Atlantic slope. The Pacific slope is much narrower and mainly made up of low and rounded hills that increase in height toward the continental divide. The Río Grande Valley occupies much of this slope, where Fort Clayton was located. In a natural state, the lowlands and hills bordering the Río Grande Valley must have been covered with dry and wet forests. This valley, on which much of the proposed route of the Canal by the French and later by the Americans lay, was originally a low and floodable terrain whose environmental characteristics are associated with a wetland or swamp, as depicted in the proposed map of the Canal of 1875 (see Fig. 1.1).

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_1

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1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

Fig. 1.1 Intermediate and lower stretch of the Río Grande, in the Pacific region of the Transisthmian region and the marshy area. Source Map of the 1875 Canal proposal, Cartographic (RDSC), Identifier 6,860,541, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6860541

It is likely that wide floodplains developed in the Río Grande Valley, which was practically flat. In similar cases, small lakes (abandoned meanders), natural dikes, and swamp deposits usually occur in the river plains of the Pacific slope of Panama during the rainy season. Flooding occurs because of poor drainage of the alluvial soils, increased rainfall, and overflow of the rivers (Lezcano and López 2015). Concurrently, in the Río Grande plain, freshwater floods must have coexisted with the predominant action of the tides. Studies on the geomorphology of the area carried out by the United States indicate that the middle and lower course of the Río Grande and the contiguous territory were mainly flat and highlight that the tides entered up to 6 miles (10 km) inland to what is now Miraflores (Le Prince et al. 1916). By 1920, when canal works were finished, the influence of the tides extended throughout the former plains of the Río Grande, from the river mouth up to Miraflores Locks where ecosystems of marshes and mangroves, still partly covered the area. Standley described various plant species that tolerate salinity at the mouth of the Río Grande and on some of the salt plains in his report on the botany of the interoceanic Region (Standley 1928). Among these were extensive mats of Sesuvium portulacastrum, Sporobolus virginicus, and other creeping plants, followed by a mass of mangroves, ecosystems typically tolerant to flooding and saline conditions (Lezcano and López 2015). Behind the mangroves, he described an area of marshes full of sturdy sedges, grasses, and masses of the Acrostichum fern.

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes …

3

Fig. 1.2 Dredge used in the lower stretch of the Río Grande. In the background, a forest that could have been floodable. Source Panama Canal. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de Panama, mené par la Compagnie du canal de 1881 à 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica. https:/ /gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/f25.item.r=canal%20de%20panama

The above is consistent with the descriptions referred to by explorers of the time and the reports of the French Canal works. The report of Verbrugghe’s expeditions (Verbrugghe 1879) described the canal route crossing the Río Grande Valley as a route through “les tristes arbustes de marécages” (sad bushes of the swamp), which may probably refer to mangroves (Roux 1886). Additionally, the French indicated that cutting down the forest was an essential task in this same section, which may refer to the existence of forests associated with flood areas and mangroves (see Fig. 1.2).

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes in the Interoceanic Region The construction of the Panama Canal and the installation of towns and military forts on the Pacific side, especially in the area of Fort Clayton, transformed the landscape. Understanding such environmental transformation requires approaching the pre-existing landscape as the result of a succession of changes linked to a series

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1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

of actions by human cultures and nature. These transformation processes occurred since pre-Hispanic times, continued through the Hispanic colony, the construction of the transisthmian railroad, until the Canal works by the French, and ended with the Americans. This section analysis links social metabolism, the flows of matters and energy, with landscape changes. Landscape becomes and indicator of resource consumption. This analysis builds up on the concept that humans and nature interplay in a series of interrelationships from the origin of the human being to the present day. From an ecological perspective, in these interrelations, processes of appropriation intervene when human beings take over materials and energy from nature (input) and end when they discard their waste (output). Through appropriation, society nourishes from all those materials, energies, and water necessary for the sustenance of the human being (endosomatic energy) and the manufacture of their artifacts, such as clothing, buildings, instruments, machines, factories, devices, among others (exosomatic energy) (González de Molina and Toledo 2014).1

1.2.1 Pre-Hispanic Stage In the interoceanic region, only pristine conditions could have existed before the arrival of the first humans to Central America 11,000 years ago, given that, with those first settlers, the transformation of the original natural landscape began. At this stage, the consumption was mostly endosomatic, whose resource appropriation type showed disorganized or disarticulated ecosystems through wild species domestication or process activation of wild species domestication like in agriculture (González de Molina and Toledo 2014). Since the first humans, Panama, especially the Pacific slope, has suffered to a large extent, constant changes associated with human settlements that continuously opened clearings in the forests to cultivate (Cramer 2015). This must have transformed it in such a way that the wooded landscape came to disappear. On the Caribbean slope, there were many transformations. In particular, in the valley of the Chagres River, there were settlements, as evidenced by the palaeoecological records of the Chagres River basin, which indicate the presence of small human groups that began to open clearings in the humid tropical forest to cultivate, between 9200 and 7000 B.C (Cooke and Ranere 1992). Fernández de Oviedo2 describes that crop sowing was carried out in a clean land, where the forest had been cut down and burned. After the harvest, the land was abandoned and allowed to rest to repeat the same process in another forest plot (Oviedo 1535). 1

Consumption can be understood as the relationship between particular social and historical human needs and the resources provided by nature. 2 Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo was a Spanish colonizer of the sixteenth century. During his stay on the Isthmus of Panama, he recorded a series of observations about the territory, its original inhabitants, and the fauna and flora.

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes …

5

The pre-Columbian villages of Panama were probably surrounded by large areas of grasslands and clusters of isolated trees. Such landscape composition means a grassland landscape composed of an anthropic savannah mixed with redoubts of forest located on riverbanks and hills (Cooke and Sánchez 2004; Leigh et al. 2013). Therefore, it is likely that the ecosystems of the Río Grande Valley, from marshes, mangroves to flooded forests, remained primarily preserved when the Spanish conquistadors arrived.

1.2.2 Impact of Interoceanic Transit During the Colony With the Spanish conquest, epidemics and oppression reduced the indigenous population by 90%, which meant the depopulation of the territory of the Isthmus and allowed a generalized forest recovery. Recent calculations indicate that this forest reforestation, in the American continent, significantly impacted atmospheric CO2 and global surface air temperatures. The Great Mortality of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas led to the abandonment of enough cleared land for the resulting carbon uptake to have a detectable impact on both atmospheric CO2 and global surface air temperatures two centuries before the Industrial Revolution (Koch et al. 2019). These are clear examples of the action of nature as an agent of landscape change.3 At the same time, since their arrival to Panama in the sixteenth century, Spaniards developed a road system to communicate the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The Camino de Cruces, and years later the Camino de Gorgona, articulated the movement of people and goods linked to the local and world economy. These were the land paths of a route linked with the Chagres River section connected with the Caribbean Sea. On the margins of these routes, for years used to transport goods, rest villages for travelers and the mules arose. On the land routes, the towns of Venta de Cruces and Gorgona, among others, were established as intermediate points. Similarly, towns such as Ahorca Lagartos, Barbacoas, Matachín, Obispo, Gorgona, and Tabernilla emerged in the river section along the Chagres River. However, these colonial populations remained as “ephemeral and rudimentary camps” (Jaén 1998), the hinterland of agricultural production for the daily supply of the capital and passengers of the original transisthmian routes. The demand of these villages for natural resources for endosomatic consumption was related to food, which included not only food production4 but also intense consumption of firewood for cooking (Arosemena 2017). As a result, interventions emerged parallel to the transisthmian axis, and once more, forests were cleared for 3

Forests store large amounts of carbon. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, convert it into carbon, and store it in branches, leaves, trunks, and roots. When a forest is cleared or burned, carbon is released into the atmosphere, primarily as carbon dioxide. 4 The historical data collected on the agricultural production of the time around Panama City, indicate that agriculture was not an efficient activity to which not enough time was dedicated nor were the best cultivation systems applied (Castillero 2010).

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1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

cultivation, livestock, and firewood. Different tree species were used as firewood (Description of 1607), significantly reducing ecosystems, such as gallery forests, mangroves, and secondary forests (Arosemena 2017). References to agricultural activity in the region date from the seventeenth century. In the Relation of Diego Ruiz de Campos, abundant banana plantations are mentioned in the cove of the Río Grande (toward the entrance of the current Canal) and on the banks of the Cárdenas River and the Hondo River (Castillero 2010: 140), both tributaries of the Río Grande. Due to the tides that reached Miraflores, it is unlikely that agricultural or livestock activities were carried out in the Río Grande floodplains themselves. Indeed, the fields of crops around Panama City did not occupy the swamp areas as can be seen on the 1764 map, whose legend pinpoints “swampy strips” behind Cerro Ancón. The text probably refers to a landscape from the Río Grande floodplains, which remained as uncultivated land (see Fig. 1.3). Even in the map of the interoceanic region of the Isthmus of Panama, made by Thomas Harrisson (1857), the haciendas’ geographical features, location, and name are detailed throughout the territory. The map describes the Río Grande Valley as a swamp and the haciendas are settled outside the floodplains.

Fig. 1.3 Map of Panama City and its hinterland. Source Military engineer Manuel Hernández (1764). Panamá y el Cerro del Ancón. Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Mapoteca Digital. Sección de Mapas y Planos. (59 × 78 cm). http://catalogoenlinea.bibliotecanacional.gov.co/custom/web/con tent/mapoteca/fmapoteca_238_fagn_32/fmapoteca_238_fagn_32.jpg

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes …

7

The use of animal force for transport included mule packs and was one of the novelties in the transportation in the interoceanic region at the time. These packs were fed with corn, whose cultivation was probably unsuccessful in the interoceanic region due to the climate.5 During the eighteenth century livestock activity took place near the Río Grande, according to the map published by Castillero Calvo (2010) on the geographical distribution of cattle in the Kingdom of Tierra Firme in 1609. It is estimated that there were about 3000 heads of cattle near the Río Grande, about 2000 cattle in Cruces, and about 4000 heads distributed along the Chagres basin. In total, approximately 9000 ha were dedicated to livestock in the interoceanic region.6 However, this activity did not transcend over time, and by the end of the eighteenth century, it had disappeared from the Río Grande, leaving only 2000 cattle distributed between Cruces and Chagres. According to these data, livestock would occupy less than 2% of the entire region. Considering that some additional area was transformed by tree logging for firewood, the total area that remained forested would be consistent with the number indicated by Ligia Herrera (1990), estimated in the order of 93% of the territory by 1800 (Castro 2006). It is likely that before the railway construction, much of the region was covered with forests of different ages, and most of these must have been mature forests, which began to regenerate since the Spanish conquest, and may have coexisted with patches of cultivated land and small herds of cattle close to populated areas. The presence of forested areas is confirmed in the description of the American physician Chauncey D. Griswold (1852), who organized an expedition to map the transisthmian region of the Isthmus of Panama in the mid-nineteenth century. This description indicates that the forest was composed of “different types of seemingly innumerable species” (Griswold 1852). According to Griswold, this forest had trees between 200 and 300 years old, whose trunk circumferences measured between 35 and 60 ft. 60 ft seems to be an exaggerated dimension, however, a dimension of 35 ft in circumference is usually found in trees typical of mature forests. Also, Griswold’s description indicates that sunlight “occasionally descends, shining through the green canopy above.” This implies a high density of vegetation that can also reinforce the idea of forest maturity (see Fig. 1.4).

5

The climate of the Panama City area was not the most suitable for corn production due to the copious rains. This is why it probably did not generate surpluses during the colony (Description of 1607), and little by little, it was moved to more suitable areas of the central region of the Isthmus such as Natá. 6 The yield of livestock in the colony was likely to be very poor since it was conditioned by an extensive production style, overgrazing, and continuous depletion of soils due to the activity itself. Such actions imply that the annual grass area required per head is just over one hectare. From this, it is inferred that the area dedicated to livestock in the interoceanic region in the eighteenth century probably covered about 9000 hectares.

8

1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

Fig. 1.4 Sifting of sunlight as it passes through the different layers of the humid or mature tropical forest, like that perceived by Griswold. Former Panama Canal Zone. Source Arosemena (2019)

1.2.3 The Interoceanic Railway Metabolism Landscape The first large-scale impact on the transisthmian region was precisely the railway. The railroad layout itself generated actions, such as tree felling, swamp areas filling, land leveling, drainage, and the construction of numerous bridges to cross diverse river torrents (Saunders 1949). Specifically, in Río Grande Valley, the train tracks crossed through Pedro Miguel, Caimitillo, and Cárdenas rivers and the savannahs of Corozal. It bordered much of the floodplain of the Río Grande to finally cross the swamps of Curundú before reaching the northern part of Panama City (Board of Directors of the Panama Railroad Company 1855; Schott 1967). The passage through rivers and swamps implied negative impacts on the natural course of the bodies of water. Sewers built to allow the passage of water under the train tracks also caused problems in the flow of the river currents they crossed, since they suffered numerous obstructions that stagnated the waters (Dudley 1887). Besides, the impact of the railway’s exosomatic consumption can be classified according to its life cycle stages; firstly, with the materials required for the construction of the track itself and the bridges and, secondly, with the resources consumed during its function and maintenance. The train sleepers had originally been built with local wood, probably from the surrounding areas. However, the wood used was of

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes …

9

poor quality, and after 6 or 8 months of being installed, it had to be replaced. Eventually, this woody plant species were replaced by lignum vitae (trees of the genus Guaiacum), an excellent solid and durable wood from Cartagena that could last up to 30 years (Panama Railroad Company 1892). Despite the wood replacement, the impacts on the territory continued, as the secondary tracks of the low-speed train continued to use native hardwood (Panama Railroad Company 1888). Finally, the wood used for the bridges had initially also been mined locally; however, it was gradually replaced by rock bases and iron structures (Schott 1967). In addition, and as an appendix of the social metabolism of the United States, the railroad implicated the sudden arrival of the industrial revolution in Panama with its raw material circulation process, highlighting the gold extracted from California and products transformed between the East and West coasts. This process led to a new pattern of faster and more efficient transport, but outside the North American territory, due to the difficulties encountered when crossing the United States due to conflicts with the native peoples. This implied that the impacts on the territory of the interoceanic region were an externality of the United States metabolism. Thus, a new exosomatic consumption associated with the resources required for the steam train’s movement enters the scene. This system included not only the use of fuel but also the water that had to be boiled to mobilize the pistons that finally displaced the train. Energy demands involved using local wood instead of coal, cut into piles at each train station. This energy source was used because of the low wages paid to workers, as it was cheaper to cut down trees and wood than to import coal (Schott 1967). On the other hand, the constant consumption of water for the operation of the locomotives brought, the first interventions and impacts on the water bodies for their exploitation in the interoceanic transit, which also served other human needs. Wells were used, and several river dams were built along the railroad route, including the Chagres River and its inflows and the Frijoles River. At the Matachín and Pedro Miguel stations, water was pumped from the Chagres and Pedro Miguel rivers. In addition, this exploitation of water was accompanied by the construction of water tanks in different stations (Dudley 1887). All these interventions involved the diversion of water from rivers, discharge of land, changes in water quality, and a reduction in the flow because the water used for human activities did not return to the river, which in turn would have had an impact on the populations of flora and fauna. In addition, and as an appendix of the social metabolism of the United States, the railroad implicated the sudden arrival of the industrial revolution in Panama with its raw material circulation process, highlighting the gold extracted from California and products transformed between the East and West coasts. This process led to a new pattern of faster and more efficient transport, but outside the North American territory, due to the difficulties encountered when crossing the United States due to conflicts with the native peoples. This implied that the impacts on the territory of the interoceanic region were an externality of the United States metabolism. With the railroad work, the population also increased because the stations across the Isthmus acted as vectors of more organized settlements in the region. The stations were

10

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Map of the Isthmus of Panama, 1858

Mitchell’s School Atlas (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: E. H. Butler & Co., 1863) Downloaded from Maps ETC, on the web at http://etc.usf.edu/maps [map #00023]

Fig. 1.5 Map of the Panama Railroad route in 1858. Source Mitchell’s School Atlas (Philadelphia, PA: E.H. Butler & Co., 1863). Courtesy of the Florida Center for Institutional Technology. https:// etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/000/23/23.htm.

established every four miles (6.4 km) and included a warehouse and houses for employees (National Railway Bulletin 1999). Because the route between the terminals coincided largely with the colonial path the Chagres, many train stations coincided with the pre-existing towns (see Fig. 1.5). These, added to the new stations along the river, made up a total of 21 stations between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The increase in activity and the movement of people also opened a new agricultural frontier. This must have involved the felling of forest for farmland, although most crops were for subsistence. Despite having industrial technology such as the railway, the endosomatic supply system continued to be that of an organic agrarian society. During the “California Gold Rush” period, Panama had significant economic income associated with interoceanic transit. However, this situation resulted in the consolidation of dependence on the service sector, neglecting the agricultural and industrial sectors. Decades later, at the end of the “gold fever,” the period of economic growth declined into a crisis with the opening of the transcontinental railway in USA (Beluche 2017).

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes …

11

1.2.4 Impact of French Canal Construction The successful completion of the Suez Canal in 1869 by the Frenchman Ferdinand De Lesseps opened the door to a project for constructing a canal through Central America. The French firm Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique began excavations in 1882 through the transisthmian region of Panama. The large-scale transformation of the transisthmian territory, which began with the railway, is consolidated with the canal works initiated by the French. These changes were carried out in two axes. The first was the conformation of the villages-camps to execute the work, introducing a chain of villages along the railway line, which complemented those that existed historically, such as Gorgona, Chagred, and Gatún. Thus, Corozal, Río Grande, Paraíso, Culebra, Pedro Miguel, Bohío-Soldado, San Pablo, Obispo, and Culebra stations, together with the longest-standing towns, came to accommodate most of the workers in the facilities of the Canal works (Wyse 1886). Each camp had a specialized job that depended on the characteristics of the terrain, which influenced the territorial structure of the French occupation, so that the surrounding areas of each job, the camps of workers, and the houses of section employees formed a settlement (Roux 1886). According to the reports of the French company Canal, the railroad track between Colón and Panama is described as transforming the railroad into a kind of street where the “virgin” jungle occupied the unbuilt intervals: “Chaque station corresponds à un chantier, et on peut dire que la voie ferrée forme, entre Colon et Panama, une sorte de rue dont les intervalles non bâtis sont occupés par la forêt-vierge” (Roux 1886). The second axis of transformation was the works of the Canal itself, which were of different nature depending on the terrain and caused substantial changes that began with the logging the forest (see Fig. 1.6). The works of the Canal route section that went from near Pedro Miguel to La Boca, the last camp of the French works, were associated with the Río Grande station. This section included the works destined for the dredging of the lowlands parallel to the Río Grande and the river itself (see Fig. 1.7). It was here that the excavator “Osgood” was located to carry out works between the train track and the Canal, and the works that diverted the Río Grande (Wyse 1886). According to dredging plans, the terrain of the future Fort Clayton was not intervened by the French, keeping much of it as a swamp except for the layout of the railway and the Río Grande station. The demands associated with exosomatic energy during this stage remained intact concerning the railway. However, they were increased with the use of steam machinery in the excavation work, dredging, and locomotive transportation of material dug for the Canal works. When the work of the Canal failed around 1888, the excavations remained unfinished, and the steam machinery, dredging, and wagons that transported the material were left to the fate of the action of nature. By 1891 the Canal work advance in the section between Corozal and Miraflores had already begun to be dredged, as seen in Fig. 1.8. At kilometer 61 of the French route, near the present Miraflores Locks toward the Río Grande mouth,

12

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Fig. 1.6 View of the felling of forests in the layout of the French Canal at Paraíso. Forests are observed, however, on the slopes of the mountains. Source Panama Canal. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de Panama, mené par la Compagnie du canal de 1881 à 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/f19.item.r=canal% 20de%20panama

the main works consisted of excavating a mound probably parallel the river, which included deforesting, dredging, and making the layouts point (Roux 1886). However, according to these dredging plans, the terrain of the future Fort Clayton was not intervened by the French, keeping much of it as a swamp, except for the layout of the railroad and the Río Grande station. After the works of the French Canal, the Río Grande floodplain probably kept its swamps and mangroves, except in the layout of the Canal, which was partially intervened. Probably, there were improvised fills of dredged material, which were added to the transformation caused by the fillings of the railway and the dams of rivers. With this, the water system of the entire transisthmian region’s central axis must have already been interrupted. The tree logging for the alignment of the Canal and wood for energy consumption of the railway locomotives would complete the landscape transformation. On the other hand, during the works of the French Canal, in general the dedication to agriculture was minimal because the construction of the Canal attracted many workers, and subsistence crops were abandoned. Then, with the French failure, many Isthmians and thousands of immigrants who had arrived at the Canal to work, left the country, and others stayed in Panama or Colón to carry out commercial and tertiary activities (Castillero 2010). Because of this, the most significant forest cover

1.2 Background: The Cultural Landscape and Environmental Changes …

13

Fig. 1.7 Map of the route of the Canal proposed by the Compagnie Universelle du Canal de Panama, where the types of works are identified by sections depending on the biophysical conditions of the terrain. Works with dredgers between Pedro Miguel and La Boca are marked in yellow. Source Le Canal de Panama en 1886. Rapport présenté par M. Jules-Ch. Roux (1886). Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j.item

loss in the nineteenth century possibly had little to do with agriculture and livestock but instead with the logging caused by the railway works and the beginning of the construction of the Canal, the maintenance of the sleepers of the secondary tracks, and the use of wood as an energy source for the locomotives.7 Despite the enormous activity of the Canal works, changes were confined around each town and field along the railway, or near the Canal excavations (Heckadon 1993; Bonilla 2016). However, patches of forests remained along the transisthmian region outside that area. On the other hand, throughout this period, the volatile nature of the interoceanic region’s transport-based economy is reflected under the influence of external markets and the different transisthmian infrastructure works. These changes directly affected the region’s population and the land use of that territory, interspersing periods of boom and failure that required labor, construction, and food (Castillero 1973). During the 7

This is consistent with estimates made on forest ages, published in the article “An Ecosystem Report on the Panama Canal: Monitoring the Status of the Forest Communities and the Watershed” (Ibañez et al. 2002).

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Fig. 1.8 Section of the canal route shows the French’s advances in dredging the Canal in the section that goes from Pedro Miguel to La Boca. Source Panama Interocéanique Canal: Mission de Lucien N.B Wyse 1890–189. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica

periods of failure, the population depended on small-scale agriculture or migrated to other areas in search for work (Castro 2005).

1.3 United States Canal Construction (1904–1914) After Panama independence from Colombia in 1903, the United States arrived to the Isthmus to continue building the Canal. The appearance of the United States had legal and territorial implications in the Isthmus and defined all the territorial changes that would occur from that moment onwards. Through the Taft Agreement of 1904, Panama granted the United States jurisdiction over the future Canal and an adjacent 10-mile strip of land (5 on each side of the Canal) (see Fig. 1.9). In this way, the United States obtained territorial supremacy over the Canal Zone, while territorial sovereignty continued to belong to the Republic of Panama.8 Territorial supremacy 8 In his article, The Panama Canal and its legal regime, De Diego explains the difference between territorial supremacy and territorial sovereignty based on international law. He indicates that it is recognized that a State that occupies a foreign territory in time of war can legitimately exercise its territorial supremacy over it. However, it is not recognized as having acquired territorial sovereignty over the occupied territory.

1.3 United States Canal Construction (1904–1914)

15

Fig. 1.9 Map of the Panama Canal Zone and route of the Panama Canal in 1915. Source Carpenter G (1915) Carpenter’s Geographical Reader: South America (New York, NY: American Book Company). Courtesy of Florida Center for Instructional Technology

is the authority that a state exercises over a particular territory and the people who live or circulate in it according to its domestic legal system, composed of legislative, administrative, and jurisdictional acts (De Diego 2010). This explanation approximates what happened with the Canal Zone and provides an idea of the consequences of the constitution of the enclave. When the Canal Zone was established, it was progressively built and resulted in a territory governed by United States laws, just as a territory owned by the United States. While the Americans restarted the Canal construction, the scenario of economic depression at the end of the nineteenth century, and after the Thousand Day’s War (a civil war fought when Panama was still part of Colombia), changed radically, registering a marked increase in population never seen before in the transisthmian region. In 1904, when the Canal construction began, the pre-existing towns of the region numbered about 8000 people (Isthmian Canal Commission 1904). At that time, the

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total population of the Republic of Panama was 266,815 inhabitants,9 and the population of the Zone, most likely linked to the railway line, represented almost 3% of the country’s total population. Later, after eight years of Canal construction, the railroad line towns had increased their population by nearly 87%, with about 62,810 people, according to the 1912 census conducted by the Census Bureau of Washington.10 (Isthmian Canal Commission 1912) (see Fig. 1.10). Most of the population lived in the villages along the railroad, mainly in the towns of Emperador and Nuevo Gatún.11 In this context, agricultural work was almost completely neglected, since the Canal construction offered better pay than crop cultivation (Scoullar 1917), leading to the agricultural precariousness of the early twentieth century, except for the production of bananas, rice, cocoa, and rubber (Castillero 2010). In the transisthmian region, many of the cultivation plots were used for self-consumption in no more than 3 ha with products such as corn, rice, and fruits (Bennett and Taylor 1912). These were located on valley slopes or near settlements along the canal road. The crops were set no more than 8 km (5 mi) from the alignment of the Canal (Bennett and Taylor 1912). The same crops were also grown near the villages where they were produced. However, all this activity disappeared with the definition of the Zone and the executive order of 1912 of President William Taft to depopulate the Canal Zone of the former inhabitants (Lasso 2019).

9

The population estimate had been based on the census of the electoral circuits when independence occurred, but it was rectified in 1908, decreed in that same year the national population of 267,815. Source: Decree Number 198 of 1908, of May 12, on population census; and Susto, J. “Censuses in National Life.” 10 Marixa Lasso in her book, Erased: The Untold Story of the Panama Canal (Cambridge-London: Harvard University Press), argues that the population settled on the transisthmian railroad in 1912 was 62,018, and of that population, approximately 40,000 people were expelled from the Canal Zone. Omar Jaén, in his book Migraciones y Redes Internacionales (Novo Art 2021), claims that Lasso’s expelled population data is inaccurate and does not fit the population numbers estimated by 1896 and the first twentieth-century censuses. Indeed, the 1912 Canal Zone Census made by the Census Bureau (Washington D.C) not only included the railroad population but also included settlements at Porto Bello, Nombre de Dios, Colon Beach, and Taboga Sanitarium, resulting in 62,810 population. However, the same census, reported in the Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission (1912), detailed that this population included employees of the Canal Commission, Panama Railroad Co., and various contractors, numbered 42,174. Moreover, the report explained that of the 62,810 persons enumerated, 1,521 were Colombians, and 7,363 were Panamanians. Even more, the total of this population was 9,157, the number the report indicated represented “more closely the probable number that would be affected by the depopulation of the Zone,” and not 40,000. 11 It should be noted that in this census, not only the population of the Canal Zone was counted, but also of Portobelo, Nombre de Dios, and Taboga.

1.3 United States Canal Construction (1904–1914)

17

70000 60000

Population

50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 1870

1904

1912

Fig. 1.10 Sharp upturn in the population of the interoceanic region with the construction of the North American Canal. Panama City and the city of Colon are not counted. Source Own elaboration based on data from Posada (1898), Isthmian Canal Commission (1904, 1912)

Of the entire population of the Canal Zone surveyed in 1912, 42,174 were employees of the Canal and the Panama Railroad, and 9157 people12 were Colombians and Panamanians. According to the Isthmian Canal Commission report, Colombians and Panamanians would be the ones affected by the depopulation of the Canal Zone inhabitants (Isthmian Canal Commission 1912). Certainly by 1911, the transisthmian region was densely populated before the creation of the Canal Zone. Also, its economic activity was booming (Lasso 2019) due to the dynamism that the North American construction of the Canal boosted in the region, as had happened more moderately with the French Canal. This economic stimulation was related to the arrival of thousands of workers from outside Panama that required a series of services and had needs. Paradoxically, the origin of the dynamism that influenced that region also caused the disappearance of the villages. After this moment, the region’s history changed due to the canal itself, the American culture established, and the profound implications this had on urban planning, architecture, land uses, and landscaping. But above all, the imprint of the US military marked the decisions on practically everything related to the Canal Zone.

12

This population is close to the 1904 census, which counted 8000 inhabitants in the region. The rest of the people who arrived in the Canal Zone were a floating population composed of Canal and railway employees from all over the world, especially from the Antilles.

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1.3.1 Environmental Transformations of the US Canal Construction In 1904, the works of the Canal were restarted under the direction of the United States. By then, the Chagres River and Río Grande valleys represented a history of continued deforestation patches and jungles’ natural regeneration, melded with the footprint of the railway’s infrastructure works and the beginnings of the Canal construction. At the onset of the Canal works by the Americans, the landscape of the Río Grande Valley was probably composed of bordering small hills and forest patches mixed with small, cropped areas. The railway stations could have intermingled with a partially excavated large flood zone, partially filled swamps, and remaining mangroves. However, the most remarkable transformation of the interoceanic region was about to begin. The excavations caused the total alteration of the topography, including the improvised and planned fillings where hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of excavated soil were dumped, altering the topography of territories surrounding the works (see Fig. 1.11). Also, due to these works all the rivers of the canal layout were entirely altered. Either they were obstructed with excavation material from the Canal, or they were diverted, as happened in the middle and lower stretch of the Río Grande (Bonilla 2016). Beyond stagnant waters, the wetland landscape had already been unstructured except for the remaining fragments of the Río Grande. The dam of the “Lake of the Río Grande,” better known as Lake Miraflores, drastically changed the landscape around the location where Fort Clayton would be built, which together with the works of the Canal itself, completed its alteration (Isthmian Canal Commission 1905) (see Fig. 1.12). 18000000 16000000

Cubic meters

14000000 12000000 10000000 8000000 6000000 4000000 2000000 0

Fig. 1.11 Volume and location of the excavated material fill along the route of the Canal until 1913. Source Isthmian Canal Commission (1913)

1.3 United States Canal Construction (1904–1914)

19

Fig. 1.12 Map of the Miraflores locks. On one side are the Miraflores dam and the stretch of river of the remaining Río Grande. Source The Panama Canal, 1931. Identifier 6,082,362, NARACartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6082362

Something similar happened on the Atlantic slope with the formation of Gatún Lake in 1913 when the Chagres River was repressed at its mouth to the Atlantic Ocean (A Baseline Environmental Survey 1916). On the other hand, the raw material for the exosomatic consumption of Canal works, based on new industrial principles of the time, consisted in the use of new technologies such as reinforced concrete, which required a supply of rocks. For the concrete work of the Gatún Locks and the spillway of the Gatún Dam, the quarries of Portobello, 18 miles east of Colón, were opened, and a crushing plant was built (The Panama Canal Record 1909). The United States introduced shovels, drilling machines, dredgers, and steam locomotives that used wood coal as an energy source. Consequently, the obtaining of mangrove wood to make charcoal or other wood of equivalent value on the Isthmus became a resource-intensive activity (The Panama Canal Record 1909). Also, while coal was still in use, the introduction of oil was intended to support schools and to provide a resource at an unimaginable price today of 90 cents a barrel to the Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Railroad Company. The energy jump from coal to oil was justified by a better price and efficiency than coal (The Panama Canal Record 1909). The Canal completed by the United States reflects the newly established industrial metabolism based on the increasingly intense use of energy, water, and other materials extracted from the earth’s crust. Using coal to power steam engines that applied mechanical force to excavate, transport, and dispose of the excavated material is an example of industrial civilization. Naredo well states, “proclaimed the spiral of explosive growth characteristic of today’s civilization by accelerating with the energy and materials derived from these extractions, not only the industrial processes but all the other processes of exploitation” (Naredo 1999). The Panama Canal also inaugurated

20

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a new era of global metabolism supported by transportation networks dependent on fossil fuels that is the cause of climate change after almost a century. On the other hand, the decade in which the Canal was completed was probably also the stage in which more significant forest areas disappeared in a short time. This loss of forest was linked to two primary factors: first, the felling of trees, and second the flooding caused by the creation of Gatún Lake (see Fig. 1.13). Likely, logging was not directly involved in but related to the territorial changes resulting from the Canal works, such as the transfer of the railway’s alignment and the Canal’s lighting project. The latter involved the location of luminaries on the hills bordering the Canal route since, to access the works, it was usually necessary to open trails in the forest and cut the existing trees where the luminaries would be located (see Table 1.1). These trails were initially supposed to be the same width as the Canal until they reached, in the end, about 480 feet (146 m) wide (Isthmian Canal Commission 1912). The most dramatic impact occurred in one of the most forested areas in the transisthmian region: the Chagres River Valley. This area contained many giant trees, but it was flooded with the formation of Gatún Lake during the works of the North

Fig. 1.13 Dying forest in the Gatún Lake, February 1919. Source Panama Canal Company. Still Pictures, Identifier 100,998,250 NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100998250

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century Table 1.1 Clearance and trails associated with the installation of the Canal luminaries in 1912

Area cleared in 1912

809.85 acres (327 ha)

Trail cut in 1912

305,790 linear feet (92 linear km)

21

Source Isthmian Canal Commission (1912)

American Canal. Even before the flooding, numerous large trees were removed for timber harvesting (Standley 1928). Besides, other studies inferenced the presence of old roads, towns, swamps, and forests (Henson 2016), leaving a territory of about 262 km2 underwater (Jaén 1980). Paul Standley’s description of the flora in the 1920s gives an idea of the resulting landscape after the construction of the Canal. Standley describes a diverse territory in which areas of forests, swamps, but also deforested areas, crops, and cattle ranching pastures had endured. Additionally, in areas of recently abandoned crops, the natural regeneration of the forest had begun with species of shrubs and herbaceous plants, especially pioneer trees, such as guarumo, capulín (Trema micrantha), guácimo (Guazuma ulmifolia). The construction of the Canal and the excavation of large amounts of land deposited in distant places modified the terrain and vegetation cover. Many trees were cut down for timber and charcoal in the forests that had survived. By the 1920s, there was little territory near the Canal with vegetation that had not been changed (Standley 1928: 10). The forest patches were in the hills near Frijoles, Gamboa, and Obispo and in Barro Colorado Island. Patches of forest could intermittently be found parallel to the Canal layout, even around the terrain where Fort Clayton would be located (see Fig. 1.14). Among large trees found in the canal forests were the river almond tree (Andira inermis), caraño (Protium sp.), cucúa (Poulsenia armata), and rubber (Castilla elastica) (Standley 1928: 12). Standley also described flooded forests associated with wetlands that were often extremely dense, with tall trees such as the cativo (Prioria copaifera) (Standley 1928) (see Fig. 1.15). During that same decade, patches of mangrove remained intact (see Fig. 1.16)

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century The need to defend the Canal was the subject of debate in the United States during the initial stage of the Canal. In the early years, from 1904 to 1911, the troops that guaranteed Panama’s recent independence from Colombia remained de facto in the Canal Zone. In 1911, on the eve of the completion of the Canal’s construction, the Department of War ruled that the waterway improved the effectiveness of the US fleet and, in general, the army’s capabilities; thus, defending the Canal was unquestionable. The upcoming actions to militarize the Canal were dictated by the Joint Committee of the Navy and the Army, whose task was to establish whatever was needed to defend the Canal (Department of Defense 2017).

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The first military outposts in the Canal Zone were Camp Elliot and Camp Otis, temporarily settled within the Canal construction camps. In 1904 the troops in Camp Elliot, formed by the infantry battalions that in 1903 had guaranteed the independence of Panama from Colombia, settled in the town of Bas Obispo, a town on the west bank of the Canal route. Later, in 1911, the first permanent troops of the United States Army arrived in Panama and established a military post under the name of Camp Otis in the town of Las Cascadas. To house the troops, the terminally ill, and other military activities, they reused the old barracks built during the French Canal. In 1914 and 1915, after the increase in troops, Camp Otis was moved twice; first, to the town of Emperador and soon after, in 1915, to the construction camp of Culebra, where they adapted existing canal buildings to their needs (Enscore et al. 2000).

Fig. 1.14 View from 1909 to the South from the site where the Miraflores locks would be built. A large mass of forest is observed on the left bank of the Canal, which was probably associated with the gallery forest of the Cárdenas River. Source Panama Canal Company, 1909. Identifier 100,995,614, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100995614

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century

23

Fig. 1.15 A 1907 view of the dam between Corozal and Cerro Sosa, looking toward Cerro Sosa, built during the canal works. Floodplain forests of the old Río Grande Valley are observed. Source Panama Canal Company, 1907. Local Identifier 185-G-1134. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/ id/100996848

1.4.1 The Canal Defense Plan and Cronkhite Commission In October 1909, to define the Panama Canal’s defensive needs, the United States Secretary of War appointed a joint fortification commission with the participation of the US Navy and Army, called the Panama Fortification Board (McGovern 1999; Garner and Carpenter 1977). After visiting Panama and identifying the core elements for the defense of the Canal, the commission issued the report in late August 1910. Essentially, its most important recommendations were to establish two lines of defense for the Canal. The first barrier would be made up of coastal equipment at the entrances of the Canal with solidly built and heavily armed facilities to stop maritime attacks, given that in those years, the offensive came from the sea. The second defensive line would be in the vicinity of locks and would serve to counter invaders who could cross the coastal defensive line (Garner and Carpenter 1977).

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Fig. 1.16 View from Balboa toward the 1914 Canal. The remains of the Río Grande near the mouth and the surrounding flood plains already intervened with pieces of filling. Despite this, patches of flooded vegetation remained. Source Panama Canal Company, 1914. Identifier 100,995,178. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100995178

The coastal defensive posts at the Pacific entrance was located on the islands of Naos, Perico, and Flamenco and in a landfill adjacent to the islands initially called Fort Grant, later named Fort Amador (McGovern 1999). Soon after, it was complemented by Fort Kobbe, located on the Canal’s west bank. In the Atlantic, the defense posts would be on both banks of Limon Bay. To the East, Fort De Lesseps and Randolph were built, and to the West, Fort Sherman. The forts were generally armed with long-range guns, coastal batteries, administrative units, and barracks to house the troops. The design of the coastal defenses was the responsibility of the Navy Corps of Engineers and their construction responsibility of the Isthmian Canal Commission until 1916 when it was replaced by the Corps of Engineers (McGovern 1999). The idea of defending the Canal locks dates to 1910 when the commission for the fortification of the Panama Canal, through the Canal Zone Defense Plan of 1910, determined the need to complement the coastal defenses with a land defense line near the Miraflores and Gatún locks. The commission argued that it was urgent to incorporate the advances in land, naval, and air military strategy evident at the beginning of World War I (McGovern 1999). And it was argued that the military

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century

25

camp location should be where the Canal could be easily crossed, and troops could access both sides of the Canal in the event of an attack. For the United States, the use of infantry would be one of the most crucial defense strategies in governing and defending the Canal during the first decades of the twentieth century, focusing on hotspots such as locks. The Miraflores site allowed defense maneuvers to be conducted near one of the canal locks. At the same time, it was close to one of the three places along the Canal where it was possible to move artillery using a temporary bridge quickly if necessary. Such logistics were much different from the Culebra site since the nearest crossing place would be 5 miles away. This logistic was part of a military strategy called the mobile defense of the Isthmus, which meant a rapid defense against a fleet eventually landing to attack (United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations 1913). Finally, after five years of formulation of the first Canal defense plan, followed by several reforms, it was necessary to complement the initial military strategy of the Canal Zone. It had to incorporate changes to face the vertiginous advances experienced by naval warfare technology during World War I (McGovern 1999). Therefore, the need to rethink the defense plan arose. A new commission was formed by General Albert Cronkhite, which recommended establishing an infantry brigade in the Atlantic sector at Gatún and mobile forces next to the Miraflores Dump on the Pacific side. At the same time, other defense facilities on the Pacific side would be located next to the Curundú River, Diablo, Corozal, and Quarry Heights. The Cronkhite commission recommended that the urban designs and the buildings be executed by the Engineering Section of the Panama Canal (Department of Defense 2017). On the Pacific side, the Miraflores locks’ defense site, located at the Miraflores or Cárdenas Dump, would be the future Fort Clayton with an extension of 582 ha. While its Atlantic counterpart, the future Fort Davis, was adjacent to the Gatún Locks, with a total extension of 196.87 ha. Eventually, the bridge that crossed the Canal near Miraflores would be built in 1942, during World War II. Its location was part of the military strategy of the mobile defense associated with the old Fort Clayton (see Fig. 1.17). The original troops in Fort Clayton belonged to the 33rd Infantry Regiment that was temporarily stationed in the town of Emperador before moving to Clayton. A main administrative building, barracks for troops, housing for officers and their families, and various service buildings were built to develop defense tasks and provide accommodations for soldiers and officers. Built in 1919, Fort Clayton would be an example of the tactic to protect the Miraflores locks and to easily access the West bank of the Canal in case of an attack.

1.4.2 Before Clayton: Environmental Historic Approach The land where Fort Clayton would be located was at the confluence of the Río Grande with the Cárdenas River, also low ground susceptible to flooding, surrounded

26

1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

Fig. 1.17 View of the Miraflores Locks and the bridge over the Canal built in 1942. Source Panama Canal Company, 1950. Identifier 202,798,715. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/202798715

by small hills where the then Río Grande railway station was located. Fort Clayton’s floodplain was likely to have wetlands, with vegetation such as sedges, grasslands, and shrubs, and the fern called pork guagara (Acrostichum aureum). This fern was found in a place that had just been cleared where the Miraflores locks would be built, which was made up of a natural wetland, like the one that probably pre-existed where Fort Clayton would be located (see Fig. 1.18). The old train station was probably located in the middle of two hill chains bordering a floodplain between the Cárdenas River and the Río Grande (see Fig. 1.19), approximately 1 km from the Cárdenas River. Although in a limited way, the descriptions of N.F. Otis complement this territory’s image, indicating that from the Río Grande railway station, swamps and cultivation areas alternated closer to Panama City (Otis 1862). Near the station, in the East margin of the train track, the hill adjoining Corozal was probably covered by a secondary forest. Mature forests were more likely to be found on the hilltops than on their slopes.

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century

27

Fig. 1.18 1907 view of the land where the original Miraflores locks would be built after vegetation clearing. Source Panama Canal Company, 1909. Identifier 100,995,512, NARA. https://catalog.arc hives.gov/id/100995512

Future Fort Clayton’s territory was also in the middle of the convergence of numerous communication routes: in addition to the Camino de Cruces and the railroad, in 1886 the Canal Company built the road from Panama City to Pedro Miguel (see Fig. 1.20). In the section between Corozal and Pedro Miguel, the route was “parallel to the train tracks of Panama from the Corozal station”… “parallel to the Panama railroad tracks from Corozal station to the point near the hotel where it turned East across the savannas to the foot of the hills on the Hurtado estate.” From the summit, the path descended to the crossing of the Cardenas River, and from this point, it climbed “Miraflores Dump” and ran along the East side of the landfill to the hill where the Miraflores tunnel runs (The Panama Canal Record 1909). The Hurtado estate dates from the nineteenth century and probably operated until the first decade of the twentieth century. The estate was located on one of the hills bordering the land of the first urban stage of Fort Clayton. When the Canal works began, the vegetation must have been well intervened in this area and with the scarce presence of trees. Finally, in the works to transfer the transisthmian railway line to an alignment parallel to the old railway and the new Canal in the Miraflores estuary, the railway moved to the West, much closer to the Río Grande and the swamp areas. Transferring

28

1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

Fig. 1.19 The Río Grande train station, showing the forests around the territory that Fort Clayton would occupy. Source Panama Canal. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de panama, mené par la Compagnie du canal de 1881 à 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica. https://gallica. bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/f14.item.r=canal%20de%20panama

the railroad involved the construction of landfills to level the ground for the railroad to pass over the swamps, which meant the blockade of the Cárdenas River, a tributary of the Río Grande, adjacent to what would be the Fort’s urban area. These landfills resulted in a profuse breeding ground for mosquitoes (Le Prince et al. 1916). One of the most important deposits of material excavated during the canal construction was the swamps of Fort Clayton’s first occupation territory. The beginnings of this landfill date back to 1906, when the engineers of the Canal decided to deposit material from the Canal excavations in Miraflores (Isthmian Canal Commission 1906), which would be called “Miraflores Dump.” Each year the landfill increased, and by 1913, it had accumulated more than 11,164,764.17 cubic meters of material. The last stage of interventions before the construction of Fort Clayton was the location of a cattle grazing field of 1786 ha. The territory that Fort Clayton would occupy covered the Miraflores Dump and surrounding lands in the Miraflores area (Governor of the Panama Canal 1917, 1919). To the East of the site, the hills presented evidence of recent logging dating back five years maximum, probably associated with the livestock farming activity that started around 1916 (see Fig. 1.21). This early evidence illustrates the form of grazing used then, leaving some trees isolated to provide shade for the cattle. Behind the grounds of the first Clayton stadium built in the 1920s, there was still a patch of wet forest (Standley 1928).

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century

29

Fig. 1.20 View of the road between Corozal and Miraflores from 1909. The vegetation present is partially appreciated. In the background, there is partially a wooded area. Source Panama Canal Company. Local Identifier 185-G-1322. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100997224

1.4.3 Livestock as a Defense Strategy for the Canal and Its Impact in the Repopulation of the Forests (1916–1950) With the completion of the Canal works and the depopulation of the former inhabitants of the region when the Canal Zone was established, the first consequence, was the abandonment of the farmland by the population in the vicinity of the Canal. Afterwards, Colonel Goethals13 determined that the existing forests would remain intact and be allowed to regenerate whenever possible (McCullough 1977). This decision was military rather than aesthetic since the jungle, according to Goethals, was the safest possible defense against a ground attack. The coincidence of these two factors was the first step for the eventual regeneration of the forests in the lands along the railway and the Canal.

13

George Washington Goethals was a colonel of the United States Army and a civil engineer who was chief engineer who completed the Canal works between 1907 and 1914. In addition, he served as the first Governor of the Panama Canal Zone between 1914 and 1917.

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Fig. 1.21 View of the land on which Fort Clayton would be built. The transformations made to the landscape are evident, the filling of the floodplain is already finished, and the hills that flank it are in frank deforestation except for some patches of stubble and secondary forest. Source Panama Canal Company (1919) NARA identifier: 100,997,234. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100 997234

However, what really happened was contrary to the narrative that had prevailed until now about an immediate repopulation of forests. The policy that seemed to have favored forest re-growth since the first fortification of the Canal changed radically. In 1916, the opinion of virtually all canal officers was that this policy was a misconception. An experiment conducted in Paraíso, where an Infantry battalion, two cavalry troops, and an Artillery Mountain battery traversed the jungle quite easily, showed that the jungle does not impede the systematic advancement of troops. Instead, it was an obstacle to the rapid movement of troops from one part of the Canal Zone to another (United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations 1919). In addition, the jungle began to be considered a potential refuge for enemies who could attack the Canal. At a session of the Subcommittee in charge of estimating the Canal fortification costs, General Edwards14 noted that “the jungle is no more an advantage to us on the defense than it is to the enemy on the offense. I think it 14

General Clarence Edwards participated in the war with Spain. In 1917, he was a major general in the National Army who was tasked with organizing the 26th Division, the first full division to enter combat at Chemin-des-Dames, France, in World War I.

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century

31

gives them cover, and unless the jungle is cleared, I do not think that any mounted guns could search the enemy out” (United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations 1916). Therefore, from the Canal defense perspective, any activity to keep the Canal Zone territory free of plant growth, such as livestock and agriculture, was welcomed. In addition, to comply with the defense strategy of clearing the jungle, another military strategy that also had consequences in managing the territory was put in place: the trenches and the network of military roads. For military access to any part of the Zone territory, the jungle was an obstacle, so the solution they reached was the construction of a system of roads through all types of territory, including parts of jungles (see Fig. 1.22). In addition, these roads communicated the trenches they had built at different strategic points. However, Col. Goethals became apprehensive about roads being cut off near the trenches and that they would be isolated. Faced with Goethals’ concern, Edwards proposed to locate many cattle through the Canal route to rely on to feed in case of siege. He thought that the livestock would also keep the territory free of the jungle without the need for excessive expenditure on maintenance. General Edwards concluded that “nothing pleases me more than to have a clearing here to find out where I am shooting” (United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations 1916). This policy of territorial management of the Canal Zone, in which cows played a vital role in the service of military interests, began around 1916. At the same time, from the military point of view, the Canal Zone had to be practically self-sufficient since the local food supply was costly and deficient. For these reasons, developing livestock activity and agriculture was essential, particularly along the railway line.

Fig. 1.22 Map of military roads in the Canal Zone. Pre-existing roads requiring maintenance are observed, and new ones are introduced. Source War Department. Office of the Engineers, 1936. Architectural and Engineering Drawings. NARA-Cartographic (RDSC) Identifier 12,812,061. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/192812061

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To this end, many Afro-Antilleans were encouraged to stay in the Canal Zone to carry out these tasks. Consequently, a livestock plan was developed to attend to all the different military strategies related for the Canal defense and food security within the framework of those objectives. The Supply Department determined that about 15,000 cattle were required annually to satisfy meat consumption in the Canal Zone. The livestock production program envisaged the development of pastures for about 20,000 heads, occupying around 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) (The Canal Record 1916). Quickly, Canal employees and the military prepared the land for livestock. The land preparation consisted of clearing forested areas, if any, leaving some trees to generate shade and then burning the area. At the beginning of the rainy season, guinea grass was planted for the cattle. By 1919, just three years after the beginning of this strategy, 42,347 acres (17,108 ha) had been prepared for cattle, and 12,922 heads grazed in the Canal Zone (Governor of the Panama Canal 1919). Despite the livestock, about 4600 to 7000 ha were required to be redeployed at $0.93 per hectare yearly. The Canal Zone grazing fields were in Caimito, Mandinga, Frijoles, Juan Mina, Miraflores, Mount Hope, Paraíso, and Summit (Governor of the Panama Canal 1922: 23) (see Table 1.2). However, the goal of self-sufficiency in the meat consumption of the Canal Zone was not met, although it came close to being achieved for a few years. And because the purchase of Panamanian cattle was costly, from time to time, cattle were bought from Colombia. The introduction of agriculture also left a mark on the Canal Zone by creating several plantations. The papaya plantation was located between Gatún and Mindi, producing 183,100 pounds in 1919. The avocado production was located in Frijoles, where 2500 trees were planted, which were accompanied by a small grove of mangoes. At the same time, in Frijoles, orchards called “Chinese gardens” were also in operation. The cultivation of citrus fruits was in Juan Mina, while in Limon, fodder was grown for feeding pigs also being raised there. Finally, the last plantation Table 1.2 Area dedicated to livestock in the Canal Zone during 1919

Livestock fields

Ha

Mount Hope

1735.99

Summit

2018.79

Miraflores Dump

1786.89

Mandinga

3727.71

Mount Lily

656.50

Pedro Miguel

1214.02

Caimito

2166.25

Farfan

2420.77

Hut

723.16

Source Data were taken from the Governor of the Panama Canal (1919)

1.4 The Defenses of the Panama Canal in the Early Twentieth Century

33

24000.00 21000.00

Hectares

18000.00 15000.00 12000.00 9000.00 6000.00 3000.00 0.00 1917

1919

1921

1935

1939

1940

1945

1948

1951

1958

Years Fig. 1.23 Evolution of the area dedicated to livestock within the Canal Zone. Source Data were taken from the Governor of the Panama Canal, years 1917, 1919, 1922, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1948, 1951, and 1958. University of Florida

of importance was Summit, mainly fodder, but it also included a “Chinese garden” (Governor of the Panama Canal 1919), where some white American employees worked. Still, mainly it was the workplace of silver roll employees, mainly of AfroAntillean origin. However, this activity was not profitable and meant economic losses. Between 1916 and the end of the 1950s, cattle raising activity came to occupy about 20 thousand ha on the Canal banks. It represented 20% of the total territory of the Canal Zone (excluding the area occupied by Lake Gatún) (see Fig. 1.23). Eventually, agricultural and livestock activities were disused throughout the first half of the twentieth century, although they were probably only partially abandoned simultaneously. This may explain, in part, why the ages of the Zone’s forests are so varied, finding even very young forests (see Fig. 1.24). It is evident that human activities, especially throughout the nineteenth century and during the completion of the canal works, had already reduced a large part of the forests that ran parallel to the interoceanic route. It is in these territories where the youngest forests currently seen in the former Canal Zone territory are located, such as the one between the old Fort Clayton and the suburb of Cárdenas (see Fig. 1.24). In the 1990s, patches of mature or old forest in Soberanía National Park, Barro Colorado, and Altos de Campana National Park were identified within the boundaries of the former Canal Zone. And although the ages of the rest of the forests are not specified, those on the banks of the interoceanic route were secondary forests (Heckadon et al. 1999). Recent estimates indicate that there are probably no more

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1 Historical Background: Transformed Landscapes and the Impact …

Fig. 1.24 A young secondary forest located between Fort Clayton and Cardenas (former Canal Zone). Source Arosemena (2021)

than 3000 hectares of mature forest next to the Canal, which have not been touched in the last 200 years (Ibañez et al. 2002). When the Americans arrived to build the Canal at the beginning of the twentieth century, the territory of the interoceanic region still presented forested areas, such as those that have been documented in the 1990s as mature forests and also the forests that were flooded in the current Gatún Lake.

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Castillero A (1973) Transitismo y Dependencia: El Caso del Istmo de Panamá. Revista Lotería 211:25–56 Castillero A (2010) Cultura Alimentaria y Globalización. Panamá, siglos XVI a XXI. Editorial Novo Art S.A., Panama Castro G (2005) Pro mundi beneficio: Elementos para una historia ambiental de Panamá. Tareas 120:81–112 Castro G (2006) El Proyecto de Ampliación del Canal de Panamá. El Transitismo contra el Tránsito. Ecología Política 31:117–120 Cramer K (2015) Historia del Impacto Humano Sobre los Ecosistemas Costerios del Caribe Panameño. In: Rodríguez F, O’Dea A (eds) Historia Natural del Istmo de Panamá. Smithsonian Institute, SENACYT, Panama Cooke R, Sánchez L (2004) Historia General de Panamá. Vol I. Tomo II Primera Parte. Sociedades originarias. Capítulo II. Panamá indígena 1501–1550 Cooke R, Ranere AJ (1992) The origin of wealth and hierarchy in the central region of Panama (12,000-2,000 BP), with observations on its relevance to the history and phylogeny of Chibchanspeaking polities in Panama and elsewhere. In Lange FW (ed) Wealth and Hierarchy in the Intermediate Area. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, pp 243–316 De Diego P (2010) El Canal de Panamá y su régimen jurídico. Anuario Jurídico y Económico Escurialense XLIII:1133–3677 Department of Defense (2017) Essential guide to the Panama Canal. U.S. Government, Department of Defense, U. S. Army, Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), Lexington, KY Descripción de Panamá y sus Provincias sacada de la relación que por mandato del Consejo hizo y envió aquella audiencia (1697). In: Relaciones históricas y geográficas de América, Madrid, 1908:139–146 Dudley PH (1887) Report on Woods used in cars and buildings, and their decay on the Panama railroad. The De Vinne Press, New York, Columbia University Enscore S, Gordon C, Johnson S, Webster J (2000) Guarding the Gates. The story of Fort Clayton, Ist settings, its architecture and its role in the Panama Canal history. Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development, US Army Corps of Engineers, Champaign, IL Fernández de Oviedo G (1535) De la Historia Natural de las Indias Garner H, Carpenter N (1977) World War I fortification of the Panama Canal. Headquarters 193d Infantry Brigade, Canal Zone, Panama Gónzalez de Molina M, Toledo V (2014) The social metabolism. A socio-ecological theory of historical change. Springer, Heidelberg Governor of the Panama Canal (1917) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the fiscal year ended June 30 (1917) Government Printing Office, Washington. University of Florida, DC Governor of the Panama Canal (1919) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the fiscal year of 1919. Government Printing Office, University of Florida, Washington, DC Governor of the Panama Canal (1922) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the fiscal year ended June 30 (1921) Government Printing Office, Washington. University of Florida, DC Griswold CD (1852) The Isthmus of Panama, and what i saw there. University of Chicago, Dewitt and Davenport, Tribune Buildings, New York Harrison T (1857) Map of the Isthmus of Panama representing the line of the Panama Rail Road as constructed under the direction of George M. Totten, chief engineer &c. [S.l.: s.n] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/92685992/. Accessed 10 Sept 2021 Head L (2000) Cultural landscape and environmental change. Routledge, Abingdon Heckadon S (1993) Impact of the development on the Panama Canal environment. J Inter-Am Stud World Aff 35:129–149

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Heckadon S, Ibañez D, Condit R(1999) La Cuenca del Canal: Deforestación, Urbanización y Contaminación. Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales Henson P (2016) A baseline environmental survey: the 1910–12 Smithsonian biological survey of Panama Canal Zone. Environ Hist 21(2):222–230 Herrera L (1990) El impacto ambiental de las actividades ganaderas en Panamá, en Medio ambiente y desarrollo en Panamá, Instituto de Estudios Nacionales de la Universidad de Panamá, Cuadernos Nacionales, N° 4 Ibañez R, Condit R, Angehr G et al (2002) An ecosystem report on the Panama Canal: monitoring the status of the forest communities and the watershed. Environ Monit Assess (Kluwer Academic Publishers) 80:65–95 Isthmian Canal Commission (1904) Report of the Sanitary Department from May 4 to September 30, 1904. In Isthmian Canal Commission (ed) Report of the Chief Sanitary Officer of the Canal Zone, February 20, 1905. Government Printing Office, Washington. University of Florida Isthmian Canal Commission (1905) Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the year ending December 1 (1905) Government Printing Office, Washington. University of Florida Isthmian Canal Commission (1906) Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the year ending December 1, 1906. Government Printing Office, Washington. University of Florida Isthmian Canal Commission (1912) Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the year ending June 30, 1912. Government Printing Office, Washington. University of Florida Jaén O (1980) Ecología y mortalidad en Panamá durante la construcción del canal. Centenario del Canal Francés. Panamá: Revista Lotería 292:67–73 Jaén O (1998) La población del istmo de Panamá: Estudio de geohistoria. Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, Sociología y Política. Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional Jaén O (2021) Migraciones y redes internacionales. Panamá, Ecuador, Perú, México, Nicaragua, Filipinas. Editora Novo Art Koch A, Brierley C et al (2019) Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492. Quat Sci Rev 207:13–36 Lasso M (2019) Erased: the untold story of the Panama Canal. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Le Prince J, Orenstein A, Howard L (1916) Mosquito control in Panama; the eradication of malaria and yellow fever in Cuba and Panama. Putnam, New York, London. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/16004601/. Accessed Feb 6, 2021 Leigh E, O’Dea A, Vermej G (2013) Historical biogeography of the Isthmus of Panama. Biol Rev 89(1):1–25. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23869709/ Lezcano J, López O (2015) Historia Natural de la Vegetación Costero-Litoral del Istmo de Panamá. In Rodríguez F, O’Dea A (eds) Historia Natural del Istmo de Panamá. Smithsonian Institute, SENACYT, Panama Marriott S, Alexander J (1999) Floodplains: interdisciplinary approaches. No. 163. The Geological Society of London. Special Publication, London McCullough D (1977) The path between the seas. The creation of the Panama Canal 1870–1914. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, London McGovern T (1999) The American defense of the Panama Canal. Nearhos Publications, Rock Ferry, Wirral, England McKay A (1973) Colonización de tierras nuevas en Panamá. In Heckadon S, Mckay A (eds) (1984) Colonización y Destrucción de Bosques en Panamá. Ensayos sobre un grave problema ecológico. Asociación Panameña de Antropología, Panamá, pp 45–62 Naredo JM (1999) El enfoque eco-integrador y su Sistema de razonamiento. In Naredo JM, Valero A (eds) Desarrollo económico y deterioro ecológico. Visor/Argentaria, Madrid National Railway Bulletin (1999). Volumen 64, número 5, 1999. The National Railway Historical Society Otis FN (1862) Illustrated history of the Panama Railroad; together with a traveler’s guide and businessman’s handbook for the Panama Railroad and its connections with Europe, the United States, the north and south Atlantic and Pacific coasts, China, Australia, and Japan, by sail and

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steam. New York, Harper. [Image] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc. gov/item/04005049/. Accessed 15 Nov 2019 Panama Railroad Company (1888) Report of the Panama Railroad Company for the year 1887 Panama Railroad Company (1892) Report of the Panama Railroad Company for the year 1891 Posada F (1898) Directorio General de la Ciudad del Panamá y reseña Histórico-Geográfica del Departamento. Panama Report of the Chief Sanitary Office of the Canal Zone (1905) Report of the Chief Sanitary Officer of the Canal Zone, February 20 (1905) Isthmian Canal Commission. University of Florida, Washington Roux, Joules-Ch (1886) Le Canal de Panama en 1886. Rapport présenté par M. Jules-Ch. Roux. Délégué et membre de la Chambre de Commerce. Tipographie et Lithographie Barlatier-Feissat, Marseille. Bibliotèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1 092498c.r=Le%20Canal%20de%20Panama%20en%201886.?rk=364808;4. Accessed Aug 7, 2021. Saunders A (1949) Sorth history of the Panama railroad. The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin no. 78:8–44. www.jostor.org/stable/4351755. Accessed 12 Oct 2021 Schott JL (1967) Rails across Panama: the story of the building of the Panama Railroad (1849–1855). Bobbs-Merrill Scoullar WT (1917) Libro Azul de Panama. Panama City: Imprenta Nacional Shiras G (1915) Nature’s transformation at Panama: remarkable changes in Faunal and physical conditions in the Gatun Lake Region. Nat Geogr 28:159–194 Simon I (1989) Changing the face of earth: culture, environment, history. Blackwell Publishers, NJ Standley P (1928) Flora of the Panama Canal Zone. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC The Canal Record (1909) Canal record published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Isthmian Canal Commission, September 2, 1908, to August 25 (1909) Isthmian Canal Commission, Ancon. University of Florida, Canal Zone The Panama Canal Record (1916) The Panama Canal Record published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Panama Canal. August 25, 1915, to August 16, 1916. University of Florida United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations (1913) The Panama Canal: hearings concerning estimates for construction of and fortification of [conducted on the Canal Zone by the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Sixty-second Congress] [Nov. 18, 1912] Fiscal year, 1914. Govt. Print. Off, Washington United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations (1916) Fortifications bill, 1917: hearings before subcommittee of House Committee on Appropriations … in charge of the fortifications appropriation bill, Sixty-fourth Congress, first session. G.P.O, Washington United States Congress House Committee on Appropriations (1919) Fortifications bill, 1919: hearings before subcommittee of House Committee on appropriations … in charge of the fortification’s appropriation bill, Sixty-fourth Congress, first session. G.P.O, Washington Verbrugghe L (1879) A travers L’Isthme de Panama. Tracé Interoceanique de L.N.B. Wyse et A. Reclus. Imprimerie de A. Quantin, Paris. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Galica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5400855p.r=A%20travers%20L%27Isthme%20de%20P anama.%20Tracé%20Interoceanique%20de%20L.N.B.%20Wyse%20et%20A.%20Reclus? rk=21459;2. Accessed June 10, 2021 Wyse L (1886) Le Canal de Panama. L’Isthme Américain. Exploration; Comparaisons des traités; Négociations; État des travaux. Librairie Hachette et C., Paris

Chapter 2

Fort Clayton’s Urbanism and Architecture

Abstract When the Americans arrived in Panama to build the Canal, the modern conception of urban discipline in the United States had emerged from the development of an efficient and orderly city based on the health advances already established in the nineteenth century. Modern planning tools arose, such as zoning and land use planning, which contributed to completing the comprehensive urban planning that came about. This complex planning was applied in the Canal Zone. Zoning and land use planning were also applied for racial segregation not only in North American cities but also in the temporary and later permanent settlements of the Canal Zone. The influence of American urban planning in the Canal Zone became even clearer with the construction of permanent villages, including in military fortifications such as Fort Clayton. This chapter presents a chronological sequence of the urban design and architecture of each expansion period of Fort Clayton. It also relates Fort Clayton’s urban transformations of space and architecture to the historical facts and defensive aspects specific to each era, linking each suburban development to the social, pedestrian, and child safety standards defined in American urban models. Keywords Urban planning · Architecture · History · Fort Clayton · Panama Canal Zone

2.1 Brief Background of Early Twentieth-Century Urban Planning Urban planning, applied in the Canal Zone, can be understood by briefly reviewing the historical evolution of American urbanism during the first half of the twentieth century, establishing parallels, and highlighting some differences between what happened in the case of Fort Clayton and the urbanism of the United States. According to planning historians, the twentieth century began with an urbanism influenced by the Progressive Era and the City Beautiful Movement. This Movement is focused on the aesthetics of the city (Wirka 1996), where beauty and cleanliness were closely associated and replaced the effect of the sanitary reform of the nineteenth century (Peterson 1979). Moreover, the sanitary issues related to cleanliness and aesthetics © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_2

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were also reflected in the temporary and permanent towns of the Panama Canal, as will be explained in Chapter 3. One of the figures who consolidated this new planning conception was architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who strongly influenced urban planning during the first decade of the twentieth century (Wirka 1996). He introduced changes that provided a comprehensive and in-depth urban planning vision, consolidating it as a formal discipline which was regarded as a new “science of modern city-making” (Klaus 2004). He established new rules, such as urban regulations and zoning, upon being influenced by German urbanism during his trip to Europe (Klaus 2004). These rules were applied in the Canal Zone, as discussed below. One of the main contributions of Olmsted Jr. was to create a municipal body responsible for verifying or executing urban planning. The urban plan and the municipal function would play the role which we today known as the municipal engineer, something very new for first years of the twentieth century. This trend arrived early in the Canal Zone when, in the 1910s, the Canal construction officials thought to transform the Panamanian villages in the Canal Zone (Lasso 2019). This transformation is an example of the implementation in the Canal Zone of the concepts incorporated by Olmsted Jr., which intended to replicate the technical advances implemented in American cities at that time. Technical replication was the first approach to modern urban planning in the Canal Zone, combined with zoning and building regulations. But also, this new American urban planning linked urbanism and racism in both United States and Canal Zone.

2.1.1 Urban Planning, Zoning, and Racial Segregation in the Canal Zone With the construction of the permanent villages in the Canal Zone, such as Balboa, not only was the planning of the urban layout introduced but the zoning of land uses was widely applied through the separation of residential areas according to the type of Canal employee. Residential areas were segregated from commercial and institutional spaces as well. The spatial segregation of urban uses and functions in specialized areas or zones observed in Balboa had its origins in the United States. Although urban regulation through formal zoning reached the United States by 1916, specifically in New York from Germany, there were already empirical cases of land use zoning in California to control the spread of Chinese laundries in the 1880s (Hall 2014). In addition, zoning had already been informally incorporated into practice in the nineteenth century when affluent white suburbs developed on the city’s outskirts to prevent the epidemics that affected densely populated American cities. It was also the twentieth century when urban regulations legalized racial segregation. White suburbs were planned around train stations and responded to a new social and physical control system to maintain homogeneous (exclusive to the white population) and high-quality communities (Hall

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2014). So, if health reform marked the norm of nineteenth-century urbanism and laid the foundation for modern urban planning in the United States, racial segregation largely determined land use planning in the twentieth century. Inequalities and racial segregation were part of the United States’ urban reality (Connerly 2005) when the Panama Canal was being built and at least until the middle of the twentieth century. This process began during the first years of the twentieth century in the United States when there were real racial cleanings of African American settlements, a situation that arose after the American Civil War. With the abolition of slavery, free African Americans formed settlements in many American states that provoked widespread rejection by the white population. A representative case of this rejection was that of Montana State, where all its counties had African American settlements. In the early 1900s, they were systematically expelled from predominantly white communities in the state so that by the 1930s, virtually all counties had been entirely ethnically “cleansed” (Hothstein 2017). This process of ethnic expulsion is comparable to what happened in 1912 when the Canal authorities evicted from the Canal Zone thousands of non-American inhabitants and workers living along the railroad (Lasso 2019). The southern cities of the United States began to develop racial zoning ordinances to supplement the existing Jim Crow laws through regulations determining where blacks and whites could live (Connerly 2005). Consequently, between 1906 and 1915, zoning in the United States became a tool for legalized racial segregation rather than an instrument for regulating land use. In the same way that the “building regulations” of 1907 in the Canal Zone included sanitary building criteria, these became a standard tool to racially segregate the temporary settlements during the Canal works (Lasso 2019). Furthermore, given that the suburbs remained racial enclaves in America in the twentieth century, racism was an organizing element of the built space (Hothstein 2017), a stereotype that the United States also reproduced in the Canal Zone with temporary towns. Zoning and racism were consolidated with the planning the first permanent towns, as in the town of Balboa. In Balboa, the planners segregated employees of AfroAntillean origin into a village exclusively for them, La Boca, which visually hid the black population from the imperialist scene and the white people of Balboa (Zien 2017). The planned segregation also involved the implementation of this neighborhood of “silver roll” employees1 that was in the low and poorly ventilated levels of Cerro Sosa (Arosemena 2018), thus placing the non-white American population on the land with the worst environmental conditions in the area. This segregation is a clear example of strict racial zoning (see Fig. 2.1). Similarly, the worst environmental conditions in the United States occurred in black communities. Examples included Charleston (South Carolina), where blacks were forced to live in a low landfill, and Birmingham (Alabama), where AfroAmerican housing was prevented from connecting to the sewer system (Taylor 2009). 1

The payrolls used during the Canal works and in the Canal Zone the silver roll, and the gold roll, were a system of racial and discriminatory division in the treatment of employees. The gold roll corresponded to the white American personnel and the silver roll to workers who were not white Americans.

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Fig. 2.1 Map of Balboa suburb and the segregated West Indian suburb of La Boca marked as “site for colored town.” Source Senate Documents. Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting a Report by the Commission of Fine Arts concerning the Artistic Structure of the Panama Canal (1913). The University of Florida. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUBY1_3-e552860a951417cac085b42906c6e6ee

Unlike in the neighborhoods of African Americans in the United States, in the Canal Zone, it did not take long to introduce health measures in the Panamanian cities of Panama and Colón, neighbors of the Canal Zone, and in the Afro-Antillean towns within the Canal Zone itself. The Americans understood that diseases had to be controlled in Panama, Colón, and the “silver” towns for them to enjoy health. The United States applied zoning in the sanitation of Canal Zone territory and even in the border cities of Panama and Colón. These cities became two of the 24th health districts established by the Zonian authorities with spatial organization used to control diseases, including malaria. This zoning defined the work of the health inspector, who visited each house once or twice a week to monitor the presence of mosquito larvae and ensure compliance with other health regulations. That is, for health purposes and in order to guarantee health, there were no political borders. On the other hand, the permanent West Indian villages in the Canal Zone did not enjoy luxurious spaces of great exuberance. Nevertheless, they did have the correct sanitary conditions, which included all the most advanced sanitary infrastructure of the time. The latter resulted in better communities than Afro-American communities

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in many American cities, such as New York, where much of the population still lived in conditions of unsanitary overcrowding (Taylor 2009). Although the Canal Zone was not annexed to the United States, the organization of the built space reflected the racial reality of the United States. In addition, by default, Panamanians could not live in this exclusively American territory. However, if AfroAntilleans and Panamanians had been allowed to live there, they would have done so in suburbs exclusively for them. In other words, the Canal Zone, from a racial point of view, was planned as land use primarily for whites. This model was not created exclusively for Panamanians and Afro-Antilleans nor related to their condition as inhabitants of the tropics. Instead, it was associated with the Canal Zone being one more page of the long American history of racial segregation and its link with urban planning and land use zoning. In the case of Fort Clayton, although it was indeed a military reservation with particular urban characteristics, the separation of functions and land use are evident. However, segregation did not take place from a racial perspective; instead, military ranks defined it. The high military ranks distanced themselves from the barracks, the buildings of the deputy commissioners, and the stables. On the other hand, the areas of eminently military activities, such as military parade fields and barracks, were markedly separated from suburbs whose land uses were solely and exclusively residential. The only housing that was linked to military zones was the officers’ houses, which responded to the traditional military space organization of the early twentieth century in the United States, in which they always surrounded the military parade field. Clayton had a similar layout in its initial stages in The Horseshoe, where officers’ houses were indirectly connected to the main parade ground, Miller Field, a range for military practices and sports (see Fig. 2.2).

2.2 Historical Stages of Urban Growth of Fort Clayton The development of the former Fort Clayton throughout the twentieth century is the product of several interventions to create, improve, and expand its facilities, which marked well-defined stages in the evolution of its spatial organization (see Fig. 2.3). The urban growth of Fort Clayton can be classified into two main periods: the first of a fundamentally military nature from 1919 to 1941, and the second period focused on numerous expansions of suburbs from 1942 to 1979. Between 1919 and 1922, the construction of a complex of buildings aligned in the shape of a horseshoe during the first construction stage marked the beginning of the military period. Despite the growing power of the United States, Clayton would see several years go by without significant transformation. The great economic downturn of the 1920s did not allow waste, and it was not until the beginning of the following decade that the financial recovery of the United States allowed for the modernization of the site. With these conditions, a second military project of significant impact was built between 1932 and 1933. This expansion included the Central Quadrangle, elegant

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Fig. 2.2 Clayton land use zoning map. General plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999)

Fig. 2.3 Fort Clayton historic expansions map. Source This study is based on Tejeira-Davis (2010) and based on General Plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999), Google Earth Pro (2001) Historical Center of Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber. 8º59' 54'' N, 79º34' 52ºW, elevation 2514 m

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officers’ houses, large barrack buildings, and many community service facilities and infrastructure. Next, between 1940 and 1942, a new wave of interventions took place in Clayton due to World War II. Enemy pressures forced the United States to take sides in defense of its territory and the Panama Canal. In that short interim of 2 years, the construction activity led to a new barrack complex called the New Post. In 1943, the second stage of growth for the Fort began, with its first suburb. Later, the decade from 1950 to 1960 concentrated their activity on domestic architecture which served as preparation for the significant changes coming in the following decades. After developing the preliminary activities, in 1960 a project of 65 new duplex houses began in the old “horseshoe” area and near the hospital. Between 1964 and 1969, 213 houses and small apartment buildings were constructed. The final stage of development of Fort Clayton, between 1978 and 1979, after the signing of the Torrijos—Carter Treaties, saw a lot of construction activity because, from then on Clayton would become the headquarters of the Southern Command, until the end of the century.

2.2.1 Period of Urban Military Development The urban complexes built from the beginning of the construction of Fort Clayton in 1919 until 1941 were of an eminently military cut, structured for training camps and military parades, around which the barracks and some exclusive housing for high-level military personnel were built. This concept was maintained in the first military site and its two successive military expansions. Noteworthy, in the design of Fort Clayton, is how the concept of “beautiful communities,” recommended in 1912 by the Fine Arts Commission, was echoed in the original design of the Fort (Enscore et al. 2000). This occurred even though, initially, the scope of the recommendations of the Fine Arts Commission did not include the military installations of the Canal Zone. However, Goethals suggested that the commission extend its recommendations to the War Department. With this, the first permanent military installations built at the entrance to the Pacific (in the making in 1912) would adopt the recommended architectural and urban planning guidelines for the design of Balboa (Commission of Fine Arts 1913).

2.2.1.1

The Urban Planning of the Period 1919–1922

The design and construction of Fort Clayton, adjacent to the Miraflores Locks and Fort Davis, in the Atlantic, was responsibility of the Fortifications Section of the

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Fig. 2.4 First stage of Fort Clayton’s horseshoe-shaped infrastructure. Source This study is based on War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Map of Clayton and Corozal. Identifier 230,248,170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/230248170

Panama Canal2 and the Engineering Section of the Isthmian Canal Commission (Governor of the Panama Canal 1919), and particularly by the architect Samuel Hitt. The general approach of the Fort aligned the most important horseshoe-shaped buildings by locating three large barracks on three sides of the trapezoidal section of The Horseshoe, with the Central Offices making up the fourth side of the trapeze (see Fig. 2.4). The remaining service buildings were located in a separate area outside and east of the central section (Governor of the Panama Canal 1919; Enscore et al. 2000). The headquarters building (“Headquarters”) occupied a strategic position in the middle of the complex, between the trapezoid and the crescent that accommodated the housing section for officers. This strategic position gave the military complex, as Tejeira-Davis notes, a character similar to the building hierarchy established in the design of the factory complex of the Saline Royale at Arc et Senans made by Ledoux in 1775,3 where the central building dominated the complex (Tejeira-Davis 2010). 2

For administrative purposes, the Fortification Section was under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of War and the direct command of the Canal Zone Governor, as established in the Panama Act of 1912. The Section was not linked with the rest of the Divisions of the ICC (Annual Governor Report, 1919 and Record Channel, 1919, Vol. XIII, No.25, February, 1920, p. 357). 3 Ledoux is recognized in the history of Western architecture as one of the forerunners of the concept of hierarchical and functional separation of buildings within a building complex. The Salines de Chaux factory complex in Arc et Senans, of circular fashion, has the administration in the center, and the rest of the housing and production buildings are aligned in the circle’s perimeter (Tejeira-Davis 2010, p. 118).

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Pursuant to the American military tradition, the approach to Fort Clayton reflects the parameters established at the time of the ‘New Frontier’ (1861–1865) during the annexation of the territories of the American South and the American West. The model of military post created at that time had a large rectangular main square in its center, surrounded by large barrack buildings for the troops, administrative headquarters, and the officers’ houses. Meanwhile, the service buildings were outside the main complex (Chattey et al. 1997). A direct precursor to Clayton’s planning is the 1890 stage of Kansas’ Fort Riley, a reform that reflected modern land use concepts that emerged in the late nineteenth century (Enscore et al. 2000).

2.2.1.2

Urban Planning of the Period 1932–1939

The Panama Canal War Department designed the expansion of Fort Clayton and contracted the construction of the project which was conducted between 1932 and 1939. The design of the first expansion of Fort Clayton opened the way for developing areas in two directions that would mark Clayton’s future growth (Enscore et al. 2000). On the one hand, the Central Quadrangle, an enormous rectangular parade ground (Enscore et al. 2000), was built west of The Horseshoe, with massive barrack buildings for the troops on its perimeter. On the other hand, the houses for officers were lined up in a long curve starting from the officers’ housing area, built in The Horseshoe in 1922, and extending to the north and further west (see Fig. 2.5). The urban design of the officers’ housing areas coincides with the urban military structure developed in the American forts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, despite being single-family houses with civilian characteristics. The houses formed an urban ensemble with open space for military activities named Miller Field. Rows of colonels’ quarters are another typical organization in U.S. military areas, as with Officers’ Row in Fort Wayne (Detroit Publishing Co., Publisher. The United States, Michigan Detroit, ca. 1900. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/201680 8410). From the observation of plans of US military forts from the beginning of the twentieth century, it is inferred that there were no residential areas with a sense of community. The only housing units that coexisted in a military environment traditionally corresponded to high-ranking officers. As it happens in the plan of Fort Plattsburg, New York State, which has a similar layout. According to its 1905 plan, there is a large field for military parades whose layout is irregular, and it is surrounded by the barrack buildings and the officers’ houses, similar to the urban morphology of Miller Field in Fort Clayton. It was in this stage that the considerable expansion within Clayton base known as the Central Quadrangle took place. It functioned as the Parade Ground, which coincides with the military tradition established at the end of the nineteenth century of designing the parade ground in the form of a rectangle.4 4

The courtyard dimensions are related to the number of soldiers in the base.

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Fig. 2.5 View of the colonels’ row housing. Source Durán F (2021)

2.2.1.3

Urban Planning Period 1940–1941

During World War II, the defensive needs of the United States and, particularly, the Panama Canal demanded a considerable increase in armament. These needs resulted in construction at the western end of the Fort and the expansion known as the New Post, whose construction began in 1939 and finished in 1940. A wide-open space of irregular shape used for military practices constituted this military complex around which a series of military barracks were built. With this stage, the military expansions at Fort Clayton ended, and from 1942 on, all the expansions that would take place in Clayton would be residential communities organized as suburbs.

2.2.2 Stages of Suburb Expansions of Fort Clayton and Their Formal Background The urban background of the suburbs of the Canal Zone and Fort Clayton have been associated, in a misinterpreted way, with the garden city model of Howard (Tejeira-Davis n.d.), related to the typology of single-family housing with a garden. However, this model did not begin as part of urban theory with Ebenezer Howard and his “Garden Cities of Tomorrow” in 1898. In the United States, in the early eighteenth century, there were already sporadic attempts to develop organized and exclusive residential neighborhoods of houses with gardens (Taylor 2009). As well, in Europe and the United States during the nineteenth century, there was an intense search for urban solutions to solve the industrial city’s pollution and

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hygiene problems. In the United States, one of the great proponents and precursors of the development of suburbs as a solution to urban problems was Andrew Jackson Downing during the first half of the nineteenth century, influenced by English principles. Downing would exert a considerable influence on the future of the American suburb. The first formal suburb would appear by the hand of a disciple of Downing: Frederick Olmsted Sr. That first suburb, planned in 1868, was Riverside in the outskirts of Chicago (see Fig. 2.6). During that same time, coincidentally, E. Howard lived in Chicago and got to know the new landscaped suburb of Riverside, and the broad outlines of Howard’s ideas must have originated there (Hall 2014). Thus, Olmsted outlined the characteristics of the suburbs before Howard. He argued that a suburb should have park-like spaces to serve as the “social gathering place of the neighborhood” and should also provide “domestic isolation” so that the gardens surrounding such houses should be considered “essential to health and comfort” (Taylor 2009). The design included large green areas and an urban structure that fled from orthogonal rigid paths to a street layout forming sinuous curves adapted to the topography following the contour lines. Indeed, this model was based on a design concept that sought a life closely related to nature. However, the suburb model implemented in the Canal Zone was not exactly the one developed by Olmsted Sr. The model underwent a series of changes before the arrival of the United States to build the Panama Canal, although it maintained the original concept of the suburb. The contemporary suburb at the beginning of the Canal Zone arose in the first decade of the twentieth century in the United States. This model was outlined by the leader of American urban planning and its technical advances, the landscape architect Frederick Olmsted Jr. when he planned the suburb Forest Hills Gardens in 1909 (Queens). This project was the precursor of the American Garden City Movement and consolidated the suburb movement by making it the national model of suburbia for the United States (Mumford 2018) when the Progressive Era was at its peak.5 The influence of the Progressive Era led Olmsted to establish a transition toward more social urbanism (Wirka 1996). Thus, he cut back the expensive wideopen spaces that his father left between the houses and slightly increased population density, which generated a cheaper suburb, affordable to middle class. On the other hand, the American Progressive Era had another notable impact on city planning, as it became a movement that demanded open spaces for the population. By enhancing the location of children’s play areas, these began to grow like mushrooms in American cities during the last decade of the nineteenth century. In the early years of the twentieth century, Olmsted Jr. included them in the planning process for his suburbs, as was the case with Forest Hills Gardens. This urban advance 5

The progressive era originated from a diversity of scholarly sources. The ideology of improvement acquired a dynamic character throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century. Early American improvement ideologues promoted the notion that beautiful, ordered public spaces fostered morality and civic morality. They provided a preliminary articulation of the social environmentalism that would become a cornerstone of the progressive theory of social ethics (Turnbull 2009).

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Fig. 2.6 Riverside plan, by Frederick Olmsted Senior in 1869. Source Olmsted Plans and Drawings Collection. Olmsted Job #607 Riverside, Illinois. Olmsted Plan #607-z1-pt1 General Plan of Riverside. Olmsted, Vaux and Co., LA, 1869. Courtesy of the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

soon reached the Canal Zone and became an essential part of the community facilities of the Canal towns, including the suburbs of Fort Clayton. Nevertheless, the innovation of Forest Hills, the most remarkable planning experiment of the era that marked the future of the suburb in the following decades, was the design of the neighborhood unit (see Fig. 2.7). This unit comprised six housing blocks with interior parks accessible by rear garden gates or private homeowners and pedestrianized paths. Olmsted envisioned several potential uses, such as tennis courts or a quiet refuge from general pedestrian traffic, as well as a safe play space for small children (Klaus 2004). Only four years after Forest Hills, Balboa was built with a similar urban structure to Forest Hills, especially in residential areas with a semi-curved street layout and more structure than Riverside. However, the suburb model evolved over the following decades through urban layout changes with various names during the first half of the twentieth century. These models all have in common the trend toward low population

2.2 Historical Stages of Urban Growth of Fort Clayton

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Fig. 2.7 Interior Park in Forest Hills Gardens. Source Olmsted Plans and Drawing Collection. Olmsted Job #3586, Sage Foundation Long Island, NY. Plan #3586–2015 Planting Plan for Private Park in Block No. 16. Olmsted Brothers, December 11, 1914. Courtesy of the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

density, predominantly single-family houses, and large green spaces that can be accommodated under the generic name of the suburb. In the new model developed by Olmsted Jr., efficiency and economy were paramount since these benefits proved helpful and aligned with the principles of economy of the State apparatus of the Canal Zone, the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC), who planned the villages of the Canal Zone and its suburbs. Children’s safe playgrounds, parks, and social benefits of suburbs were as well essential in the Canal Zone, even in military fortifications such as Fort Clayton, through the suburbs built in the different expansion stages.

2.2.2.1

Fort Clayton Suburbs 1942–1943: American Garden City Influence

During this period, the first suburb of the Fort was built, with a grid configuration of orthogonal streets and houses organized around open spaces. These characteristics followed the American “Garden city” movement that were based on the novelty of neighborhood unity taken from Forest Hills Gardens. The neighborhood unit was a model of the spatial organization of residences, playgrounds, community services, streets, and shops. The social planner Clarence Perry took over the neighborhood unit and shaped a new adaptation: a strict separation of direct traffic from local traffic. Cul-de-sacs, indoor parks, and T-intersections became devices designed to protect

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the morale and well-being of residents from motor racing and the attendant social ills of urban congestion (Meyers 1998). The neighborhood unit would mark the design of the suburb in the following decades. These concepts flourished in the United States during the 1920s when architects Clarence Stein and Henry Wright developed a proposed residential neighborhood model that organized housing around a green open space. In line with the concern for the safety of children, this proposal contributed to the evolution of the American garden city model in the management of pedestrian mobility separated from vehicular mobility, occurring only within the interior green spaces. An example of the garden city model is Radburn (New Jersey), planned in 1928 and a reference model of the 1942 suburb of Clayton. In Radburn and in the suburb of Clayton, the road design avoided crossings so that pedestrian efficiency and safety improvements were visible. This design generated spacious neighborhood units of house groupings in which the road is local, differentiating the main arteries of Clayton from the internal streets of the suburb (see Fig. 2.8). Also, both suburbs have a central green open space surrounded by houses.

Fig. 2.8 Current photo of the first suburb of Fort Clayton built in 1942. Source Durán F (2021)

2.2 Historical Stages of Urban Growth of Fort Clayton

2.2.2.2

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Fort Clayton Suburbs 1948–1949: Superblock Neighborhood

Until then, in the military reserves in the United States, there were practically no residential areas with a sense of community; the first suburb of Clayton in 1942 was a premature case. However, during the biennium 1948–1949 and the following decade, changes that influenced military housing policy occurred. First, the end of World War II meant an increased need for housing for returning soldiers. At the same time, by 1948, the fear of communist expansion had increased US military personnel. Of these, almost 75% were married, compared with 25% married personnel during the late 1920s (United States Army Environmental Center 1998). The decision was then made to allow the soldiers to live with their families on military bases. This decision catapulted the demand for family houses on all American bases, and the Canal Zone was no exception. Demand for military houses coincided with housing industrialization, cost reduction, and the mass construction of suburbs on US military reserves. The first suburb of Fort Clayton was introduced in 1942, a few years before these changes occurred; consequently, its construction was more generous in the quality of building materials than in the suburbs built in 1948 and onwards. Cost reduction also influenced urban design. Although studies at the time showed that grid layouts were 400% more cost-effective than curvilinear flats, the popularity of superblocks and dead ends was an undeniable force in neighborhood planning. Such a forced cost-effective design was the case of the second suburb developed between 1948 and 1949 in Fort Clayton. Its layout presents a “superblock” organization originated in the model of the American garden city. According to the sociologist Hochschild (2013), this type of urban layout affects people by presenting the highest levels of behavior toward cohesion, influencing how they feel about their neighbors and promoting interaction with them. This effect of social cohesion is uncovered in the testimonies of former inhabitants of the suburbs when the old Canal Zone operated. In addition, this model of suburbs in Fort Clayton reflects the effects of the beginning of housing industrialization in the United States. In line with cost reduction, the new housing policy influenced the design of urban streets since the Federal Housing Administration, in 1948, advocated the narrowing of streets from 7.33 to 7.27 feet.6 The influence of this policy is reflected in the slight decrease in street width in the suburbs of Clayton (see Fig. 2.9). In this context, the following expansions of Clayton were developed and began with the second suburb in 1948 (see Fig. 2.10) and would continue with other suburbs until the 1960s. This 1948 suburb has the characteristics of a cul-de-sac, and superblock units, reflecting the importance of social cohesion and child security (see Fig. 2.11).

6

U.S. Congress, House Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Housing. High Cost of Housing, Res. 104, 80th Cong., Washington, D.C. GPO (1948) 106.

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7.7 7.65 7.6 7.55 7.5 7.45 7.4 7.35 7.3 7.25 7.2 1942

1948

1960

Fig. 2.9 Graph of the evolution of street width (feet) in the suburb construction of Clayton by dates. It reflects a slight reduction in street width in the suburbs of Fort Clayton, close to the military core. Source Present research, based on Clayton Plan, courtesy of Unidad de Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (Republic of Panama)

Fig. 2.10 Fort Clayton suburb from 1948. Source Arosemena (2019)

2.2 Historical Stages of Urban Growth of Fort Clayton

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Fig. 2.11 Green open space from a superblock in a 1948 Clayton suburb. Source Arosemena (2019)

2.2.2.3

Suburbs from 1956 to 1969: The Influence of the Capehart Housing Program

During the period between 1956 and 1969, the suburbs at Fort Clayton developed both topography and orthogonal layouts, resulting from diverse urban planning criteria. The planning referents oversaw military family housing programs in the United States through the Capehart housing program covering 1955–1964. Planning in Capehart neighborhoods followed a similar approach to most civilian neighborhoods of the day. The new trend of the time was Levittown in New Jersey; this model presented an orthogonal layout and did not pay much attention to the environment. However, the driving forces behind planning influenced Capehart program, as the desire for more space and the safety of many small children, reflected by its long street patterns fitted to the topography which were considered safer because they reduced traffic. This pattern favoring a more curved route referred to the layout of the Greenbelt towns built by the Federal Government during the Great Depression. This urban layout, which was organic and adapted to the topography, was taken by the suburbs developed on broken land in Fort Clayton between 1956 and 1979 in the northeast areas far from the central military core (see Fig. 2.12). Other factors influenced Fort Clayton’s suburban developments such as housing industrialization and cost construction reduction that

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Fig. 2.12 Clayton suburb 1970s with curved streets adapted to topography. Source Arosemena (2019)

emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. In Fort Clayton, one suburb was directly influenced by Capehart’s housing program as seen in the community complex built in the 1960s, whose street layout was developed as a partially curved grid (see Fig. 2.13).

2.3 The Architecture of Fort Clayton Through the Twentieth Century In 1913, the committee in charge of planning the construction of the fortifications of the Panama Canal established specific general criteria for the buildings of the forts. In any case, the instructions received for the architecture of the Canal fortifications were that they should be built in concrete with a simple design in which durability, appropriate and comfortable sanitary conditions should prevail (The Panama Canal Hearings Concerning Estimates for Construction of Fortification of Fiscal Year 1914). These general guidelines were applied in Fort Clayton during much of the twentieth century. However, each construction stage had its particularities (see Fig. 2.3).

2.3 The Architecture of Fort Clayton Through the Twentieth Century

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Fig. 2.13 Fort Clayton suburb from 1965. Source Arosemena (2019)

2.3.1 Architecture from 1919 to 1922 Overall, Clayton’s early architecture had a Spanish colonial air characterized by its massiveness, white walls, and the use of large, steeply sloping tile roofs. This style was not alien to the US Army. Still, it coincided with the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style7 that the US Army used between 1890 and 1940 in military posts in the American West (Chattey et al. 1997; Michael et al. 2011). A core element of the military architecture of all time is the standardization of its facilities. American military architecture did not escape this condition. Since the end of the nineteenth century, standardization has been an inherent condition of its architecture (Chattey et al. 1997) and hence the tendency to repeat designs for buildings of similar uses. As a result of these premises, the architecture of Fort Clayton was uniform. Another key feature was that it was reminiscent of Spanish colonial architecture but explicitly intended to reduce ornamentation as much as possible. Likewise, the materials were standardized to provide efficiency during the construction process. 7

The Spanish Colonial Revival was an architectural style that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century in the United States, which adapted shapes and decorative elements from Spanish colonial architecture to modern buildings. This style spread in the US territories, colonies, and unincorporated territories of Spanish origin.

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Fig. 2.14 Special barracks building in 1919. Source Governor of the Panama Canal for the (1919). University of Florida

Consequently, primary materials such as reinforced concrete, cement blocks, and wood were preferred in the complex’s main buildings. In the accessory buildings of the forts, the preferred material was wood, using the balloon frame structural system (balloon frame) with metal sheet roofs. In this case, the exterior appearance of the architecture was determined by rectangular base volumes crowned with sloping gabled roofs rather than being defined by an architectural style. Generally, all buildings were elevated 3 or 4 feet from the ground to improve ventilation and hinder the access of insects and rodents, as recommended by early Canal Zone building ordinances (1907 and 1916). This first period of development included the following buildings: one administrative building, 25 residential buildings for officers (of five types), and four barracks for the troops (Fig. 2.14). At least five types of buildings complimented them as auxiliary installations, among which were two stables for 62 animals, one shed for carts, and an incinerator (Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year of 1919). All buildings were designed by the ICC Buildings Division (Panama Canal Museum 2017).

2.3.2 Architecture from 1923 to 1932 During the interwar period, which coincided with the Great Economic Depression in the United States, there were no significant changes in the architecture nor any base expansion. The activity consisted of constructing small buildings, mainly for

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service, deposits of diverse materials, and cavalry stables. At least 26 structures, such as blacksmith and wood workshops, deposits, compost pits, three stables, an ammunition warehouse, and galleys for varied uses, were erected during the same period. The primary construction material was wood, assembled with the balloon frame method. Historians of the US Army defined the style of these buildings as “World War I.”

2.3.3 Architecture from 1933 to 1939 Toward the end of the 1920s–1930s, several years after World War I, followed by the economic collapse of the Great Depression, the deterioration of American military installations was noticeable. To address the situation, Congress created Law 45, which authorized the Secretary of War to close and sell some military bases to raise funds and reform existing military installations or do new construction work. Parallel to the fundraising, the Army Quartermaster Corps laid the groundwork for the comprehensive development of military post expansions and the creation of new buildings and facilities’ structures. The Quartermaster strongly recommended planning construction activity to ensure organized growth and to counteract the custom of building without previous planning (Chattey et al. 1997). An additional local ingredient made the Clayton expansion in the early 1930s urgent, as it was necessary to move two artillery battalions stationed in the Atlantic sector to the Pacific. Military authorities considered various possible sites and eventually selected Fort Clayton because it had undeveloped land and areas of dense forests conducive to military training (Enscore et al. 2000).

2.3.4 Architecture from 1932 to 1939 The construction policies of the Quartermaster Corps of the US Army, established in the late 1920s, defined standardization in the design of sites and military buildings as a mandatory standard of action. A core element of the regulations indicated that the new designs would respond to the geographical, environmental, and historical features of the military bases’ sites. The guidelines on the styles established that the historical past of each site would determine the architectural style to be used (Chattey et al. 1997). Consequently, in the Canal Zone’s military bases, the design lines of the Spanish colonial revivalism would be the architectural language to use, following the same style as the civic complex of Balboa built in 1912. In the period in question, the construction of new houses for officers, accommodations for the troops, and community and sports facilities took place in the Fort. Fifteen housing units for officers and two small apartment buildings for noncommissioned officers were built. The buildings with the most significant impact on the landscape were eight barracks, six standard buildings north and south of the

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Fig. 2.15 Standard barracks were built in 1933 and located in the Central Quadrangle. Source Alba (2019)

Quadrangle (Fig. 2.15), and two specially designed barracks at the east and west ends (Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates, Seventy-four Congress 1936). The recreational space of the Fort was improved with facilities and several sports fields located north of The Horseshoe. This area evolved from military practices to become the sports heart of the entire base, with tennis courts, a golf course, and a gym. A prominent and novel element that caused a significant impact on the design of the houses was the provision of an open ground floor for parking and laundry, an approach similar to Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye (1929). The living, dining, and dormitory areas were located on the first and second floors, an element of modernity that was already the norm in the Canal Zone since the late 1920s when it was first used in the civilian town of Nuevo Cristóbal. Another interesting fact of this period was the opening for professionals with a practice in Panama City to design and build new buildings, such as Clayton’s Theater and Troop Club. Even though in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, they incorporated a more ornate style variant in vogue in Panama, known as the Bellavistino style (Tejeira-Davis 2010).

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2.3.5 Architecture from 1940 to 1943 Generally, the appearance and architectural forms built between 1940 and 1943 do not present significant changes as compared to the buildings built in the previous stages in Clayton. The non-commissioned officer housing kept the ground floor plan open for parking and laundry areas and the upper floors for the social and resting areas of the houses (see Fig. 2.16). The designs were even more straightforward than the previous domestic architecture, with straight lines highlighting the structure of beams, the wall plane columns, and zero ornaments. Twenty new barracks of three types were built to accommodate the large contingent of men stationed in Clayton during World War II. They were in two sectors of the Fort: (1) the New Post, a brand-new expansion of Clayton, and (2) the sector of The Horseshoe. The types were defined by the capacity of each building which varied between barracks for 100, 150, and 200 men. The barracks of the 11th Engineer Battalion, built in 1933 in the Quadrangle, were used as a standardized model for sheltering troops throughout the Canal Zone (Enscore et al. 2000). As part of the expansion of the housing areas, intricately linked to the increase in the population of Fort Clayton during World War II and the requirement of selfsufficiency of the military units, it was essential to expand the number of community

Fig. 2.16 Two-family housing building from 1941. Source Alba (2019)

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amenities and service facilities. These amenities included the chapel, the commissariat, the post office, and the unique structure of the hospital, the largest building in the Canal Zone. The service facilities included a fire station, a guard post, automotive repair shops, and various depots and bus stops, among others (Panama Canal Museum 2017).

2.3.6 Architecture from 1948 to 1949 The spaces built at the end of World War II marked a change in the architectural tradition of the Canal Zone. From that date on, the climate and sanitation conditions that motivated the use of pitched roofs and first floors separated from the ground disappeared from the architecture of the Canal. From then on, the first floors of the buildings would be directly on the ground, and the high-pitched roofs would turn into low-pitched ones. Similarly, the historicist neo-colonial aesthetic of early Canal Zone buildings would be replaced by more neutral forms influenced by international architecture. During the biennium 1948–1949 and the following decade, the growth of Clayton focused on creating housing for the contingent of soldiers returning home after World War II, which would thereafter be incorporated into military bases with their families. This situation catapulted the demand for family housing in all US military bases, and the Canal Zone was no exception. The mass construction experiences of the early postwar years, aimed to reduce costs and construction times, were adopted in the new developments in the Canal Zone. The new trend was inspired by the designs of Usonian houses by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Levittown-like suburban neighborhoods, and the approaches to efficiency and economy developed by Buckminster Fuller. The reduction of costs also influenced urban design. Among other changes, it proposed that the parking lots, previously hidden behind the houses, be moved to the front of the house, next to the street, to avoid building additional streets. Superblocks were also promoted to reduce paving costs and duplicated facilities (United States Environmental Center 1998). The American industry also promoted the standardization of materials and efficiency in house designs with adjoining bathroom, kitchen, and laundry areas. Likewise, the length and the number of aisles were reduced to the minimum size possible. Other changes, besides economics, to the conventional design derived from the aspiration of the emerging middle class to live a comfortable life and the prevailing idea that a house design would create “appropriate” habits in its residents (United States Environmental Center 1998). Based on these parameters, a housing complex similar to an American postwar suburb was produced in Clayton with one-story duplex houses, gardens in front and at the back of the building, and an interior distribution corresponding to a dining room with a kitchen that overlooked the backyard. The overall appearance of houses was more in line with the aesthetic guidelines of modern architecture (Canal Review 1950).

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2.3.7 Architecture from 1950 to 1960 After World War II, the transformations of Fort Clayton were minimal. They consisted of constructing a new gymnasium and improvements to the central play areas in “Miller Field.” The work focused on the preliminary activities to adapt the sites for the new houses built at the beginning of the next decade. These houses were the product of the Wherry program of 1948 and the Capehart of 1955 designed to improve housing conditions in the US Army and would determine a new course in the urbanization of US military bases (Chapman 1996). A local ingredient that influenced Zonian housing policies was the 1955 Remón-Eisenhower treaty, which ruled that non-US workers still living in the Canal Zone would have to move their residence to Panama City and Colón. Between 1952 and 1957, the process of demolishing housing structures considered obsolete began in several sites in the Canal Zone to prepare the way for new housing according to postwar expectations (Gutiérrez 1961). In Clayton, the demolition program of 1957 eliminated most of the buildings of the original complex of The Horseshoe. Soon after, the student revolts of January 9, 1964, had a tangential impact on the housing policy of the Canal Zone since, henceforth, all American civilian and military personnel were obliged to reside in the Canal Zone. In Clayton, the impact of these policies was significant as between 1964 and 1969, more than 200 housing units were developed. The design guidelines were established by “The DoD Criteria for Family Housing,” based on the Capehart program, and issued by the Department of Defense in 1955. The document summarizes planning and design guidelines for new housing areas on military bases, emphasizing community development. The three primary conditions for community life were ensuring each family’s privacy, integrating the neighborhood into the natural environment, and taking advantage of existing facilities (United States Army Environmental Service 1998). By extension, this concept guided Fort Clayton’s growth over the next 25 years, resulting in the military base’s atmosphere being more and more like an American suburb with no allusions to the rigid military outposts of the past. The layout promoted elongated and winding streets adapted to the topography, in which houses were aligned along the streets. At the end of the road, small conglomerates of houses were created around a roundabout. Tropical trees of many sizes were incorporated to beautify the complexes, serving at the same time to provide shade and improve residential privacy. A children’s playground area complemented the open spaces located away from heavy traffic (Department of Defense 2017).

2.3.8 Architecture from 1960 to 1969 The change in Fort Clayton’s architectural forms would now be final. The allusions to historical architecture disappeared. Free spaces between the ground floor and the

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house, the pitched roof, and the large interior spaces that sought good ventilation for thermal comfort were no longer used (Canal Review 1958). Although the basic construction materials were the same as in previous periods, the appearance of the houses was much simpler due to the use of low-slope roofs, the reduced height of the building, and the absence of decoration. The design standards recommended in “The DoD Criteria for Family Housing - 1955” included climate-related considerations. In warm and moderate climates, houses had to be single-story with a low-sloping roof, and in temperate climates, two-story with steeply sloping roofs. The standards recommended a rectangular building plan with dimensions corresponding to the normed modulation for building materials in the United States. From 1960 to 1969, 279 housing units, based on 17 design models, were built, an unprecedented number in Fort Clayton. The initial group dated from 1960 and totaled 65 units located in the original complex of The Horseshoe and the vicinity of the hospital (see Fig. 2.17), with specific formal features. In 1964, 1965, and 1969, the remaining 213 houses were built including duplex houses and small apartment buildings, most located outside our study area.

Fig. 2.17 Two-family houses built in 1960. Source Alba (2018)

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2.4 Fort Clayton Urban Housing Final Review The historical revision of our study leads us to infer the intention of the Americans to reproduce a familiar urban space like Clayton, a representation to which the Canal’s employees and the reserves’ military, were accustomed. The factors that influenced urban planning analyzed in this chapter demonstrate the complexity of the exercise of the discipline of urbanism and the complexity that Fort Clayton added to urbanism due to it being a military space. That is why it is impossible to determine a single factor but multiple factors that converged in a series of urban solutions, and none of them originated in the Canal Zone. The constant feature in the suburbs of Fort Clayton, even if their design comes from different American models, is the desire to avoid running over children and generating safe suburbs, accomplished by separating the urban residential layout from the main layout and the cul-de-sac streets. All these strategies reflected in the suburbs of the Fort infer the intention to promote social cohesion. Due to the numerous expansions that the Fort experienced throughout the entire twentieth century, the suburbs are a mosaic of much of the urban history of the United States, so it is impossible to generalize that these suburbs correspond to one single model of Garden City. The political motivations are evident in the urban planning of the Canal Zone: the search for the image of the “new empire” and the segregation of Panamanians and people of color from spaces designed for white Americans. All these were also part of the regular urban planning exercise in the United States, even before Americans arrived in Panama. Studying the history of the suburb in the United States makes it possible to understand the conceptual origin of the Canal Zone as a tool for racial segregation. Although sanitary criteria were applied in the nineteenth century, the first American suburbs were also linked to creating true racial enclaves for the wealthy white population. Moreover, the Canal Zone’s predecessor is the racial and social homogenization that emerged in the United States suburbs. The Canal Zone was created at a time when municipal ordinances were created in American cities to introduce zoning as a tool to segregate African Americans. All this leads us to assert that the Canal Zone was conceived as an excellent suburb for white Americans.

References Arosemena G (2018) Los inicios del paisajismo de Balboa y su arborización, 1916–1919: Una aproximación cultural y ambiental. Canto Rodado 13:185–207 Chapman S (1996) The housing problem. Air Force Mag 6(79):36–41 Chattey P, Foxall H, McQueen F, Nielsen C, Shipe M, Taylor T, Tippett J (1997) Context study of the United States quartermaster general standardized plans, 1866–1942. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District, Technical Center of Expertise for Preservation of Structures and Buildings, Seattle

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Commission of Fine Arts, United States (1913) Panama Canal: message from the President of the United States, transmitting a report by the Commission of fine arts in relation to the artistic structure of the Panama Canal. Washington: 63d Cong. 1st sess. Senate, Doc. 1946. The University of Florida Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates, Seventy—four Congress (1936) United States Government Printing Office, Washington Connerly C (2005) The most segregated city in America. City planning and civil rights in Birmingham, 1920–1980. University of Virginia Press, Charlotteville Department of Defense (2017) Essential guide to the Panama Canal: history, an army’s enterprise, story of Fort Clayton Panama Takeover, security issues, current expansion program effects on U.S. ports and economy. Department of Defense, US Army Corps of Engineers, Lexington, Kentucky Enscore S, Gordon C, Johnson S, Webster J (2000) Guarding the gates. The Story of Fort Clayton, Ist settings, Its architecture and its role in the Panama Canal history. Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development, US Army Corps of Engineers, Champaign, IL Governor of the Panama Canal (1919) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the fiscal year of (1919) Government Printing Office. University of Florida, Washington DC Gutiérrez S (1961) El problema de las barriadas brujas en la ciudad de Panamá. Imprenta Panamá, Panamá Hall P (2014) Cities of tomorrow. An intercultural history of urban planning and design since 1880. Wiley Blackwell, NJ Hochschild TR (2013) The Cul-de-sac effect: relationship between street design and residential social cohesion. J Urban Plan Dev 141(1):05014006 Hothstein R (2017) The color of law. A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. Liveright Publishing Corporation, New York Klaus S (2004) A modern Arcadia. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. & the Plan for Forest Hills Gardens. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, and Boston Lasso M (2019) Erased: the untold story of the Panama Canal. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Meyers A (1998) Invisible cities: Lewis Mumford, Thomas Adams, and the innovation of the Regional City, 1923–1929. Business and economic history 27, papers presented at the Fortyfourth annual meeting of the Business History Conference, 2:292–306 Michael M, Smith A, Sin J (2011) The architecture of the department of defense. A military style guide. DoD Legacy Resource Management Program. Washington Mumford E (2018) Designing the modern city. Urbanism since 1850. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT Panama Canal Museum (2017) Panama Canal townsite. Library Press UF, Gainesville, FL Peterson J (1979) The impact of sanitary reform upon American Urban Planning. J Soc Hist 13(1):83–103 Taylor D (2009) The environment and the people in American cities, 1600–1900. Disorder, inequality, and social change. Duke University Press, Durham Tejeira-Davis E (2010) Ciudad del Saber: Un legado en construcción. Fundación Ciudad del Saber, Panamá Tejeira-Davis E (n.d.) La Arquitectura del Canal de Panamá. Colonialismo, Sincretismo y Adaptación al Trópico. Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical. Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical. San José, CR. http://www.arquitecturatropical.org/EDITORIAL/documents/LA%20ARQUITE CTURA%20DEL%20CANAL%20DE%20PANAMA%20ETD.pdf. Accessed 15 Nov 2019 The Panama Canal Review (1950) Budget bureau approves $70,000,000 housing replacement plans proposed by Gov. Newcomer. The Panama Canal Rev 1(1):1. University of Florida The Panama Canal Review (1958) Air Conditioning, booms in Zone, is pleasant, needs caution. The Panama Canal Rev 9(5):5–6. University of Florida

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Turnbull C (2009) An American urban residential landscape 1890–1920. Chicago in the progressive era. Cambria Press, New York United States Army Environmental Center (1998) For want of a home: a historic context for Wherry and Capehart military family housing. United States Environmental Center, MA: Aberdeen Proving Ground Wirka S (1996) The city social movement. Progressive women reformers and early social planning. In Planning the Twentieth Century, de M.C Sies, & C Silver. Baltimore and London, pp 55–75 Zien K (2017) Sovereign acts: performing race, space, and belonging in Panama and the Canal zone. Critical Caribbean Studies

Chapter 3

The Construction of Sanitary Urban and Anti-Mosquito Landscaping in the Canal Zone

Abstract This chapter explores how health affected and conditioned the development of the urban model and the building regulations of the Canal Zone, which also played an essential role in the environmental impact of permanent villages. The relationship between sanitary measures and urban regulations is studied to understand their interplay. The analysis focuses mainly on determining how the ecology and behavior of mosquitoes that cause malaria and yellow fever broadly defined the development of such building regulations. The chapter also highlights how sanitary measures shaped the urban landscape and the environment of the Canal Zone villages, using Fort Clayton as a case study. Keywords Malaria and yellow fever · Panama Canal Zone · Ecology · Building regulations · Landscaping

3.1 Miasmatic Theory, Malaria, Health, and the Conception of the Tropics During the nineteenth century, western ideas about the tropics were fraught with fear of the high incidence diseases, due to the bad experiences Europeans and Americans suffered during their exploration voyages or in their colonies in tropical regions. Particularly between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the search for control and power in the Caribbean depended on ecological conditions, especially in areas where malaria and yellow fever were present. In Panama, the struggle to dominate the interoceanic route began during the Spanish colony. Meanwhile, for the Scots and French it was a losing battle against mosquitoes, many of whom suffered and died in their respective attempts. In their endeavor to build the Canal through the Isthmus of Panama, the French’s ignorance of the origin of diseases such as yellow fever and malaria was very notorious. At the same time, the transformations of the territory due to the construction of the Canal itself complicated the epidemiological panorama associated with malaria, causing numerous infections and deaths (Figueroa 1980). The above caused negative international popularity for Panama; popularity which

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_3

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remained fresh in the memory of the first Americans who assumed control of the construction of the Panamá canal in 1904. These apprehensions intermingled with the racism that dominated the thought of the time, created a prejudiced concept based on distrust of tropical nature and the people of the tropics (Sutter 2005; Frenkel 1996). These prejudices were supported by the miasmatic theory of the origin of diseases. The hot and humid tropical climate and the local population of the tropics were believed to cause diseases.1 Nevertheless, the miasmatic theory was not applied exclusively to understanding tropical diseases. It was widely used in the United States to explain the origin of illnesses that plagued the nineteenth century. The theory indicated that the emanations and/or odors of particular terrains or the presence of stagnant water, wetlands, and swamps were part of the possible causes of diseases, including malaria. In fact, malaria and yellow fever also proliferated in temperate climates, albeit seasonally during the summer. Indeed, between 1850 and 1899, malaria spread in the United States and then began to decrease in intensity and distribution (Faust 1951). However, the frequency and incidence of malaria and yellow fever in the United States must have been much lower than in Panama since mosquitoes proliferate when temperatures are warm, which occurs all year round in the tropics. From the recent medical point of view, malaria endemicity in any area corresponds to the simultaneous presence of the vector, the circulating parasite, susceptible (human) hosts, and the contact between these three components. Likewise, geoclimatic factors such as temperature and humidity determine the degree of incidence of Anopheles hatcheries, the density of mosquitoes, and the survival rate of adult mosquitoes (Ravishankaran et al. 2018). Also, the distance between a household and swampy areas seems to be a crucial factor in the spread of malaria2 (Staedke et al. 2003). While the prejudices of the nineteenth century considered that the inhabitants of the tropics, just because they were not white, were more resistant to diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. What was probably happening at the medical level was that for people living in areas where malaria and yellow fever are endemic there is long-term exposure to these diseases, and eventually people generate some resistance to them. Therefore, ethnicity was not a determining factor. Recent studies even speak of naturally acquired “immunity” of P. falciparum malaria in African populations. Specific antibodies to the encoded parasite have been identified, an essential condition to generating protection against the disease. These findings recently shed light on producing a successful malaria vaccine; however, although the vaccine is unlikely to impact parasite transmission significantly, it does prevent severe morbidity and mortality (Hviid 2005). 1

Tropical colonial medicine considered the local population part of a sick tropical landscape and vectors of contagious diseases (Lasso 2019). 2 The consequences of increased interaction between people and wetland ecosystems have received more attention in recent years, particularly in global assessments (Falkenmark et al. 2007), emphasizing the relationship between ecosystems and human well-being (UNEP 2007). A typical result of these assessments has been the desire for broader recognition of the meaningful relationships between people’s well-being and the quality of their environment (Horwitz and Finlayson 2011).

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Thus, malaria in those places where it was endemic at a high density, such as in the interoceanic region of Panama in the nineteenth century, could have generated in the population certain degree of protection, making them less vulnerable than Americans and Europeans who arrived on the Isthmus. This vulnerability was evident in the malaria incidence percentage since the beginning of the Canal construction by the United States. Americans were sick at a higher rate than those workers living in tropical environments, probably because the latter were previously exposed to malaria. In 1907, malaria affected 75% of white American employees and only 29% of the population Americans called “colored” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1931). The higher disease incidence among Americans was not comparable to that of those of tropical origin until the completion of the Canal works and the reduction of the scope of malaria (see Fig. 3.1). By then, disease control had recently changed in the United States due to the nineteenth-century health reform. Additionally, the prejudices associated with the tropics and the misconceptions related to the etiology of malaria and yellow fever evolved with the discovery made by the Cuban Dr. Carlos Finlay, who identified the Aedes mosquito as the vector of yellow fever in the year 1900. In practice, difficulties in managing the environmental control of Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes were the main obstacles to the construction of the Canal. Nevertheless, the tool used to achieve the goals set by the United States in Panama was public health. Thus, the first three years of American presence were focused on 120.00

100.00

80.00

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00

Percent of white employees sick

Percent of colored employees sick

Fig. 3.1 Malaria cases in Canal employees, separated by whites and non-whites, as divided in Health Department statistics. Source This study with data from the Health Department (1931) University of Florida

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sanitation projects led by the military doctor Colonel William Gorgas (Tejeira-Davis 2010), mainly directed at controlling yellow fever, which was quickly eradicated. However, malaria continued to impact health (Le Prince et al. 1916) significantly, even several decades after the end of the Canal, due to the habits of the Anopheles mosquito and the multiplication of mosquito breeding sites associated with the topographical transformation caused by the Canal construction. That is why, from the beginning, the sanitary measures to control mosquito-transmitted diseases conditioned organization of built space and were the basis of the building regulations of the Canal Zone. Mosquito control became the most critical and powerful agent of change at the territorial level after the Canal construction, and shaped the image of the urban space in the Canal Zone.

3.2 Sanitary Approaches During the French Canal Construction During the 1880s, the construction of the Canal was carried out by the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique at a time when the miasmatic theory of the origin of diseases was still in force. This medical error had severe consequences in managing the diseases that the French faced in Panama and was an important factor in this company’s failure. Unlike other cases, the French did not associate Panama’s local population with disease incidence. Notwithstanding, this did not prevent racial segregation in the occupation of the French village-camps along the transisthmian railroad track. Although the ethnic fabric was very diverse, where afro-Antilleans, native Americans, Chinese, Indians, Americans, and Europeans coexisted (Nicolas 1886), the train tracks separated the offices and homes of the French employees of the canal company from the Panamanian villages. On the other hand, although wrong in their medical approach, in the canal reports, the French described the health problems of the cities of Colón and Panama, from an empirical point of view, which in many cases were correct. They said it was necessary to clean up both cities and to improve their drinking water (Roux 1886). In the old Colon, they stressed that it was built on low, muddy land where rainwater could not drain. In addition, according to French reports, the houses were above stagnant waters where inhabitants threw waste of all kinds (Roux 1886). Certainly, the current public health literature considers drinking water, sanitation, and personal hygiene as necessary conditions for the prevention of disease transmission. It emphasizes that sanitation should be prioritized, especially for those who live near wetlands and have a poor sanitation infrastructure (Anthonj et al. 2016). This health concern led to an agreement between the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique, the Panama Railway, and the municipality to maintain old Colón. At the same time, the Compagnie Universelle du Canal built the Administration building of the French company and other dependencies, far from Colón, in a settlement that constituted a new French city called Christophe-Colomb. The

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French chose the city site by taking advantage of an embankment construction (terreplein) on a swampy area. The embankment would serve as a breakwater for the ships entering the Canal from the Caribbean (Roux 1886). The French combined filling swamps and pipes for drainages as an urban sanitation measure, which was already occurring in the United States during that time. Furthermore, swamp drainage would be widely applied in the transisthmian region in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, above all, the French thought that the most extraordinary sanitary work that would improve the sanitary conditions of the interoceanic region would be the opening of the Canal itself since, and according to them, this would drain and dry all the swamps along the route, “the swamps of Columbus, of Obispos, of the Chagres Valley, of Tavernilla and the Río Grande” (Roux 1886). Although the miasmatic theory underlaid this reflection, there were probably mosquito breeding sites in these swamps, which, together with excavations, deforestation, and the earthworks of the Canal construction, caused the exacerbation of Anopheles mosquito breeding sites. These environmental conditions and the migration of the Caribbean population, most likely previously exposed to malaria, as a workforce led to the circulation of Plasmodium more easily. The idea of drying up the swamps of the interoceanic region would be executed decades later with the arrival of the United States to build the Canal. Despite the wrong concept about swamps, French doctor Ad Nicolas made a very thorough analysis about the true causes of malaria and yellow fever. Nicolas arrived at the Isthmus in 1885 to organize the medical services associated with the Canal’s construction and analyze the health situation as part of a mission of the Société de Travaux Publics et Constructions de Paris. First, Nicolas observed that the incidence of “fiévre des deltas” (“delta fever,” i.e., malaria) was associated with the proximity of swamps. Second, that yellow fever was present in the terminal cities of the interoceanic region, that is, the urban environments (Nicolas 1886). In addition, Nicolas makes a fundamental finding that helped to understand the exacerbation of malaria. He observed that deforestation was the unhealthiest of all the work associated with the Canal construction since it provoked changes in the “topographic and therefore hydrological” conditions, generating more malaria cases. Based on daily observation at the French camps, he concluded that water was not a problem if it flowed. It is “la stagnation d’une eau de pluie,” i.e., the stagnation of rainwater, or river water, which generates sanitary problems (Nicolas 1886), a fact proven by Canal Zone entomologists decades later. The sanitary solution proposed by Nicolas was a prophecy of what would decades later happen in the Panama Canal Zone; he advocated for the “drainage” and concluded that the swamps should be drained until they dried (Nicolas 1886). Nicolas was so aware of the health problem that he said: “However, it is hygiene that, to a large extent, will ensure the completion of the interoceanic Canal,” and so it was. Although the French canal company presented problems managing the funds for the Canal construction, yellow fever and malaria were also partly responsible for its failure.

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3.3 The Hygienic City in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries in the United States Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, typhoid, dysentery, cholera, and even yellow fever were endemic in American cities, with extremely high mortality rates, accounting for 50% more deaths than in rural areas (Taylor 2009). Doctors then began a search on the etiology of diseases, which started from the basis of the miasmatic theory and focused on identifying the environmental conditions that produced the miasmatic odor (Taylor 2009). Throughout that process, medical theories evolved and shaped urban changes. Sanitary engineer Egbert Viele’s contribution to the relationship between topography and the incidence of malaria (Cohen and Augustyn 1997) stands out in this process. Through the development of the topographic map of New York City, Viele states that “the sanitary condition of any city or district or country is intimately connected with its proper drainage…” and its prevention” (…) (Citizens’ Association of New York, Council of Hygiene and Public Health 1865). He concluded that diseases, such as malaria, were caused by the stagnation of waters associated with the obstruction of New York’s natural hydrological system due to the city’s expansion. He also indicated that streets and sewers should be planned to improve the city’s health according to an area’s natural drainage patterns. Like other health workers of the time, Viele linked urban environmental conditions and diseases and sought strategies to improve urban conditions. The first most apparent changes in the sanitary influence of urban planning in North America came in the second half of the nineteenth century, with Frederick Olmsted. He was the most renowned landscape architect of the nineteenth century in the United States and introduced sanitary criteria to urban planning (Szczygiel and Hewitt 2000). The importance of Olmsted’s legacy lies in the creation of standards that defined the form and image of the suburb, which became the ideal of the healthy urban landscape. One of the main contributions of Olmsted Sr. was the development of field studies as methodology prior to the design and urban planning to prevent diseases. This study researched environmental prevention of diseases, introduced by nineteenth-century sanitarians, known as sanitary survey plan by Peterson (1979). The sanitary survey was restricted to discovering local disease variables through a rigorous environmental search for disease preventives and then designing effective remedies. Remedies produced, in several cases, a comprehensive strategy for the cities and various insights into how cities were laid out and constructed. The final goal of remediations was to stop the epidemic of yellow fever prevalent at that time. Also, remediation extended until the prevention of malaria disease, also present in the United States in the nineteenth century. The root of this measure is associated with the theory that yellow fever and malaria was a consequence of stagnant water. This sanitary knowledge permeated Olmsted thanks to his relationship with the renowned sanitary George Waring Jr (Szczygiel and Hewitt 2000), who recommended mapping the terrain, its topography and detailing its

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bodies of water and, if necessary, draining the waters (Waring 1867). These medical concepts caused the avoidance of urban settlements near swamps or that the swamps were dried and filled before establishing a population. This thinking is evidenced in the preliminary study led by Olmsted for Staten Island in New York, considered the best analysis of land drainage to control malaria, where Olmsted recommended soil remediation to avoid water saturation. He proposed to locate enough buried open pipes, connected at about 3 to 4 feet (0.90 to 1.20 m) and inclined to maintain drainage (Olmsted et al. 1871). This medical discourse, however, had a lasting and ultimately destructive effect on swamps, especially in the southeastern United States. The health concern about the swamps was such that when doctors promoted the destruction of the swamps in the name of public health in the late nineteenth century; they did so despite the growing national conservation movement (Nelson 2002). The prevention of water puddles was also transferred to the urban space, which is evidenced by Olmsted’s emphasis on adapting the street layout to the natural terrain to follow the natural contours of the land to ensure adequate drainage. Thus, Water drainage is the origin of the winding urban layout characteristic of Olmsted’s picturesque design (Peterson 1979). The introduction of health in urban planning was so decisive that it induced new forms of urban planning that lasted over time and meant fundamental advances in infrastructure such as sewers, aqueducts, and rainwater drainage systems (Peterson 1979). It happened even though, during that time, those urban innovations were based on an empirical explanation of diseases. In addition, another health problem with a significant impact on urban planning was overcrowding in tenement houses. In New York, the typical house measured approximately 25.18 m2 , and generally, between 2 and 6 families lived in each house (Prison Association n.d.). This concern had a medical basis, as overcrowding and poor ventilation were directly related to a higher incidence of contagious diseases such as tuberculosis (Vojnovic et al. 2019). Consequently, the opposition to urban density and overcrowding that dominated the urban centers of the United States (see Fig. 3.2) determined the rise of a new urban morphology that emerged as an alternative: the suburb. Thus, Olmsted Sr’s strong opposition to what he called the “old-fashioned” compact way of building cities guided the American course of urban planning toward the decompression of the city, which resulted in maintaining a wide space of separation between buildings (Peterson 1979) to ensure ventilation. This is how the urban typology of isolated single-family housing was born. Along with it, large parks and green areas as well as the rest of the sanitary infrastructures such as sewers and aqueducts were introduced. Health and overcrowding, since they remained a significant apprehension in the early twentieth century, were the subject of major building standards which, according to Olmsted Jr., are intended to “protect against conditions unreasonably dangerous to health” (Olmsted 1910). This was the evolution of the sanitary foundation of American urbanism prior to the construction of the Canal. Its implementation in the Canal Zone overwhelmingly represented the importance of building a healthy urban environment in American culture, as Chapter 4 will review.

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Fig. 3.2 The dense and compact model that predominated in cities is American. New York, 1892. Source Department of Commerce. Bureau of Public Roads. Identifier: 205738455, NARA. https:// catalog.archives.gov/id/205738455

3.4 Sanitary Situation in Panama at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Despite numerous attempts to improve the sanitary conditions of Panama City, the high mortality due to illnesses in the transisthmian region was evident by the end of the nineteenth century. Diseases included dysentery, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and mosquito-borne diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria (Jaén 1980). Except for malaria, these diseases were related with poor urban environmental conditions. By the end of the nineteenth century, the municipality of Panama had “completely modified the sanitary status of the city” (Lebon 1897), with the paving of several streets in San Felipe, around the Plaza Catedral and other areas. However, when the Americans arrived, only some were paved. Poor health conditions were found particularly in the streets of the neighborhood of Santa Ana (see Fig. 3.3) and the city’s periphery, where a low-income settlement had arisen from the Guachapalí community composed of the old working population of the French Canal.

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Fig. 3.3 Calle 12 Este, Santa Ana Panama City, in 1906, before the paving was carried out by the United States. Source Panama Canal Company. Identifier 100997136, NARA. https://catalog.arc hives.gov/id/100997136

On the other hand, the sewer system to evacuate the wastewater of Panama City that probably worked was the one that had been built during the Spanish colony, the so-called natural sewer (Casas 2000). This system took advantage of the turret waters that ran through the streets for the evacuation of wastewater, probably taking it to the sea. This system did not guarantee that streets would be kept free of waste due to its dependence on climatic variability, which was aggravated in the dry season since the scarcity of rainwater made the streets become sources of pollution. On the other hand, the malfunctioning of storm drains and sewers predictably caused the formation of water puddles, which were usually also foci of mosquito breeding sites (Becker et al. 2010). There were other efforts to solve health problems in Panama. At least two projects of aqueducts and drinking water distribution were conceived for the city before 1900. At the time of the French Canal, one effort prepared by the Bernardini and Roy company, proposed to take advantage of the waters of the Río Grande toward Culebra (Compagnie Bernardini et Roy 1888). The proposal was a prelude to the dam of Río Grande that the Americans would turn into Lake Miraflores decades

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later. Another new aqueduct project that emerged around 1896 took advantage of the Juan Díaz River waters. It was developed by a team of technicians led by Pedro Sosa (Lebon 1897). None of these projects crystallized in Panama City so the lack of aqueducts, the poor sewerage, and the storm drain systems were added to the absence of a waste collection system. All these deficiencies favored the formation of breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito, a vector of yellow fever. On the one hand, the lack of an aqueduct forced the population to store rainwater in ponds, and cisterns, which became breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever. These water containers in houses are the typical formation site of breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes (Becker et al. 2010). On the other hand, the lack of management of municipal solid waste thrown around the villages led to the accumulation of bottles, cans, and other potential rainwater containers, also becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes (Le Prince et al. 1916), especially Stegomyia (Aedes). In Panama City, during a cholera epidemic when it was part of Colombia, waste was thrown directly into the streets, where it was exposed to heat and rain. It became fly breeding sites and the focus of constant epidemics in the population (Heckadon 1985). At the same time, diphtheria, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and other air transmitted lung diseases were also present in Panama City (see Fig. 3.4). They were linked to a different urban problem in the health infrastructure. Air borne disease incidence is related to the urban form of the building, the land occupation of urban plots, and the intensity of building volumetry. In this sense, the more occupation the plot surface has the greater the urban compactness generated, and the more compact the urban fabric, the more difficult it is to ventilate the interior of the buildings. In addition, the number and dimensions of windows are other factors in a building’s internal ventilation and, therefore, in transmitting these contagious diseases. The Panama City urban footprint by 1904 occupied the current neighborhoods of San Felipe, and Santa Ana, and its urban model was that of a compact and dense city. This model represented everything against which the Americans were fighting in the United States during the nineteenth century, as it was associated with an increased incidence of contagious disease risk. In Panama City, this was evident in the susceptibility to tuberculosis that prevailed in the low-income or unemployed population, mostly Afro-Antilleans and AfroPanamanians, who lived in poorly ventilated rooms. Ventilation significantly worsened at night when the people used to hermetically close their windows and doors due to their fear of the “night air” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1916). This idea of closing windows during the night is a vestige of the miasmatic theory. During the Canal construction, the French thought that windows should be made of glass to close the houses and protect them from “the infectious humidity of the nights.“ However, this measure was intended to prevent the entry of insects (Gired 1884). From the American perspective, Panama’s public health was of great importance due to the proximity of the cities of Panama and Colon to the Canal Zone and the fact that more than half of the “silver” workers of the Canal lived in Panama City (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1916). But the understandable reluctance and lack

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Fig. 3.4 Frequent causes of death found at autopsy in the Board of Health Laboratory, 1904 to 1947. Source This study with data from the Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida

of cooperation on public health recommendations from the Panamanian authorities caused much anxiety among Canal Zone health workers. Indeed, the lack of health improvement in Panama and Colon was considered a serious threat to the successful operation of the Canal.3 That is why the sanitation of Panama and Colon became a priority and led the sanitary workers of the Canal Zone to make numerous efforts to improve the sanitary infrastructure, as well as the conditions of overcrowding and poor ventilation since the first decades of the twentieth century. Since 1904, the Canal Zone’s authorities had assumed the direction of all that pertained to the sanitation of the cities of Panama and Colon through the Sanitary Department Chief of the Isthmian Canal Commission. This department became responsible for all the work related to aqueducts, sewers, and solid waste collection in Panama and Colon for the next 50 years. However, these works would only be provided at a cost. Indeed, the Taft Agreement committed Panama to fulfilling numerous obligations with the United States. The agreement established that sanitation works, such as water supply, waste collection, and sewers, would be charged to Panama based on the years of services. In addition, the agreement forced Panama to comply perpetually with the sanitary regulations set by the United States.4 The health transformation orchestrated by the Americans was a complex process that involved not only the introduction of infrastructure but also changes in habits and 3

The social rejection of health recommendations is not strange. In the nineteenth century, reformers began to seek solutions to urban health problems in the United States. They were hampered by a lack of laws and regulations and dominant ideologies such as laissez-faire. There was a belief that the government had no right to interfere with property rights and that markets could be trusted to eventually achieve the goal of improving environmental conditions (Lopez 2012). 4 Article VII of the Taft Agreement, from 1904, which says verbatim, “All sanitation, collection, and drain of filth and execution on behalf of the United States and the Government of its agents and Representatives shall have the power to establish and collect water contributions and sewer lines that are sufficient to provide for the payment of interest and the amortization of the capital invested in these works in a period of fifty years.”

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misconceptions that prevailed in the population. The measures included establishing aqueducts and sewers, a waste collection system, an intense educational campaign, and implementing sanitary rules (Heckadon 1985). Thus, the first regular waste collection service began in 1905. Between 1907 and 1913, the Government of Panama began to collect waste and burn it on nearby beaches, causing other serious problems, such as air pollution. Due to deficiencies in collecting and cleaning streets, in 1914, the Health Office of the Canal Zone completely assumed the service, although the waste continued to be burned (Heckadon 1985). Despite all sanitation efforts, these urban conditions did not affect the incidence of malaria, which was related with rural and natural areas of the region. What worsened malaria cases was the terrain disturbances that had been conducted within the Canal construction framework since the French.5 After yellow fever was controlled in 1905 (Le Prince et al. 1916), the “disease most prevalent along the line and the one to be guarded against in the future canal construction” was malaria (Report of the Chief Sanitary Office of the Canal Zone 1905). Malaria did not lose that category over the years, and it continued to be considered the “main cause of disability” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1916). The transformation of the territory continued to occur with the construction of the Canal and led to a higher incidence of mosquito breeding sites. Fortunately, after the first few years of the construction of the Panama Canal, malaria rates fell, and cases gradually dropped from 821 cases per 1,000 in 1906 to 76 in 1913. The high rates in these years were due to large construction projects carried out beyond the Canal Zone’s healthy areas, the worsening of environmental conditions because of an unusually rainy season, and the natural plant growth on the banks of streams and rivers (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1930). Eventually, the effects of the introduction of sanitation measures in Panama City were noticeable in mortality statistics, so by the end of the 1940s, mortality had almost equated to the low mortality rates of the Canal Zone (see Fig. 3.5).

3.5 The Canal Zone Suburban Model and Its Sanitary Scope When the Americans arrived in Panama to build the Canal in 1904, the sanitary urbanism of the nineteenth century was very recent, and it was precisely the spearhead to achieve the construction of the Canal. So, in 1904, for the President of the United States himself, mosquito sanitation and control “was fully as important as engineering” (Gorgas 1915). Moreover, from then on, malaria control was the responsibility of the Medical Department in the Canal Zone, led by Colonel William 5

The swamps existed naturally prior to the construction of the French Canal. However, due to the land transformation caused by the French, the proliferation of mosquito breeding sites was enhanced.

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Fig. 3.5 The death rate from all causes from 1905 to 1947. Source This study with data from the Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida

Gorgas. Thus, health would influence almost all aspects of constructing and planning the Canal Zone towns. The first evidence of this influence was the drafting of the Canal Zone’s “building regulations” in 1907. The Department of Health developed the document that initially outlined disease control measures (Lasso 2019), which influenced the construction of buildings and shaped the temporary settlements during the Canal construction. These early regulations mainly focused on the prevention of mosquito breeding sites. However, they were also the regulatory framework that reproduced the morphology of the North American suburb model. This model had urban characteristics of low population density and distance between buildings, which had been agreed upon by urban and health planners of the nineteenth century as a guarantee of health. Implicit in these Canal Zone’s early rules was the concern to avoid overcrowding and to ensure ventilated and sunny housing; the main reason for the urban distancing that shaped the American suburbs was health. In the early twentieth century, suburban planning continued to develop in the United States maintaining the principle of distancing that emerged in the nineteenth century, with some changes. In 1909, Olmsted Jr., planning Forest Hills Gardens (Queens, NY), chose to establish a variable distance depending on the widths of the buildings (Sage Foundation Homes Company 1914). In addition, he argued that the amount of light and air entering any window was related to its distance to the next opposite wall of the building (Olmsted 1910).

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Precisely, distancing was normalized early in the Canal Zone through the building regulations of 1907, even before Forest Hills, requiring that “there shall be either a free space of not less than 15 feet (4.50 m) between buildings.” The regulation remained in the permanent towns of the Canal Zone even into the mid-twentieth century in a more complex and widespread ordinance (Potter 1957). The distance between buildings reached even all the suburbs of Fort Clayton. It was 15 feet (4.50 m) in the first residential complex in 1943, the same length established in the building regulations of 1907 and 1915. The rules were also geared toward complying with the construction plans that the health authorities of the Canal Zone implemented, including reviewing the location and sufficient installation of windows for “light and ventilation purposes” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1916). Based on the idea that good ventilation ensures a constant supply of fresh, pure air and germ-killing sunlight (The Panama Canal Record 1918). Parallel to the building regulations and the work of the health inspectors, the Isthmian Canal Commission considered the introduction of sanitation in the Canal Zone through sanitary infrastructures such as streets, roads, and sidewalks, water, and sewage systems, which completed the image of the healthy urban landscape (Isthmian Canal Commission 1911). The introduction of this suburban model materialized in the schematic plan of Balboa; the first planned permanent settlement designed by the architect Frederick Olmsted Jr. To that end, Olmsted Jr. came to the Canal Zone as part of the National Commission of Fine Arts. At the same time, the development of Balboa introduced the nineteenth-century sanitary survey plan that modified the territory where Balboa was built. Initial sanitation work included introducing 593,127 linear feet (180,785 m) of land drains, excavating 5,079 cubic yards (3,883 cubic meters), filling 2,862 cubic yards (2,188 cubic meters) of holes and swamps, laying 2,520 linear feet (768 m) of concrete drains, constructing 10,566 linear feet (3,220 m) of cement drains, and clearing 323 acres (131 hectares) of vegetation (Isthmian Canal Commission 1913a). Besides, in the urban layout, the measures recommended by the health workers to control mosquito breeding sites were clearly applied in Balboa. Mosquito control is evident in the residential area for white employees of the Canal, whose curved layout of streets conformed to the topographic lines of Cerro Ancón. In fact, the construction of Balboa was based on the sanitary principle of land grading “to secure suitable drainage” (Isthmian Canal Commission 1914), a work that by April 1914 was completed. A month later, the sewerage, drinking water, and surface drainage projects were completed, like those communities planned by Olmsted Jr in the United States. Other evidence of the sanitary influence on Balboa’s urbanism is observed in the location of the houses of the white employees of the Canal in the higher areas of Balboa “to favor the ventilation of the prevailing winds” (Commission of Fine Arts, United States 1913). Balboa thus became the first formal urban experiment in the Canal Zone, with a robust sanitary base, where the building regulations of the Zone were applied, along with comprehensive urban planning that included sanitary infrastructure, wide-open spaces, and low population densities, measures inherited from the United States.

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Over the decades, the most significant health concerns were malaria and yellow fever, then the rest of the diseases. The concern for malaria was evident in the order of importance of the sanitary inspections: first, they carried out the “inspections to detect and remedy conditions favorable to the reproduction of Anopheles.” The second “inspection was carried out to detect and remedy favorable conditions to the Aedes (Stegomyia) calopus,” and finally, general sanitation. At the same time, at different levels, all the diseases directly affected building regulations and the landscape of the towns in the Canal Zone.

3.6 Influence of Malaria and Yellow Fever Mosquitoes’ Ecology in Building Regulations, Architecture, and Landscape During the early twentieth century, sanitation was a priority while building the Canal. At that time, synthetic insecticides had not been invented yet, so understanding the ecology of mosquitoes was crucial until DDT emerged during the 1940s. Thus, since the beginning of the American Canal, entomologists began to conduct studies on mosquito behavior and habitats from a scientific and evidence-based perspective. Their studies strictly focused on the ecological evidence of mosquitoes, which called into question the prejudiced discourse on the tropics (Sutter 2005). However, malaria and yellow fever prevention continued to justify racial segregation in the villages and temporary camps associated with the Canal construction (Lasso 2019). Entomologists then understood that the prevalence of these diseases depended on two factors: malaria caused by a parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, and yellow fever caused by a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito (Faust 1951). In both cases, the key to controlling the transmission of the disease was to prevent the presence of vectors, i.e., mosquitoes. So, the health objective was to reduce both species of dangerous mosquitoes. Therefore, environmental management measures depended on a complete understanding of mosquitoes’ ecology, population dynamics, and the epidemiology of mosquito-borne diseases. Because of this, in the Canal Zone, studies on vector habitats intensified so that control could be established on solid foundations. Initially, mosquitoes’ immature stages occur in an aquatic environment, dependent on atmospheric air to breathe. Therefore, mosquitoes usually spend much of their lives suspended in the surface film of an aquatic environment. There is, in turn, an optimal range of water temperatures for growth in the immature stages of the mosquito. This range is lower for species living in temperate zones than those in tropical ones and varied somewhat between different species living in the same geographical area (World Health Organization 1982). Nevertheless, it is crucial to consider that the nature of the aquatic environments for the reproduction of the Aedes mosquito is different from that of the Anopheles. The Aedes breed in the same place

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where they feed: the populated areas, while the Anopheles usually breed in stagnant waters outside the urban space. Later in the adult stage, the behavior and habitat of the mosquitoes in question also differ. Aedes mosquitoes live in human settlements and fly a short distance, while Anopheles mosquitoes inhabit rural and natural environments and fly great distances to feed in populated areas. The environmental management concept arose for mosquito control, encompassing a wide range of measures designed to suppress the mosquito population and the risk of disease transmission. In 1980, the WHO Expert Committee on Biology and Vector Control defined three basic categories of environmental management for vector control (Becker et al. 2010): • Environmental modification: Lasting physical transformation of vector habitats. • Environmental manipulation: temporary changes in the vector’s habitat because of planned activity to produce unfavorable conditions for the reproduction of the vector. • Changes in human habitat or behavior. The measures applied in the Canal Zone can be framed in the category of lasting physical transformation of vector habitats and changes in human habitat or behavior to reduce human/vector contact. However, environmental modification and manipulation for controlling mosquito disease vectors almost disappeared with the development of chemical insecticides. After World War II, in the world, the use of such insecticides, especially as residual household aerosols, was so effective in controlling mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases that little or no use was made of biological and physical methods of mosquito control (World Health Organization 1982). In the case of the Canal Zone, environmental control systems were never abandoned and were applied simultaneously with chemical control from the 1940s-1950s.

3.6.1 Aedes Ecology Influence on Sanitary Solutions Aedes aegypti, a synonym of Aedes calopus, is the yellow fever vector identified in the Canal Zone, which is almost always found in the vicinity of human settlements. Recent studies confirm that larvae can be found in a wide variety of small artificial containers, both inside and outside human dwellings, in gardens, and within a radius of 1600 feet (500 m) around dwellings, for example, in water tanks for storing water and broken bottles (Becker et al. 2010). All measures to keep the Canal Zone free of yellow fever were implemented in human settlements with two main objectives: one aimed at permanently transforming hatcheries, and the second, directed at changing the human habitat to prevent mosquitoes from accessing indoor buildings. The “sanitation” or environmental control of mosquito breeding sites in cities consisted mainly of constructing rainwater drains from roofs to rivers and carefully covering the soil around buildings with grass and drainage structures (Gorgas 1915).

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These mosquito breeding control systems inspired building regulations that influenced Canal Zone architecture since 1907. One of them was the installation of “concrete gutters below the eaves (…) without this precaution, the drippings from the roof would accumulate in puddles” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1916). Later in 1957, the new ordinance even banned eave gutters to prevent stagnant water in them. Another mosquito control strategy to limit population access and linked to architecture was screening building openings (windows and doors) (see Fig. 3.6). Gorgas developed copper mesh screening to help control malaria and yellow fever since adult mosquito vectors, Anopheles and Aedes, traveled into towns and inside buildings. This method was part of sanitary building regulations, which established: “Exterior openings of all buildings constructed for dwellings, (…) shall be effectively screened against mosquitoes” (Potter 1957). Although the last case of yellow fever in the Canal Zone occurred in 1905, the measures to prevent hatcheries in the urban environments of the Canal Zone continued to be rigorously applied.

3.6.2 Anopheles Ecology Influence on Sanitary Solutions The Canal Zone’s entomologists identified one of the main malaria vectors, Anopheles albimanus, as responsible for practically all malaria transmission in the Pacific slope of the Canal Zone (Le Prince et al. 1916). At the same time, the sanitation team conducted an exhaustive meteorological and topographic study of the pre-existing conditions of the area where the Canal was to be built. Geomorphology studies showed that the Canal alignment coursed through the middle and lower reaches of the Río Grande River on the Pacific slope. Its contiguous territory was mainly flat, receiving a tidal influence of up to 6 miles inland to Miraflores. The entomologists concluded that malaria incidence depended on the conditions conducive to Anopheles mosquito breeding sites, mainly associated with flat topography and abundant rainfall. This was reflected in Le Prince’s, the Chief Sanitary Inspector of the Canal Zone in 1916, report, referring to mosquito breeding sites which noted that “Anopheles larvae were present in streams o steep hillsides as well as on the lowlands” (Le Prince et al. 1916). Especially, the large plains areas of the valley of the Río Grande led to rainwater accumulation and formed puddles that mosquitoes took advantage of (Gorgas 1915). Le Prince’s report is consistent with recent studies indicating that the larva of Anopheles albimanus is found in a variety of aquatic habitats, both freshwater, and brackish water. Habitats range from natural environments, such as edge of shallow water bodies, lakes, and swamps, to rural environments, such as grazing fields. An additional factor that made malaria control more difficult was the excavation of the land and the changes in the topography linked to the Canal construction. Besides, improvised landfills used by the Canal engineers to dispose of the excavated material

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Fig. 3.6 Detail of a porch protected with anti-mosquito nets in a house inFort Amador. Source Historic American Buildings Survey (1933). Fort Amador, Officers’ Quarters, Fifth Street at the intersection with Amador Road, Panama City, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Panama Former Panama Canal Zone Panama City Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.cz0005.photos/?sp=3

created stagnant waters and flooded large land areas, multiplying the Anopheles hatcheries, a process that was initiated decades earlier with the construction carried out by the French. Moreover, the construction of the American Canal deforested and transformed the territory, and created the conditions for large-scale colonization of mosquitoes, a fact recognized by the American scientists of the Department of Health of the Canal Zone (Le Prince et al. 1916). Most of the sanitary strategies during the construction of the Canal were aimed at alleviating swamps and rivers blocked by planned and non-planned landfills. Because of this large-scale transformation, topography, and climate, controlling the disease was extremely difficult (Sutter 2005). In addition, all streams, ponds, and swamps where Anopheles could breed had to be inspected at least once a week (Isthmian Canal

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Commission 1913b). Although after the completion of the Canal construction, the cases decreased, malaria was not eradicated. As malaria continued into the late 1940s, (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1947), mosquito breeding control to prevent malaria in villages, and intervention in rivers, streams, and lagoons continued. Mosquito transmission usually occurs in indoor spaces when the mosquito enters homes at night to feed on people; it can also occur outdoors in the afternoon. Therefore, if A. albaminus lives and breeds in rural and natural areas outside the urban environment, it must fly continuously from its habitat to populated areas. This led the Americans to pay close attention to the distance flown by mosquitoes to get to the villages, critical information to determine precisely where to introduce environmental control strategies for mosquito breeding sites. Following this, the Chief Sanitary Inspector, Mr. Le Prince, conducted experiments in 1913 that showed that mosquitoes flew from swamps and stagnant waters, where their hatcheries were located, to populated areas adjacent to the Canal to feed and then returned to their habitat (Le Prince et al. 1916). At the same time, flight distance testing was taking place in another experiment in the Gatun village, where the health workers measured the flight distance of various mosquito species. Researchers used aniline to color each mosquito and identify it. The mosquito species that showed considerable flight distances were A. albimanus and A. tarsimaculata, which reached 1.18 miles (1.9 km) from the release station (Le Prince et al. 1916). In the end, the critical point in deciding whether to intervene in a swamp or not was the flight length of the different species and the extent to which they affected the transmission of malaria (Le Prince et al. 1916). Consequently, the malaria campaign moved out of the Canal Zone villages to almost any stagnant water in the surrounding territory (see Fig. 3.7), with a fundamental strategy: eradicating environmental conditions favorable to mosquito breeding sites (Gorgas 1915). In fact, recent studies have shown that variation in larval habitat quality could have a marked influence on the spatial and temporal dynamics of malaria transmission (Moller-Jacobs 2014). The main breeding control strategies used in the Canal Zone were the drainage of swamps and stagnant water through open canals and the construction of fillers with excavated material from the Canal construction (Le Prince et al. 1916). Since mosquitoes could breed in the stagnant waters of streams and rivers due to the growth of plants on their margins, continuous cleaning of the edges of water bodies was conducted. For American health workers every body of water was considered a drain, so they turned streams into cement pipes (Le Prince et al. 1916). Secondly, even within the jungle, in the vicinity of populated areas, Anopheles mosquito breeding grounds were found in the accumulation of water (Le Prince et al. 1916)6 (see Fig. 3.8). This became a health concern; so, forest clearing around villages was used as a measure of prevention of the disease.7 Le Prince, in his report, stated that “in the villages out in the Canal Zone surrounded by jungle, breeding places for Anopheles were 6

Water accumulation can occur in plants, such as bromeliad or hollow trunks of fallen trees. Since the occupation of the Americans, many square miles of the jungle were removed in the Canal Zone, including fields and surrounding villages. In 1904, some houses were not accessible without the help of clearing a road.

7

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Fig. 3.7 Map of the sanitized areas in the Canal Zone, Panama City, and vicinity. The Fort Clayton area is marked in dotted lines. Source Health Department of the Panama Canal (1930). University of Florida

numerous and close to the houses. At first sight, the question of controlling malaria appeared to be utterly hopeless.” Sanitary work in the forested areas implied, first, machete clearance “until this clearing was made, it was impossible to locate the breeding places near settlements, or to follow streams or small natural watercourses” (Le Prince et al. 1916). Until they removed all the vegetation, the sanitary officers were not satisfied. What US health workers were unaware of was that this measure could backfire, as forest interventions could potentially increase the proliferation of Anopheles mosquitoes. However, the policy in the Canal Zone was an intense and invasive intervention in the jungle, even channeling the streams within the jungle with concrete drains to avoid the formation of any natural pool. On the other hand, with cattle ranching throughout the Canal Zone as a military strategy since 1916, malaria continuously affected the villages, leading to the conclusion that the grazing fields quarreled with health. Hence, they introduced drainage systems in the grazing lands. Sometimes even the cattle were moved to other grazing fields further away from the villages (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1917).

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Fig. 3.8 Stagnant water within tropical forest of the Panama Canal, current Soberanía National Park, former Panama Canal Zone. Source Arosemena (2021)

3.6.2.1

Territorial Impact of Mosquito Control in the Towns of the Canal Zone. The Case of Fort Clayton

By 1914, when military authorities were still deciding whether to locate a defense site between the Culebra Cut or the Miraflores locks,8 health concerns were discussed. Miraflores region consisted of low-lying land, partly swampy, and the surrounded territory was made up of small hills and low valleys with numerous streams and rivers running through it, favoring the formation of mosquito breeding sites. Indeed, the swamps where the Miraflores defense site would be established were filled with material excavated from the Canal, following Goethals’ plan to take any lands necessary for the construction and sanitation of the Canal (Subcommittee of Appropriations 1913). In fact, canal engineers deposited excavated material from the construction of the Canal in Miraflores, later called “Miraflores Dump” (Isthmian Canal Commission 1906). From a military authorities’ point of view, two disadvantages were evident in Miraflores. First, although the floodplain had been filled with material excavated from the lock construction, the presence of a swamp in the Cárdenas River, east of the new railway alignment, could have health implications related to malaria. The second concern was the lack of breeze in the lowlands of Miraflores where the temperature was on average, 2 or 3 degrees higher than in Culebra, a location 8

Miraflores was the name of the area where the first lock was placed, with the same name, from the Pacific slope of the Canal.

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of higher altitude (United States Congress, House Committee of Appropriations 1913). Despite the negative conditions of Miraflores, it was argued that the military camp location should be established where the Canal could be easily crossed, and troops could access both sides of the Canal in the event of an attack. Finally, the decision to locate Fort Clayton in the Miraflores landfill was made dismissing health and climatic concerns, and prioritizing practical, economic, and especially, military strategy criteria. In terms of sanitation, Miraflores Dump was not a good place to settle Fort Clayton. Therefore, health authorities had to apply considerable efforts to control water accumulation around the site. The preliminary stage of the urban occupation of Fort Clayton was filling the floodplains with material from the excavations of the Canal (see Fig. 3.9), the first land transformation for sanitary remediation of the fortification. Moreover, in Fort Clayton’s preliminary plan, from a health and practical point of view, Goethals also considered raising the building foundations above the ground and permanent grading (Subcommittee of Appropriations 1913) to make the land suitable for building. This land treatment was linked to the building regulation for grading to prevent stagnant water and was the first construction task in the settlement of Clayton by 1919. Thus, the Municipal Division developed the design of the Fort, integrating landscape work to land grading, sewers, stormwater drainage, and adjustment of streets to terrain grading, which together constituted the construction basis of the

Fig. 3.9 Map of the sanitized areas at Fort Clayton by 1929. Source Current study based on information from the sanitized map (Report of the Health Department 1930. Google Earth Pro (2001) Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber, 8º59' 54'' N, 79º34' 52ºW, elevation 2,514 m. Map of Fort Clayton and Corozal from War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947) Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/230248170

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Fort (Governor of the Panama Canal 1920: 84), along with nineteenth-century urban sanitation. In July 1919, malaria remained a significant health problem in the military areas of Corozal and Fort Clayton. Therefore, in the same year, a series of sanitary tasks started, like those implemented in the nineteenth century, to reduce water stagnation and prevent malaria. One of the first projects executed took place on Cardenas River, adjacent to the Fort (see Fig. 3.10). The river was blocked by the filling from the realignment of the transisthmian railway and had become an Anopheles hatchery (Le Prince et al. 1916). Due to this, the Department of Health decided to lower the Cardenas River by 7 feet (2.13 m), digging out the subsoil beneath the railroad, releasing the river, and degrading a stream (Governor of the Panama Canal 1920). Fort Clayton was finally occupied in October 1920; however, malaria cases persisted. The Army health inspector conducted several interventions to prevent water stagnation outside the built space of Fort Clayton in the surrounding territory. Stagnant waters were removed by numerous drainage and infill efforts (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1921); even in the jungle, concrete drains were built (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1920). The stream channels in the jungle were also cleared, many streams were freed from natural obstructions, and the rocks of the Cárdenas River that generated stagnant pools were removed. Despite these alterations, sanitarian measures significantly reduced malaria cases and lowered Anopheles incidence within Fort Clayton (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1920).

Fig. 3.10 Contour map of Fort Clayton and Corozal. The difference in level between Fort Clayton and the Cardenas River due to the land filling in 1928 can be observed. Source War Department (1928) Office of the Chief of Engineers. Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https:/ /catalog.archives.gov/id/230248170

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Table 3.1 Canal Zone balance sheet of changes in the ecosystem from malaria control in towns Interventions according to interests and sanitation of the Canal Degradation caused Zone Management and defense of Canal (towns)

Loss of biodiversity

Malaria disease regulation

Destruction of wetlands Destruction of river ecosystems

Malaria still continued to be a problem in Fort Clayton until the 1930s.The continuous study of the mosquitoes and the surveillance of mosquito breeding sites over time allowed US health workers to interpret why malaria outbreaks occurred and to intervene in each territory. The continuous malaria outbreaks were the reason why the sanitation of Fort Clayton continuously impacted its surrounding environment within a 1.5-km radius (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1928); a distance similar to that identified by entomologists in their observations on Anopheles migration. Unfortunately, these Anopheles control measures did not prioritize the natural importance of wetlands and rivers for wildlife and biodiversity, as the priority was sanitary control to achieve the maintenance and defense of the Canal (Table 3.1). The sanitation work continued over the next few decades, resulting in what US health workers considered a “protected area” from Ancon, Balboa, Corozal, Fort Clayton, to Paraiso and Pedro Miguel. The protected area was over 20 km (13 mi) long and considered a victory over mosquito breeding and over natural and artificial swamps through permanent drainage, becoming lawns, gardens, villages, or harmless grass and jungle (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1926). The constant intervention within a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) radius around the towns and military forts throughout the Zone meant ecosystem loss and altered landscapes in water bodies, vegetation, and topography. This radius of the impact on the villages’ health can be considered the sanitary ecological footprint.

3.7 Mosquito Control Influence on the Fort Clayton Urban Landscape The urban landscape of the Canal Zone is the result of numerous cultural, aesthetic, and political factors, among others. However, this section will focus on the influence of mosquito control, especially the Aedes mosquito. The influence of mosquito breeding sites’ environmental control on the Canal Zone’s landscape and urban area is summarized in the following strategy: preventing rainwater accumulation. This principle fundamentally influenced three main aspects: first, the street’s urban layout adjusted to topography; second, the rainwater drainage system; and finally, the ground cover designed under the minimum use of waterproof material.

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Adjusting the urban layout to topography and systematizing drainage systems at Canal Zone towns became the first Canal Zone building regulations of 1907 and 1915. It stated that “the ground beneath all buildings should be graded and drained to prevent the accumulation of water in puddles” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1916). It is worth mentioning that the Panama Canal Company regularly maintained sewers and rainwater drains by cleaning and removing obstructions and replacing defective pipes and drains (Panama Canal Company 1958: 135). It guaranteed the correct functioning of these pipes and thus avoided both mosquito breeding sites, as well as flooding. This regulation continued to be implemented at least until the 1950s (Potter 1957). Due to this regulation and the ICC sanitary goals, the Municipal Division developed the design of Fort Clayton, integrating drinking water, sewerage, storm drainage, streets, landscaping, and land grading. These elements together constituted the sanitary bases of the Fort (Governor of the Panama Canal 1920). Indeed, the measures used to control mosquito breeding sites environmentally are practically the same as those used in the United States during the nineteenth century. Another aspect of health that most significantly influenced the Canal Zone’s urban landscape was the extensive grass-covered areas, including the residential areas of Fort Clayton, with several factors converging. First, the dispersed urban model was applied in the Zone, and the spacing between buildings formed a lax structure resulting in wide-open spaces. In addition, building regulations for permanent settlements stated that areas around buildings should be “planted with grass when necessary” to minimize impermeable surfaces and prevent puddle formation (Potter 1957). A strategy that mainly addressed environmental control of the mosquito responsible for yellow fever, Aedes, whose breeding sites may exist in stagnant urban waters. Nevertheless, the issue of the grass did not end there since it also managed to prevent mosquitoes’ access to buildings; a strategy conditioned mainly by mosquito flies. While it is true that Anopheles can travel very long distances, exposure to the sun or wind destroys the mosquito, and that is why it looks for all kinds of shrubs, grass, and foliage to protect itself which led to pruning as another mosquito control strategy. During the initial phase of Canal construction, weeds, shrubs, and tall grass around the dwellings were removed as a mosquito control strategy. The lawn was kept mowed and free of shrubs within 600 feet (182 m) of the buildings to prevent mosquitoes from reaching the buildings and towns. Without shrubs and high grass, there would be no shelter for the mosquito, and mosquitoes would not approach the inhabitants (Gorgas 1915); this could also deter access for Aedes species living in urban environments. Although the sanitarians decided that keeping the lawn at a maximum height of 1 foot was enough to control mosquitoes (Gorgas 1915), this way of pruning did not last in the Canal Zone, and perfectly manicured cut grass was imposed, which was an aesthetic criterion (Sutter 2007). However, this aesthetic criterion was not new. It was introduced into American suburban culture when Olmsted planned Riverside, the first suburb. Olmsted designed single-family homes with a retreat of about 30 feet (9.14 m) from the sidewalk, thus generating front yards covered with

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Fig. 3.11 Albrook Air Force Station, Company Officer’s Quarters, Former Panama Canal Zone, 1933. Source Historic American Buildings Survey (1933) Albrook Air Force Station. Panama Balboa Former Panama Canal Zone Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/cz0023/

lawns. Furthermore, marking the beginning of one of the distinctive elements of the American suburb: the grass in front of the houses, through a smooth, closely shaven surface of the grass to beautify the suburban dwelling (Jenkins 1994). Most likely, aesthetics influenced how the grass was manicured because it was essential in representing a known urban landscape for permanent American employees and soldiers in the Canal Zone (see Fig. 3.11). The way that Canal Zone authorities decided to prune demonstrates how sanitary measures did not always originate from medical criteria but also from aesthetic ones (see Fig. 3.12).

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Fig. 3.12 Barrack surrounded by grass and rainwater drains at Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2019)

References Anthonj C, Rechenburg A, Kistemann T (2016) Water, sanitation, and hygiene in wetlands. A study from the Ewaso Narok Swamp, Kenya. Int J Hyg Environ Health (Oct):606–616 Becker N, Petric D, Zgomba M, Boase C et al (2010) Mosquitoes and their control. Springer, Heidelberg Casas A (2000) Los circuitos del agua y la higiene urbana en la ciudad de Cartagena a comienzos del siglo 20. História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos 7(2) Citizens’ Association of New York. Council of Hygiene and Public Health (1865) Report of the Council of Hygiene and Public Health of the Citizens’ Association of New York upon the Sanitary Condition of the City. D. Appleton and Company, New York. Florida State University Cohen P, Augustyn R (1997) Manhattan in maps 1527–2014. Dover Publications, Inc., New York Commission of Fine Arts, United States (1913) Panama Canal: Senate Documents. Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting a Report by the Commission of Fine Arts concerning the Artistic Structure of the Panama Canal (1913). The University of Florida. https://www.gov info.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-Y1_3-e552860a951417cac085b42906c6e6ee. Accessed on 10 Nov 2018 Compagnie Bernardini et Roy. Cartographe (1888) Plan Manuscrit des travaux d’adduction des eaux dans la ville de Panama. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ ark:/12148/btv1b53006765n.r=Plan%20Manuscrit%20des%20travaux%20d%27adduction% 20des%20eaux%20dans%20la%20ville%20de%20Panama?rk=21459;2. Accessed on 4 June 2021.

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Falkenmark M et al (2007) Agriculture, water, and ecosystems: Avoiding the costs of going too far. In: Molden D (ed) Water for food, water for life: a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. Earthscan, Oxford, pp 233–277 Faust E (1951) The history of malaria in the United States. Am Sci. The Tulane University of Louisiana 39(1):121–130 Figueroa A (1980) Visión de Panamá durante la Época del Canal Francés. Centenario del Canal Francés. Panamá: Revista Lotería 292:17–25 Frenkel S (1996) Jungle stories: North American representations of Tropical Panama. Geogr Rev (The American Geographical Society of New York) 86:317–333 Gired L Dr (1884) Programme d’hygiène des Européens dans l’Isthme de Panama. Paris. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k115837z. Accessed on 10 June 2021 Gorgas W, Chief Sanitary Officer (1915) U.S.A Sanitation in Panama. Appleton and Company, New York, and London Governor of the Panama Canal (1920) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Calendar Year 1920. Mount Hope, Canal Zone, University of Florida Health Department of the Panama Canal (1917) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar Year 1916. University of Florida, Washington Health Department of the Panama Canal (1920) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar year 1919. The Panama Canal Press. University of Florida, Mont Hope, CZ Health Department of the Panama Canal (1921) Annual Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar year 1920. Government printing office. University of Florida, Washington Health Department of the Panama Canal (1926) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar Year 1925. University of Florida, Washington Health Department of the Panama Canal (1928) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar Year 1927. University of Florida, Washington Health Department of the Panama Canal (1930) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar Year 1929. University of Florida, Washington Health Department of the Panama Canal (1931) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar year 1930. Balboa Heights, Canal Zone: The Panama Canal Press. University of Florida Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar year 1947. Mount Hope, CZ: The Panama Canal Press. University of Florida Heckadon S (1985) La urbanización y la basura en la ciudad de Panamá (1905–1985). In: Heckadon S, Espinosa J (eds) Agonía de la Naturaleza, 327. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias de Panamá and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama Horwitz P, Finlayson M (2011) Wetlands and settings for human health: incorporating ecosystem services and health impact assessment into water resource management. Bioscience 61(9):678– 688 Hviid L (2005) Naturally acquired immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa. Acta Tropica (elsevier) 95:270–275 Isthmian Canal Commission (1905) Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the year Ended December 1, 1905. Washington: Government Printing Office. University of Florida Isthmian Canal Commission (1906) Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the year Ended December 1, 1906. Washington: Government Printing Office. University of Florida Isthmian Canal Commission (1911) Minutes of Meeting of the Isthmian Canal Commission. January-December 1910. University of Florida, Washington Isthmian Canal Commission (1913a) Annual report of the Isthmian Canal Commission for the Fiscal Yeard Ending June 30, 1913. University of Florida, Washington

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Isthmian Canal Commission (1913b) Manual of Instruction of Sanitary Inspectors, Mount Hope, Canal Zone. Department of Sanitation. Quartermaster’s Department. I.C.C Press. University of Florida Isthmian Canal Commission (1914) Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1914. Government Printing, Washington. University of Florida Jaén O (1980) Ecología y mortalidad en Panamá durante la construcción del canal. In Centenario del Canal Francés. Panamá: Revista Lotería 292:67–73 Jenkins V (1994) The lawn. A history of an American obsession. Smithsonian Institution Lasso M (2019) Erased: the untold story of the Panama Canal. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Le Prince J, Orenstein A, Howard L (1916) Mosquito control in Panama; the eradication of malaria and yellow fever in Cuba and Panama. Putnam, New York, London. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/16004601/. Accessed on 6 Feb 2021 Lebon E (1897) Concession de la distribucion d’eau. Rapport sur ma mission a Panama. Paris: Imprimerie et Librairie Centrales des Chemins de Fer. ImprimerieChaix. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k14216321.r=Concession% 20de%20la%20distribucion%20d%27eau.%20Rapport%20sur%20ma%20mission%20a%20P anama.?rk=42918;4. Accessed on 20 Aug 2021 Lopez R (2012) Building American public health urban planning, architecture, and the quest for better health in the United States. Springer, Heidelberg Moller-Jacobs L (2014) Capacity of mosquitoes to transmit malaria depends on larva environment. National Library of Medicine Nelson M (2002) The landscape of disease: swamps and medical discourse in the American Southeast, 1800–1880. Miss Q (John Hopkins University Press) 55(4):535–567 Nicolas A (1886) L’hygiène dans l’isthme de Panama. La France Médicale. Tome 1 no 61:729–732. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9604383t/f9. item.r=L’hygiène%20dans%20l’isthme%20de%20Panama. Accessed on 28 Aug 2021 Olmsted F Jr (1910) City planning: an introductory address delivered by Frederick law Olmsted at the second national conference on city planning and congestion of population. Bangor Public Library, New York. https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context= books_pubs. Accessed on 9 Dec 2020 Olmsted F, Harris E, Throwbridge JM, Richardson HH (1871) Staten Island Improvement Commission. Report of a preliminary scheme of improvements. New York: James Sutton & Co, Printers and Stationers. Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University. https://books.google.com.pa/books?id=uuACAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=es& source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Accessed on 20 Nov 2020 Panama Canal Company (1958) Annual Report. Canal Zone Government Peterson J (1979) The impact of sanitary reform upon American urban planning, 1840–1890. J Soc Hist 13:83–103 Potter, Governor, WE (1957) Building regulations for the Canal Zone. Canal Zone Government. University of Florida Prison Association. w.d. Report of the Council of Hygiene and Public Health Ravishankaran T et al (2018) Socio-demographic and household attributes may not necessarily influence malaria: evidence from a cross sectional study of households in an urban slum setting of Chennai, India. Malar J 17:4 Report of the Chief Sanitary Office of the Canal Zone (1905) Report of the Chief Sanitary Officer of the Canal Zone, February 20, 1905. Washington, Isthmian Canal Commission. Florida State University Roux J-C (1886) Le Canal de Panama en 1886. Rapport présenté par M. Jules-Ch. Roux. Délégué et membre de la Chambre de Commerce. Marseille: Typographie et Lithographie Barlatier-Feissat. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1092498c.r= Le%20Canal%20de%20Panama%20en%201886?rk=343349;2. Accessed on 12 Sept 2021

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Sage Foundation Homes Company (1914) Forest Hills, Borough of Queens, Long Island. New York City Staedke S, Nottingham W, Cox J, Kamya M, Rosenthal P (2003) Short report: proximity to mosquito breeding sites as risk factor for clinical malaria episodes in an urban cohort of Ugandan children. Am J Trop Med Hyg 69(3):244–246 Sutter P (2005) El control de los zancudos en Panamá: los entomólogos y el cambio ambiental durante la construcción del Canal. Historia Crítica Julio-Diciembre 30:67–69 Sutter PS (2007) Nature’s agents or agents of empire? Entomological workers and environmental change during the construction of the Panama Canal. Isis 98(4):724–754 Szczygiel B, Hewitt R (2000) Nineteenth-century medical landscapes: John H. Rauch, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the search of salubrity. Bull Hist Med 74:708–734 Taylor D (2009) The environment and the people in American cities, 1600–1900. Disorder, inequality, and social change. Duke University Press, Durham Tejeira-Davis E (2010) Ciudad del saber. Un legado en construcción. Fundación Ciudad del Saber, Panamá Health Department of the Panama Canal (1916) The Panama Canal Building Regulations for the Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama. Effective March 2, 1915. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, CZ. University of Florida The Panama Canal Record (1918) The Panama Canal Record 1918. Mont Hope, Canal Zone: Canal Press. University of Florida UNEP (2007) Global Environment Outlook 4: Environment for Development. United Nations Environment Program, Nairobi United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations (1913) The Panama Canal: Hearings concerning estimates for construction of and fortification of [conducted on the Canal Zone by the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Sixty-second Congress] [Nov 18, 1912] Fiscal year, 1914. Washington: Govt. Print. Off Vojnovic I et al (2019) Global urban health. Inequalities, vulnerabilities and challenges in the 21st century. In: Vojnovic I, Pearson A, Asiki G et al (eds) Handbook of global urban health. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, and London, pp 3–32 Waring G (1867) Draining for profit, and draining for health. O. Judd, New York World Health Organization (1982) Manual on environmental management for mosquito control with special emphasis on malaria vectors. Geneva

Chapter 4

Historical, Cultural, and Urban Analysis of the Landscaping of the Canal Zone. Case of Fort Clayton

Abstract The aim of this chapter is to understand the urban landscaping by analyzing the intent behind the Canal Zone landscaping. In the first place, reference is made to the landscape footprint left by the French at the beginning of the construction of the Canal, to the cultural influences of landscaping developed in the United States, and the role played by the City Beautiful Movement, picturesque, and pastoral landscaping. The analysis of the landscaping in the Canal Zone covers the beginnings of arborization in Ancon and Balboa. The chapter also focuses on the urban tree strategies developed in the military fortifications of the Canal Zone, the food security strategy, and the use of royal palm and mango trees. It also analyzes the impact of World War II and the policies of community transformation used by the military reserves on the landscaping of Fort Clayton. Finally, the chapter studies the approach to urban arborization of Fort Clayton and the use patterns of tree species according to the historical context and land use. Keywords Landscaping · City Beautiful Movement · Sanitation · Urban landscape · Military fortifications · Panama Canal Zone

4.1 Landscaping and the Construction of Human Habitat The suburban landscaping of the Canal Zone settlements was more than a response to the depiction of Panama as an out-of-control jungle as has been thought (Frenkel 1996). First, let’s consider what this landscaping consisted of and what the goal of landscape architecture was in the United States, by the time of the beginning of the Panama Canal Zone. The discipline of landscape architecture was born in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century, when Frederick Olmsted Senior and his followers consolidated the landscape architecture profession. The new profession aimed to promote “the comfort, convenience, and health of urban populations (…) and urgent need to have their hurrying, workaday lives refreshed and calmed by the beautiful and reposeful sights and sounds which nature, aided by the landscape art, can abundantly

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_4

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provide”.1 This new perspective explains three fundamental elements that can be seen in the image of the suburbs of the Canal Zone: first, the importance of the search for comfort and health as a primary objective of urban landscape design; second, the importance of the beauty of the urban landscape; and third, the application of a design inspired by nature, i.e., the creation of “aide” landscaping. In the United States, the concepts of comfort, health, and beauty as a whole acquired great importance in the construction of urban space during movements such as the Progressive Era, the ideology of improvement, and the City Beautiful Movement. How could these movements not affect the Canal Zone landscaping in the early twentieth century? On the other hand, landscape architecture generates complex scenarios that reflect overlapping social, economic, ecological, cultural, and aesthetic factors. A discipline that could also be considered as the process of making a human habitat does not subscribe only to the housing itself but to the environment surrounding it. The construction of human habitat has a lot to do with how a culture decides to modify the territory to inhabit it. During the pre-Hispanic period, for example, in the Isthmus, the model of itinerant subsistence agriculture applied in the Pacific sector of Panama during centuries, caused the original forests to disappear. The felling of forests and the itinerant planting forged a landscape of anthropic savannah (Cooke and Sánchez 2004: 57). Moreover, the pre-Hispanic villages, did not touch the jungle but generated a ring of crops around it (Cooke et al. 1985: 22). On the contrary, peasant colonization has been one of the most significant social phenomena in Panama since the value peasants gave to the jungle was based on the potential agricultural benefit of the territory it occupied (Heckadon 1984). In this way, the displacement of the peasants toward the jungle borders was part of the cosmogony or vision of the world, where they transformed jungles into paddocks, crops, and houses surrounded by fruit trees (Heckadon 1984). In each of these cultural approaches to the conformation of human habitat, the jungle was a border, not an inhabited space. Another notable example is the African method of deliberate cleaning of lawns applied by Afro-descendants in the southern United States to keep mosquitoes, rodents, snakes, and forest fires away from their homes (McDaniel 1982). Every culture has its way of understanding and intervening in the environment. That is why, in the study of the image of the permanent villages of the Canal Zone, we cannot ignore the cultural influence it had not only from the American concept of the built habitat but also the landscape legacy of the French Canal. In building the image of the villages of the Zone, three fundamental aspects had influence: the discipline of American landscape architecture, public health and the control of mosquitoes, and politics. With the arrival of landscape architects to work in the Canal Zone, the influence of this formal discipline intermingled with the landscapers’ experiences with tropical plants. On the other hand, the health aspects linked with the entomology researchers of the Canal Zone, also left a significant footprint on the landscaping, mainly related to the environmental control measures of the mosquitoes that transmit 1

Announced by Olmsted’s Harvard-trained apprentice Charles W. Eliot Jr., in Schmitt, Back to Nature: The Arcadian Myth in Urban America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969 (Turnbull 2009).

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malaria and yellow fever. Finally, the politics and the stamp of the birth of the “new empire” cannot be ignored in all the complexity of constructing the Canal Zone’s landscape. These two aspects are the backdrop that marked that period and played a decisive role.

4.2 Influence of the French Canal Era on the Landscaping of the Canal Zone The beginning of the canal construction by the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique de Panama and the arrival of the company’s management staff (engineers and administrators) generated a solid social and cultural influence in the Isthmus, especially in the literary field (Miró 1980), but also in the architecture and landscaping of the Interoceanic Region. This landscaping mainly focused on the arborization of streets where French offices and hospitals were located, particularly in Panama City and the city established by the French, Cristophe-Colomb (Cristobal). The Panama hospital, created in 1882 by the French, was run by the sisters of the Order of St. Vincent de Paul and located on the slope of Cerro Ancon, where the French cleared the site and leveled it on terraces. The hospital was composed of 27 wooden pavilions, isolated and elevated on masonry piles and tile roofs, “perfectly airy” and connected by long roads planted in gardened “allées” (walks) (Roux 1886). One of the hospital’s nuns, Sister Marie Rouleau, Mother Superior, fascinated by the tropical exuberance, had the initiative to establish the garden (The Panama Canal Record 1910). Thus, plants were organized into triangular and ovoid flower beds (see Fig. 4.1) with fruit trees planted in the northeastern part of the hospital. In this garden, there was also a traveler’s palm from Madagascar, a rubber tree from India, and a native rubber tree, one of the few native species that were used at that time, planted along with the gardens’ hibiscus and feather palms (Abbot 1914), croton, a foliage shrub of the genus “Acalypha,” and the eucalyptus tree, introduced by the French from Australia (The Panama Canal Record 1910). Finally, the French planted a row of royal palms on each side of the street from the hospital to the cemetery (see Fig. 4.2). The idea of locating the row of royal palms equidistant came from the French Antillean colonies, Guadeloupe (see Fig. 4.3) and Martinique, where they used them profusely to accompany avenues or in front of buildings of importance.2 However, this practice was widely used also throughout the Caribbean, including in the English colonies (see Fig. 4.4). The American records indicate that royal palms, native to the Antilles, were brought by the French from Cuba in 1883, where they were very popular (see Fig. 4.5).

2

The American records indicate that the royal palms, native to the Antilles, were brought by the French from Cuba in 1883.

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Fig. 4.1 Gardens at the doctors’ house and at the rooms for construction employees at the French Hospital of Ancon. Source Canal de Panama. De Colon à Panama: Travaux du canal de Panama, menés para la Compagnie du Canal de 1881à 1886. Gallica. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/f34.item.r=canal%20de%20panama#

However, before the arrival of the French, royal palms grew on the Isthmus, but their ornamental use began with the transisthmian railway era, present in the train stations such as Barbacoa (Reclus 1881). Also, the use of palms, such as coconut palms, to accompany important buildings (see Figs 4.6 and 4.7) might have arisen since the construction of Aspinwall (today Colón city), the Caribbean railroad terminal. Indeed, in his description of Colón City, Reclus points out the presence of some coconut palms at the church and the railway station but the rest of the city did not have trees (Reclus 1881). Later, the French introduced the concept of flanking the streets with coconut palms, and royal palms, similar to how they used them in the Antilles. The French also cared about beautifying their town-camps along the Canal construction. They built offices and homes for the employees of the construction section in each of the camps. Wooden houses were built on stilts, some only with a ground floor, others elevated one level, accompanied by small gardens, often well maintained, and planted with bananas, coconut, palms, and hibiscus, among others (Roux 1886). The French cultural legacy in the interoceanic region’s landscaping consisted of two main aspects. The first is undoubtedly the ornamental use of tropical vegetation,

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Fig. 4.2 Ancon Hospital Street flanked by royal palms, planted by the French, circa 1907–1910. Source Postcard from the study collection

Fig. 4.3 Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral flanked by palms, probably royal palms in Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe). Circa early twentieth century. Source Postcard collection of the study

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Fig. 4.4 Royal palms planted along Bellville’s Avenue (Barbados). Circa early twentieth century. Source Postcard collection of the study

and the second is the arborization of the streets with lines of palms, both coconut and royal palms, bordering streets. This design would become the image that would identify the Canal Zone during the American era, turning the royal palm into a symbol strongly associated with the Panama Canal.

4.3 American Cultural Context in the Early Twentieth Century To understand the urban-scale landscaping of the Canal Zone, it is essential to review the styles that were developing in the United States during that time. The American landscaping of the early twentieth century resulted from the confluence of a diversity of urban theories, cultural currents, and ideologies from the nineteenth century, such as the ideology of improvement, the City Beautiful Movement, the picturesque and pastoral landscape, and health reform. The City Beautiful Movement was one of the essential American movements of the early twentieth century, which shaped the image of the city centers. This movement was an American adaptation of the Fine Arts blended with the American ideology of health improvement and advancements (Turnbull 2009). This tradition of improving the city, in short, consisted of aspiring to improve the “comfort” of the city’s environment. Also, “beautification” was synonymous with cleanliness and health, and all the sanitary background of the nineteenth century came to the surface through the City Beautiful Movement. As part

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Fig. 4.5 Royal palms planted through Cuba’s avenue circa 1907. Source Postcard collection of the study

of it, new aesthetic standards developed in domestic and community landscaping, as well as moving houses away from the road and planting trees and grass along urban streets (Jenkins 1994). These standards were spread throughout the United States through beautification campaigns within the framework of the City Beautiful

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Fig. 4.6 Engraved drawing of the Colon church accompanied by a coconut palm, by Armand Reclus, 1876–1878. Source Reclus, Armand (1881) Panama et Darien: Voyages d’exploration. Bibliotheque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k775176/f34.item. r=Panama%20et%20Darien%20Voyages%20d’exploration.zoom

Movement, whose comprehensive vision of civic design was drawn from various sources, including “municipal improvement” (Turnbull 2009). The American City Beautiful movement became a comprehensive response to the rapid technical, sanitation, and social changes from the nineteenth century. Even the idea of “beauty” influenced municipal improvement and contended that “beauty and healthfulness” were as important as they were inseparable (Wilson 1989). These municipal improvements included classical architecture, macadamized streets, electric lights, paved streets and sidewalks, well-tended gardens and landscaping, and their sanitary appearances. Indeed, an emphasis on aesthetics was the major contribution of the City Beautiful movement to sanitary reform (Turnbull 2009). Moreover, the City Beautiful Movement considered health ordinances an important tool to keep the city clean. Many of the civic improvement organizations that gave force to the City Beautiful movement in the US urged house owners to plant flowers, vines, and grass in their backyards in place of the waste and rubbish then customarily dumped

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Fig. 4.7 Drawing of the Barbacoa rail Station, accompanied by a coconut palm and a very simple fenced garden. Source Reclus, Armand (1881) Panama et Darien: Voyages d’exploration. Blibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k775176/f34.item.r=Pan ama%20et%20Darien%20Voyages%20d’exploration.zoom

there (Peterson 1979). This change from waste to gardenesque beauty characterized the City Beautiful Movement.

4.3.1 City Beautiful Movement, Sanitation, and the Panama Canal Zone Landscaping As in US cities, the City Beautiful Movement also strongly influenced the first formally planned Canal Zone permanent town: Balboa. This influence began when the US National Commission of Fine Arts recommended the beautification of the Canal Zone. Before the Canal construction ended, this Commission reported to the US President the artistic character of the structures of the Canal. In terms of architecture, the Commission argued that regardless of how trivial a structure may seem, artistic values had to be ensured (Commission of Fine Arts 1913). Moreover, this Commission established the beauty design principles of all future permanent towns in the Canal Zone, and even influenced military posts. This proposal was inspired by the political approach of the City Beautiful Movement as well as cleanliness and order. Through the Commission’s recommendation, Balboa became a showcase of the “new imperial” model with the intention of demonstrating modernity and differentiation from Panama City. The idea of “modern” is a normative attribute culturally

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constructed (Hosagrahar 2009), and Balboa is a clear example of an organized system of built space used to differentiate itself from spaces inhabited by the local population and to highlight colonial modernity. The Panama urban model was one of a dense and compact city; characteristics considered by the Americans as typical of an unhealthy and overcrowded city. Thus, Balboa was an urban model considered “modern” and opposite to that of Panama City. This modern urban model was rooted in the City Beautiful Movement and influenced by Baroque and Haussman urban design and landscaping, merged with low-density population and suburban ideas. This ideal of modernity was materialized by comprehensive urban planning, urban tree planting, health infrastructure, and sanitary solutions in Balboa. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who was at the forefront of American urban planning and the City Beautiful Movement, developed the Balboa schematic plan for the Commission of Fine Arts’ report. The planning of Balboa was executed by landscape architect and Olmsted Jr.’s disciple, William Law Phillips. In his Canal Zone landscape work, the concept of “beautifying” was intricately linked to health because, according to Canal Zone’s rules beautifying consisted not only of ornamental tree planting but grading and sewer work and had to be planned and addressed by the Canal Zone landscape architect (The Panama Canal Record 1914). Besides, during the first decade of the Canal Zone, the Sanitation Division oversaw “street cleaning” (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1922); indeed clean was an essential principle preconized by the City Beautiful Movement. The Panama Canal urban landscape was completed with another essential element from the City Beautiful Movement, tree planting. The Balboa tree planting was conceived under the context of making the town beautiful, so it was planned with trees and plants considered “decorative” (Isthmian Canal Commission 1914). The Canal Zone Sanitary Department undertook the plant propagation work, evidencing again how the idea of beautifying was linked to public health. The urban sanitary strategies introduced by the United States in the Canal Zone had been considered linked to the Progressive Era (Lasso 2019); however, the influence of the City Beautiful Movement in modeling a healthy appearance by introducing aesthetic elements into the sanitation development of the Canal Zone urban landscape is undoubling.

4.3.2 Balboa Landscaping The best example of the City Beautiful Movement in the Canal Zone is found in the design of the “Mall” or civic center of Balboa, also called El Prado (see Fig. 4.8). Architect A. Lord sketched the initial plan, but Olmsted Jr. reformulated it through a schematization. The landscape architect William Phillips later developed and executed it. The influence of the City Beautiful Movement is reflected in the linear layout of the strong axial axis of El Prado that ends in the Administration Building of neo-Renaissance architecture (Tejeira-Davis w.d). The Administration Building is the monument recognized as a focal point, reinforced by the landscape

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design of the royal palms flanking the promenade. El Prado directs and frames the view toward that focal point, which also has a clear relationship with the “allées” that the French developed in Ancon hospital. This formal expression applied in the architecture and urbanism of El Prado was used to demonstrate the mastery of the nascent American empire (Arosemena 2018). In fact, Americans built the Canal Zone with the explicit authorization of Theodore Roosevelt as a scenography of the American “New Empire,” and as a manifestation of its effectiveness and the use of a modern aesthetic (Zien 2017). The Prado is now testimony to the American intent to emphasize its supremacy, power, and sovereignty in the Canal Zone. Proof of this intention is the image that El Prado took, with explicit references to the absolutist landscape forms of the Baroque and the imperial urbanism of Napoleon III (Arosemena 2018). These references were already part of the urban and landscape language of the American version of the Beaux Arts style of Paris and formally related to the urban language used in the first experiment of the City Beautiful Movement of the United States with the redesign of the Washington Mall in 1901. El Prado represents an example of political urbanism; from the landscaping point of view, it can be considered a small tropical version of the Mall in Washington, D.C (Arosemena 2018).

Fig. 4.8 Balboa’s “El Prado,” Panama Canal Zone. Source Panama Canal Company, 1949. Identifier 202800711. Still Pictures, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/202800711

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Also, following the general guidelines of the Commission of Fine Arts report at the end of 1913, Phillips had already projected the residential areas in the streets near El Prado, taking an “irregular and picturesque” layout (The Panama Canal Record 1913). This plan consolidated an urban model for residential areas, more organic and less strict than El Prado, which can be appreciated at Balboa Heights on Ancon Hills. These different urban layouts were also linked to a hierarchy of road trees. The rectilinear layout is applied to portray an institutional and sober image. It is represented mainly by equidistant alignments of royal palms around institutional buildings and monumental architectural treatment, with the City Beautiful Movement as a reference (Tejeira-Davis n.d). The organic layout represents the informality that garnishes the residential areas with lush and diverse vegetation. In the residential areas of the towns in the Canal Zone, such as Balboa, this organic configuration of landscaping can be observed, with a rather picturesque tendency conceived by Phillips as immersed in tropical flora evoking a bucolic image. This picturesque image is similar to the one imposed in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, combined with the wide-open spaces of well-kept grass based on pastoral landscaping. In the United States, these concepts were reinforced in the City Beautiful Movement by influencing the search for the beauty of urban space in landscaping and well-pruned grass. The well-pruned grass was also clearly reflected in the Canal Zone through the permanent village landscaping work. Besides, all residents of the Canal Zone were encouraged to beautify the towns by utilizing plants, shrubs, and trees to start a “City Beautiful Movement” (The Panama Canal Record 1915). The predecessor of the organic urban layout of Balboa is the suburb Riverside planned by Olmsted Sr. in 1868 (Arosemena 2018), which was based on the naturalist landscaping of English gardens (Kohler 1985). Riverside represented the culmination of the romantic idealism that had begun in England in the eighteenth century and was transferred to the United States (Jenkins 1994). From an early age, Olmsted believed that landscape, nature, and parks produced a contemplative mood and a desirable state of mind. On this, Olmsted considered, among other things, that gardens should surround the houses to achieve a healthy and comfortable environment (Beveridge 2000). Open spaces, free of vegetation, associated with the famous pastoral landscaping, also had importance in Olmsted’s design. Olmsted combined in his designs the picturesque with the pastoral transcendental landscaping by mixing the open spaces of a gentle slope, cared for, and domesticated of the pastoral style with the wilder and distinctive aspect of the picturesque, to bring the mystique and the uncertainty of nature (Cranz 1989; Downing 2012, Olmsted 1866). Crucial in that process was Frederick Olmsted Sr., who designed his suburbs’ homes with grassy front yards ushering in America’s suburban landscape (Jenkins 1994). By the end of the nineteenth century, magazine articles warned their readers that to beautify the suburb, the front garden must be maintained “a smooth, closely shaven surface of grass” (Jenkins 1994). These house fronts covered with grass and the planning of trees along the streets contributed to build the effect of park landscape. The pastoral landscaping is evident in the Canal Zone in the perfectly pruned grass, which was an essential part of its image. The weight of decades of grass care

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tradition was difficult to evade in the Canal Zone. Perfectly pruned grass became a social status symbol for the Americans, so much that the maintenance of the house gardens became a norm of the Zone in 1917. To ensure “the public interest” and to preserve the courtyards and streets in a “pleasing and uniform appearance,” the garden “in front and on the sides of all the housings in the Canal Zone will be cared for by the district mayors.“ In contrast, the garden “in front and at the sides of all Canal quarters will be cared for by the district quartermasters. No planting is to be done in these areas except by the quartermaster’s forces” (The Panama Canal Record 1917). In addition, the Canal Zone interest in the extensive grass cover of urban land had a health motivation—to cover the gray—to reduce the formation of rainwater puddles that propitiated the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, as explained in Chapter 3. In this way, the mosquito disease prevention strategy gave a more helpful meaning to an aesthetic conception of American urban landscaping. However, the perfectly flush pruning in the Canal Zone was clearly a cultural criterion that probably had to do with pastoral landscaping. It was originally thought that the design of the landscaping of the Canal Zone had nothing to do with Panama; however, the Panamanian jungle was an inspiration for the landscape design applied in the United States, which was, in turn, reflected in the Canal Zone’s landscaping. During Olmsted senior’s experience crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1863 (on his journey to San Francisco), he was inspired by the exuberance of the tropical landscape, which he wanted to reproduce in his designs. While crossing the Isthmus of Panama, he noticed that the vegetation was “superb and glorious” and that the landscape produced “a powerful moral impression through an enlarged sense of the bounteousness of Nature.”3 After that, Olmsted became interested in recreating the exuberance of the jungle as a landscape model of his picturesque style. Resigned to using plants of temperate climate, he planted shrubs and perennials and created variations of color, texture, and shape to emulate the effect of the Panamanian jungle (Taylor 2009). In the design of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the picturesque sense that Olmsted wanted to develop reflected inspiration from the images and textures of the jungle. Olmsted senior contributed primarily to developing a landscape design inspired partially by the Panamanian jungle. Decades later, it would reach the Canal Zone through the landscape architect William Phillips, whose design got the tropical character that Olmsted desired, as in Governor’s quarter gardens (see Fig. 4.9). Phillips himself was also captivated by the jungle vegetation; he was always fascinated by the “saturated” light, with a “cool green reflection of the mass of jungle trees on the hills” (Jackson 1997). In his travels to the interior of Panama, in search of inspiration and plant species to introduce in the design of Balboa, he found what he considered the most beautiful thing he had ever seen: mountains, savannas, and jungles (Jackson 3

Beveridge and Schuyler, The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, Vol. 3, 18–19, 144–145, 151, 175; Frederick Law Olmsted to Mary Perkins Olmsted, September 25, 1863, and Frederick Law Olmsted to Ignaz Pilat, September 26, 1863, both letters in Frederick Law Olmsted Papers, Library of Congress; in Taylor 2009.

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Fig. 4.9 Garden of the Governor’s house in the Panama Canal Zone. Sources Garden of the Governor of Canal Zone House; Panama Canal Company, 1960. Identifier 202801053. NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/202801053

1997), an experience that also influenced the exuberance of the garden design in the Canal Zone.

4.4 Urban Arborization in the First Permanent Settlements of the Canal Zone The town of Ancon represents the beginnings of American landscaping in the Canal Zone through several campaigns of landscaping that began in 1910. The first gardens were developed in front of Tivoli and around the Commission Quarters in Ancon and La Boca. Like during the French period, gardens were also established in all open spaces, and public buildings of the towns linked to the Canal construction, such as Culebra. In the case of Ancon, around 2,000 trees were planted between May 1910 and 1913 (Isthmian Canal Commission 1913:394) (see Table 4.1). The cataloging and classifying work by Prof. H. A. Pittier from the Office of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture in Washington, was as important as the creation

4.5 The Conception of Balboa Landscaping and the Visual Effect … Table 4.1 List of plants and trees planted in Ancon between 1910 and 1912

Species

Number of units

Plantains

600

Bananas

600

Papayas

700

Royal Palm

250

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Source Isthmian Canal Commission (1913)

of the gardens. In addition, Director Wilder of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens, the Director of Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica, and the Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C. sent plants and shrubs to Ancon. In 1911, Wilder visited the Isthmus and assisted in the identification of some of the plants and trees (The Panama Canal Record 1913: 394), turning the Canal Zone into a ‘hub’ of tropical botany early on.

4.5 The Conception of Balboa Landscaping and the Visual Effect of Arborization With the completion of the Panama Canal and the establishment of permanent settlements, considerable efforts were directed toward establishing attractive landscaping. Balboa landscaping, the first formal urbanism, and landscaping experiment became the reference point for the rest of the Canal Zone. Landscape architect William Phillips reproduced about 15,500 trees and palms, including native and tropical exotic species, grew up for transplantation in Balboa and other populations of the Zone. The native plant varieties had been collected in the Isthmus of Panama, and many of the exotic ones, which the French had previously introduced, were in the vicinity of the Ancon Hospital4 (The Panama Canal Record 1914). Phillips not only prepared the list of tree and plant species for landscaping but also defined the appropriate time for transplantation within the construction schedule of the villages, which was when all the building work was completed (The Panama Canal Record 1914). In his list of tree species, the species that lose most of their leaves during the dry season (deciduous trees), such as Delonix regia or the corotú (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), predominate over those evergreen species that generate shade all year round. His choice indicates that in the tree selection; there was no consideration of the moderation potential of thermal comfort.

4

Phillips found on the grounds of the Ancon Hospital shrubs, flowers, vines, hibiscus, gardenias, moonflowers, jessamines, yuccas, morning glories, and bougainvillea, probably most of them initially planted by the French (The Panama Canal Record 1908, 1914).

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The Royal Palm (Roystonea regia) was used frequently in the institutional urban environments in the Zone. This species has an ascending and sharply vertical structure, which, organized in rows near the institutional buildings, reinforced the perspectives of the views and the symmetries of the architecture. In addition, with this design, it was possible to transmit the idea of order and discipline that was very present at all levels of organization and administration of the Canal Zone. Balboa’s importance probably lies in the results of a systematized urban arborization program never seen before in the Isthmus of Panama and not in its environmental strategy. At the same time, with observations and studies on tropical vegetation, Phillips achieved American and European landscaping adapted to the structure of tropical flora, where arborization is an integrating element of the urban space and a fundamental aspect of the character and image of the villages of the Canal Zone (Arosemena 2018).

4.5.1 The Use of Edible Species in the Balboa Landscaping The use of edible species in experimental gardens in the Canal Zone during the first decade of the twentieth century had two purposes: to experiment with tropical crops and to supply vegetables and fruits to the inhabitants of the Canal Zone. A first experimental garden of edible vegetables of about two and a half acres (1 ha) was established in Corozal. Another garden of 3 acres (1.2 ha) was started in Emperador in 1908, where limes, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots, among others, were planted. The most important was the one in Emperador, where the products cultivated were the best. In the case of the third garden, located in Ancon, the vegetables grown there were intended to supply the Hotel Tivoli and the hotels of La Boca, Corozal, and Miraflores (The Panama Canal Record 1908). A fourth garden was completed in Pedro Miguel later. Subsequently, the experimental gardens of Corozal, Emperador, Ancon, and Pedro Miguel were discontinued, given their precarious economic performance. Balboa’s landscaping highlights the presence of fruit trees in the list conceived by Phillips, finding species such as avocado (Persea americana), mango (Mangifera indica), tamarind (Tamarindus indica), or guava (Psidium guajava). About 23% of the tree specimens selected by Phillips for Balboa were tropical fruit species (Based on the graph in Arosemena 2018). The planting of fruit trees in the permanent villages of the Canal Zone allows us to infer that there was a positive assessment regarding the consumption of tropical fruits. Perhaps, without planning it, these trees contributed to food production for the local fauna and sustained urban biodiversity. In May 1914, months after Phillips elaborated the tree lists, the Agency of Industrial Plants of the US Department of Agriculture recommended the use of fruit trees—in the permanent settlements of the Canal Zone—as a way to beautify the proposed villages. The list included palms, shrubs, ornamental trees, fruit trees for parks, private gardens, and paths (The Panama Canal Record 1914).

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The food importance of landscaping was further reinforced when a few years after Phillips’ intervention; vegetable cultivation was promoted, particularly in home gardens, through the distribution of a Department of Agriculture publication with recommendations on the production of onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, and corn (The Panama Canal Record 1917). This suggestion was likely related to the background of World War I when “victory gardens” first emerged in the United States (initially called war gardens or liberty gardens). At that time, President Woodrow Wilson called on Americans to plant vegetable gardens to ward off any possible threat of food shortages. But at the same time, the search for food self-sufficiency in the case of the Canal Zone was for economic reasons. The result of these politics has been the constant presence of fruit trees in the arborization of Canal towns, even in the military towns. The importance of Balboa lies in integrating factors that influenced the landscaping of the Zone, from the French influence, the American culture of pruned grass, the sanitary aspects, and the control of mosquitoes, as well as the picturesque and the City Beautiful Movement influence. In the landscaping of Balboa, these factors consolidated the image that, since then, would identify the towns of the Canal Zone. In general, it was a model replicated even in the military forts.

4.6 Planning and Management of Urban Tree Planting in the Canal Zone During First Half of Twentieth Century In late 1914, landscaping work on permanent settlements moved from the Division of Municipal Engineering to the Supply Department. Landscaper Otis Barrett, who was W. Phillips’ replacement, continued the task of beautifying the new communities from this new department (The Panama Canal Record 1915). Some sections of villages were landscaped for the planting of ornamental vegetation. However, by that time, no landscaping plans were made for future landscape developments (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1938). After the initial Canal Zone landscape stage, there came a period when there were no qualified personnel for the landscaping supervision nor the development and execution of the landscaping. Residents and organizations started to oversee the planting of vegetation without a reference plan. The result was mediocre, monotonous landscaping, and poor tree maintenance and pruning management. It was in 1923 that the operation of the Plant Introduction Gardens began in Summit. This date marks the beginning of a change in the trend that would lead to the implementation of more organized landscape development. This change began with the creation of the Agricultural Aide unit and the position of Director of Gardens, whose function was to supervise all pruning and the general care of the trees and shrubs in the Canal Zone, and additionally, the drawing of plans for new plantations

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and the supervision of their execution. Thus, these positions began to meet the landscaping development needs. All these works were part of a great idea to “turn the Canal Zone into one of the tropical gardens of the world” (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941). In 1934, the position of Director of Gardens was abolished and replaced by the Grounds Care Forces of Balboa, Ancon District, due to the need to generate changes in landscaping development. This Grounds Care Forces of Balboa was created along with the Agricultural Aide, which was in operation for three years. In 1935, under this direction, a crew of three pruners was established to carry out the pruning work throughout the Canal Zone. With the construction of the town of Gamboa and the need to generate a largescale landscaping project, a specialized landscaping unit was created in 1937, which significantly impacted the successive arborization campaigns of the towns and military forts. The work team consisted of a supervisor, Mr. J. E. Higgins; a landscape architect, Mr. Keenan; and a work crew supervisor, Mr. Dwelle. The tasks of this unit were: • • • • • •

Design landscaping plans. Execute approved landscaping plans. Supervise the final result of the landscaping work. Supervise pruning and management of all trees in the Canal Zone. Inspect all landscaping maintenance work. Inspect and supervise pest control work.

One aspect to highlight is the systematization of the landscaping works that took place during this stage, which were organized “following the landscape policy of the Panama Canal” and its relationship with the construction programs” (Governor of the Panama Canal 1941). That is, the planting of urban vegetation was immediately introduced after constructing the buildings in a village. By 1932, the experiment gardens expanded their activities to serve the people of the Canal Zone, the US Army, and the Fifteenth Naval District, including advising on plans to plant trees in new areas and on caring for trees, shrubs, and vines (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1938). By 1939–1940, the expansion of military areas of the US Army and Navy resulted in high demand for landscape work (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941). Thus, by the 1940s, the gardens included a greenhouse, nursery, and experimental plantations, occupying an area of 125 acres (50 ha). By 1947, the gardens increased to 300 acres (121 ha) (Governor of the Panama Canal 1945); an increase in the land to cultivate that was directly related to the expansion works of the military reserves of the Army and the Navy, in the framework of World War II. Thus, in January 1940, the Experiment Gardens began working on the plans for the military forts of the Zone. The unit drew plans with the Construction Quartermaster to produce all the landscaping material later used in the Navy’s projects. In February of that same year, the Navy issued an order requesting the production of 450,000 plants of all kinds to execute the landscaping program (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941).

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A calendar was also organized to manage the Army’s landscaping plans, which were designed to best use the plants produced in the Navy nursery (Governor of the Panama Canal 1941). But by 1944, the volume of work handled by the landscape section of the Experiment Gardens was declining due principally to the near completion of an extensive program of landscape work in new Canal Zone towns and Army and Navy reservations and soil and erosion work (Governor of the Panama Canal 1945). Later, the Landscaping Section was involved in 74 projects during the fiscal year 1950. The major projects undertaken by this Section were preparing plants, laying turf, and planting the Panama Canal barracks construction sites. Plant introduction work was of minor importance during the year (Governor of the Panama Canal 1947). By the 1950s, the transformation of the 34-year-old Experiment Gardens into a tropical park in the hands of the Housing and Land Division took place. Some of the most striking changes in the park were the new meandering trails branching off from the main road, not far from the entrance (The Panama Canal Review 1957). With this transformation, there was again a change in the administration of landscaping work to the Grounds Maintenance Division. And with it, planting and pruning were transferred to other municipal functions, such as waste collection and sweeping the fields.

4.7 Characterization of the Urban Tree Pattern in the Military Fortifications of the Canal Zone. Case of Fort Clayton The significance that ornamental intervention had in the Canal Zone is evidenced in the importance given to the appearance of this military post. The tree planting work also indicates the importance of beautifying the Canal Zone’s permanent towns since the report from the Commission of Fine Arts from 1913. Also, although ornamental trees were not essential for disease control, they were an indubitably a piece to complete the urban sanitary image conceived in the nineteenth century. The landscaping of the civilian villages was, in general terms, more exuberant than that of the military areas by using a high density of trees. In contrast, the military towns presented more austere landscaping, where vegetation uniformity was used to highlight the repetitive architectural elements (Dillon et al. 2012). However, this last treatment was focused on the areas of eminently military activities of the military bases of the Zone. But, in the military forts, there were also residential developments (see Figs. 4.10 and 4.11). By then, it was considered that, despite the military vocation of the Forts, there was a need to establish adequate conditions for housing for both clerks and men. In this sense, the housing had “at least the minimum requirements in the way of shade trees, screening shrubbery, grass for public areas, and parade grounds, as well as vines and tropical foliage suited to the concealment of objects of military importance” (Canal

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Fig. 4.10 Fort Amador officers’ quarters had diverse street trees and shrubbery around the houses, like the picturesque landscape. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C. (1933) Fort Amador, Officers’ Quarters, Fifth Street at the intersection with Amador Road, Panama City, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Panama Former Panama Canal Zone Panama City Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/ resource/hhh.cz0005.photos/?sp=1

Zone Experiment Gardens 1941). At that time, the experimental garden staff made the landscape plans for the military reserves in Panama. In contrast, the construction plans were made in the United States by the Panama Canal Department’s Construction Intendant (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941). In the case of the colonels’ residential alignments, one of the first to be carried out was that of Fort Randolph on Margarita Island.5 In the landscaping scheme published in 1916, the trees bordering sidewalks can be seen. The Fort landscaping description also indicates that lush vegetation was used, and a diversity of vegetation was placed, among several buildings, including fruit trees. The most used shrubs and flowering plants were hibiscus, crespon, jasmine, panax victoria, ligustro, acalypha, 5

Fort Randolph was built on Margarita Island, on the Caribbean coast of Panama. The island was connected to the mainland by a causeway to allow the construction of the eastern breakwater of Limon Bay. Like most of Panama’s Forts, the building began in 1913, and the breakwater was completed in 1916. The Fort construction was completed on April 9, 1920 and is named after Major General Wallace Randolph.

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Fig. 4.11 Ornamental plants, shrubbery, palms, and trees, around the Albrook Air Force Station quarter. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C. (1933) Albrook Air Force Station, Company Officer’s Quarters, East side of Canfield Avenue, Balboa, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Panama Balboa Former Panama Canal Zone Canal Zone, 1933. Documentation Compiled After [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.cz0023.photos/ ?sp=5

croton, graptophyllum, and bougainvillea. But rows of Cuban royal palms, separated by about 30 feet (9 m), were planted in the meadow, from the headquarters, a military building, to the flagpole. Tropical almond trees with umbrella-like foliage, staggered in their position, were placed in a line parallel to the palms (The Panama Canal Record 1916). The uniform arrangement of the royal palms expresses military discipline, but also, presents echoes of the monumentality of El Prado in Balboa and the French influence. This hierarchical landscaping of opposites was developed in almost all the military reserves of the Canal Zone. On the other hand, as explained in point 4.3, since the beginning of the Canal Zone, there has been an intention to use fruit tree species and horticultural crops in civilian villages. In the case of the military reserves, the focus was on fruit trees, although at the same time, the Cuban palm was also used ornamentally. There was a systematized use of fruit trees, even in the military parade fields themselves, also observed in the first construction stage of the military forts of the

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Fig. 4.12 Fort Clayton’s Headquarters building settled in front of the Parade Field, in the horseshoe stage, by the 1930s. Its façade had a mixed landscaping with mango trees and royal palms. Source Study collection

Canal Zone during the first decades of the twentieth century. It was a practice that began much earlier with temporary military camps when rows of banana trees were planted, for example, between the aligned barracks, like in Camp Otis. In the case of Fort Randolph, permanent military camp fruit trees planted included coconut, orange, tropical almonds, limes, avocados, grapefruit, and mangoes. The last one, the mango, was the common denominator with other military reserves, such as Fort Amador, Fort Davis, Fort Sherman, and Fort Clayton (see Fig. 4.12), which made it, surprisingly, a symbol of the “Parade Fields.” Mango trees were used in front of barracks buildings, like in Fort Amador, so the mango occupied the same level of importance in military landscaping as the royal palm. However, compared to the headquarters’ buildings, the use of royal palms prevailed in global terms (see Table 4.2).

4.7.1 Evolution of Landscaping at Fort Clayton and the Influence of Land Use. The Importance of the Royal Palm Although Clayton was a military area, landscaping and ornamental vegetation were not neglected. On the contrary, these elements were introduced from the first operational years of the Fort.

4.7 Characterization of the Urban Tree Pattern in the Military Fortifications …

121

Table 4.2 Dominant species in the landscaping of the first fortifications of the Canal Zone Fort Grant/ Amador

Fort Randolph

Fort Sherman

Fort Davis

Fort Clayton (2)

Colonels’ housing around the parade field

Royal palms and mango trees

Coconut, orange, tropical almonds, limes, avocados, grapefruit, and mango trees

Coconut

Royal palms

Royal palms

In front of barracks in the parade field

Royal palms and mango trees

Royal palms

Mango trees (1)

Mango trees

Royal palms and mango trees

(1) When the barracks were built in masonry in the 1950s (2) The horseshoe stage

The study of Clayton’s landscaping evolution involves identifying the probable planting stages, the tree species used, and their relationship with land uses. This analysis is carried out from various photographs between 1930 and 1960 and, along with the inventory of trees carried out by the City of Knowledge Foundation in 2016. The study of the historical photographs and the physical analysis of the age of several tree specimens complemented the analysis of tree species and age identification. The study covers the time range between the construction of the Fort and the 1950s; the age when the study identified four probable arborization campaigns: Beginning with the arborization campaign initiated in 1923, second, the 1934 campaign, third, the 1940s campaign, and finally, the 1950s campaign. The study also relates these campaigns with the work developed in the Experiment Gardens (see Table 4.3). In general, each of the arborization campaigns was directly related to the expansion works of the Fort. But the practices of landscape planning before each expansion stage started since the 1930s. Besides, the critical tasks of the Experiment Gardens at Fort Clayton cover most of the landscaping campaigns of the first half of the twentieth century (see Fig. 4.13), when landscape planning was developed. The probable arborization campaigns are as follows:

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Table 4.3 Relationship between the Landscape Unit and the activity of the Experiment Gardens and the construction stages of Fort Clayton Year

Experiment Gardens Landscaping Preparatory Activities

Year

Construction stages of Fort Clayton

1932

Landscape plans for Army (1)

1933

Commissioned Officer quarters (Coronel’s row)

1937–1938

Elaboration of some preliminary plans of landscaping for the Army (2)

1940–1941

1940–1941

Landscaping drawing plans and plant production for landscaping used in the extensions of the military forts of the Army are increased Organizing the calendar for managing the Army’s landscaping plans (3)

Engineer Regiment Barracks; Field and Headquarters Barracks; New Post Barracks

1944

The landscaping work in the Army and Navy reserves practically concluded, reducing the level of work in the garden6 (4)

1942–1943

Officers’ Quarters Residential construction

1947–1950

Planting of Government agencies of Canal Zone, projects in quarters building sites (5)

1948–1949

Officers’ Quarters Residential construction

(1) Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1938 (2) Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1939 (3) Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941 (4) Governor of the Panama Canal 1945 (5) Governor of the Panama Canal 1947

4.8 Arborization Campaign Estimated to Have Occurred in 1923 In Fort Clayton, its first arborization program occurred around 1923. During that time, the Fort was basically constituted by the area known as “The Horseshoe” built in 1919, where three well-differentiated zones are identified in their landscape treatment”: – The area of family residences of the officers. Here, the landscaping consisted mainly of the use of royal palms on the perimeter of the central green area of the block that formed the houses with the Headquarters building, complemented by some trees such as the corotú and shrubs (see Fig. 4.14).

6

The mango tree demand in 1944 exceeded the capacity of the nurseries, and the production expanded at the Experiment Gardens.

4.8 Arborization Campaign Estimated to Have Occurred in 1923

123

Fig. 4.13 Map showing Fort Clayton’s stages, marking the arborization campaigns probably developed by the Experiment Gardens. Source This study goes through Clayton’s stages from TejeiraDavis (2010) and Clayton’s urban plan from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos, Republic of Panama

Fig. 4.14 Royal palms at Fort Clayton’s first officers’ quarters connected with the parade field. Fort Clayton, Canal Zone, circa 1930s. Source Study collection

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4 Historical, Cultural, and Urban Analysis of the Landscaping of the Canal …

– The military parade field. The regular trapezoid-shaped camp was used for military parades and was surrounded by the barracks of the 33rd infantry battalion, and it had no vegetation except on its perimeter. Two rows of vegetation separated by a sidewalk surrounding the square were clearly identified between the barracks and the parade ground. The vegetation on the barracks side consisted of an equidistant row of royal palms; on the side toward the square, there was an equidistant row of trees. The analysis of 1930s photograph at the parade field indicates that the tree row was mangoes (see Fig. 4.15). This result coincides with the inspection carried out in 2019 in the suburb built in the 1960s over the old main square of The Horseshoe, whose barracks were demolished in 1957 (Enscore et al. 2000). The new suburb consisted of 53 houses, organized into six rows, three blocks, and three streets. Inside one block, a row of mangoes was found at the southern end of this new urbanization (see Fig. 4.16). However, this arborization was not present in the other two interior courtyards. Their origin was clarified by measuring the tree trunk circumferences in the current time, and their age was estimated to be at least 80 years. This indicated that the mango trees were planted there more than 20 years before the 1960s’ urbanization. Therefore, the mangoes must have been associated with the old parade field. To interpret the link between the mangoes and the old parade field was superimposed a plan of The Horseshoe on the Google Earth aerial photo of the 1960s suburb from the year 2019. We found a coincidence between the alignment of the mango trees with the orientation and position of the barracks in the south (see Fig. 4.17).

Fig. 4.15 Parade Field of Fort Clayton’s Horseshoe, circa the 1930s, showing the mango trees and royal palms aligned. Source Study collection

4.9 Probable Arborization Campaign of 1934

125

Fig. 4.16 Inner courtyard of the urbanization block built in 1960 on the parade field of The Horseshoe. To the left of the photo, in red, the alignment of mango trees dates from when the barracks still existed. Source Arosemena (2019)

Therefore, these mango trees are the only vestige that remains, at present, of the parade field of The Horseshoe from the 1920s. This indicates that care was taken when demolishing the barracks to avoid damaging the trees. It also highlights how the design of the new suburb considered the mango trees so that their alignment coincided with one of the interior block patios of the new residential community. – The row of Non-Commissioned officers and barracks. This intervention was just in front of Gaillard Avenue and consisted of one barracks and six family housing buildings for Non-Commissioned officers. All the buildings were aligned on the same internal street of the Fort. And a row of royal palms was planted toward the façade of the buildings facing Gaillard Avenue.

4.9 Probable Arborization Campaign of 1934 Clayton’s colonels’ row of quarters was built between 1932 and 1933, bordering Miller’s Field. The landscaping work did not take long to occur, and by 1935, were planted royal palms trees and some shrubs (see Fig. 4.18). In general, the landscaping of this area was structured by the royal palms and a diversity of shrubs. Over time, other tree species were added, including fruit trees such as coconut palms and mango trees. This landscaping model is similar to that

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Fig. 4.17 Overlay of the plane of the horseshoe on aerial photography of google earth. Source This study is based on War Department reports. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Map of Fort Clayton and Corozal. Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.arc hives.gov/id/230248170; Google Earth Pro (2001) Historical Center of Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber.8º59' 54'' N, 79º34' 52ºW, elevation 693 m

of Fort Randolph, which officers’ houses landscaping consisted on royal palm, as a structuring element, merged with a diversity of trees and shrubs. This pattern was replicated in other Forts in the Canal Zone, such as Fort Davis and Fort Amador.

4.10 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1940s In the late 1930s, at the dawn of World War II, an expansion program took place in Fort Clayton, which included the construction of new barracks and a new military parade ground. This expansion resulted in the construction of the quadrangle that ended in 1940. Shortly after, in 1941, the “New Post,” another training camp with barracks, was completed. These works had an impact on the new immediate demand for ornamental vegetation. This campaign was probably the most extensive one to date at Fort Clayton (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941). In connection with the Army’s construction program, the Experiment Gardens in the 1940s were authorized to develop landscaping plans and oversee planting works.

4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s

127

Fig. 4.18 View of some of the old officers’ quarters and their landscaping. Source Arosemena (2020)

Landscaping efforts consisted on preparing and coordinating management plans for tree planting programs, and the nursery unit of the gardens provided the number of plants needed for each job (Canal Zone Experiment Gardens 1941). In January 1941, planting plans for new Army projects were outlined and drawn up with the Quarter Masters, a Panama Canal Department, and for the production by the Experiment Gardens.

4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s In 1955, the Department of Defense issued criteria for designing and planning family housing in military installations, emphasizing the development of genuine communities in family residential areas (United States Army Environmental Center 1998). It meant a change in the way was spatially organized the houses. It is likely that it also impacted the landscaping that influenced the residential complexes built in the 1950s and 1960s located northeast of Fort Clayton. Its landscaping consisted of diverse tree species and shrubs, more likely as landscaping of civil towns of the Panama Canal Zone.

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4.11.1 Tree Planting Patterns Concerning Land Use and the History of Fort Clayton Spatial variations of urban trees reflect the relationship between varied tree interaction, habitats, and human activities (Grey and Deneke 1986). At Fort Clayton, the relevant patterns show differences in land uses, which clearly differentiates the landscaping of the suburbs from the areas of eminently military activities. However, in Fort Clayton landscaping, there is an influence of each historical moment of construction, which also mean some changes in urban fabrics. This analysis takes place in the central area of the old Fort, its historic center, which after the reversal of the Fort to the Republic of Panama, constitutes the current Campus of the educational and scientific park of the City of Knowledge Foundation. The parameters analyzed in the spatial patterns of the urban trees in Fort Clayton were diversity of species, dominant species, and chromatic dominance. At the same time, their situation in time is interpreted from the arborization study, as they left it upon the reversal of Fort Clayton to Panama circa 2000. The studied area covers eight different urban areas and two types of land use representing the following eight historical landscape units (see Fig. 4.19): a. First Officers’ Quarters. It is the officers’ housings built in the first urban stage of Clayton in 1920 and corresponds to residential land use (see Fig. 4.20).

Fig. 4.19 Historical landscape units. Clayton map. Source This study. Base map from Clayton’s urban plan from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos, Republic of Panama

4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s

129

Fig. 4.20 Colonel’s quarter, Fort Clayton circa 1930s. Source Study collection

b. Early officers’ quarters in Fort’s façade. It is the line of houses and barracks toward Gaillard Road, also built in 1920, and corresponds to residential and military land use. c. Miller Field Officers’ Quarters. A row of officers’ housing bordered Miller’s Field when they were built in 1933, including the open space that, over the years, went from a military training area to a community park related to residential land use. d. Central Quadrangle. It is the second main square, rectangular layout, known as the central quadrangle, made up of a set of barracks and the Headquarters building built in 1940 and corresponded to military land use (see Fig. 4.21). Originally, this parade field was flanked by royal palms in the perimeter of its courtyard. e. New Post. A field of irregular plan, formed by a set of barracks around many military exercises, was built in 1941 and corresponded to military land use (see Fig. 4.22). f. Wartime housing. The first residential complex was built in the suburb format of Fort Clayton in 1942–1943 and corresponded to residential land use. g. Non-Commissioned Officers’ Quarters. Residential complex in a suburb built in 1948 and corresponded to residential land use. h. Capehart Suburb (Capehart housing). Residential complex in a suburb built in the 1960s and corresponded to residential land use. Two diversity indicators were applied to identify the variety of tree species in each urban area studied in Fort Clayton. The first is the Simpson Index of Species Diversity, and the other is simply counting the species used by each landscape unit. The Simpson Index is a methodology used in biology to assess species diversity in the wild. In

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4 Historical, Cultural, and Urban Analysis of the Landscaping of the Canal …

Fig. 4.21 Central quadrangle, Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2019)

current study, it was applied to analyze the variety of urban tree species and their color diversity in each land use area in the nerve center of Fort Clayton. At the same time, the most abundant species numerically of each landscape unit was identified, in addition to the accounting of the approximate total number of trees. The different historical stages of development and land use in the eight areas studied at Fort Clayton have different patterns of tree diversity and density of total trees (see Table 4.4). The highest diversity found is the residential neighborhood of Capehart, built in 1960, with a diversity index of 0.66, followed by Miller’s Field and Officers’ Quarters, with an index of 0.61. The history of the latter determines this great diversity. Initially, there were practically no trees during the military period until the 1950s, when Fort Clayton was transformed into a typical American community. From that time, a series of amenities emerged throughout the Fort, and Miller’s Field became a park with various sports equipment. An arborization campaign accompanied this transformation that would visually express the intention to create an image of community through high diversity of trees and the introduction of colored species. Precisely, his open space, along with Coronel’s Row, is the second area with the highest diversity of species and chromatic diversity in the arborization (see Figs. 4.23 and 4.24). This coincides with the place with the highest number of trees in the study area, with approximately 327 specimens. It is only surpassed by the 1960s suburb of Capehart, which coincide with the Fort’s community transformation.

4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s

131

Fig. 4.22 New Post field in the 1950s. Source Study Collection

On the other hand, the year when the residential areas were constructed seemed to have affected the species diversity of each suburb. The first residential area built in 1920, the first Officer’s quarters, has a much lower diversity index than the suburbs constructed during and after the 1940s (see Fig. 4.25). In fact, the trend identified from the study is that the further away in time after the World War II the construction of the suburbs is, the richer the landscaping and the greater the diversity. Another clear arborization pattern is associated with land use and visual differentiation between military zones, residential areas, and community parks. The arborization scheme of the military zones is markedly austere both in species diversity and chromatic diversity. The Headquarters and the New Post areas mark a diversity of 0.31, almost the lowest of the entire study. In terms of chromatic diversity, the New Post marks the lowest index with 0.13, followed by the Headquarters with 0.18 (see Figs. 4.26 and 4.27). (1) Military land use and the rest are residential land use The last feature to highlight in the arborization study is identifying each area’s dominant species. The dominant species for each site is the most abundant in the number of specimens. The results evidenced that the royal palm is the predominant

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Table 4.4 Estimating the arborization pattern according to land use in Fort Clayton, 2000 Construction Land use Year

Total tree Count

Dominant Diversity Tree Species index color diversity index

First Officer’s Quarters

1920

Residential

125

Royal palm

0.72

0.27

Early military housing (Fort Façade)

1920

Residential

39

Royal palm

0.14

0.14

Miller Field/ Officers Quarters

1932

Community 327 Park / Residential

Royal palm

0.83

0.61

Headquarter

1940

Military

62

Royal palm

0.31

0.18

New Post

1941

Military

77

Royal palm

0.31

0.13

Wartime Housing

1943

Residential Community

38

Royal palm

0.74

0.43

Non-Commissioner 1948 Officers’ Quarters

Residential Community

64

Mango

0.86

0.57

Capehart housing

Residential 163 Community

Royal palm

0.74

0.66

1960

Fig. 4.23 Miller Field and a flamboyant tree. Source Arosemena (2021)

4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s

133

Simpson diversity index of trees

Fig. 4.24 Miller Field tree planting resulting from the community approach since the 1950s. Source Arosemena (2021)

0.7 0.5 0.3 0.1 -0.1

1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965

Year of construction of each suburb First Officer's Quarters

Wartime Housing

Non Commisioner Officers'

Capehart housing

Fig. 4.25 Diversity index by residential landscape unit area and its year of building

species in all study areas, both military and residential, except for the suburb of NonCommissioned’ Quarters, where mango is the dominant species (see Figs. 4.28 and 4.29). This evidence is consistent with the historical tradition of using royal palms to accompany institutional buildings or border streets, a practice that dates to the time of construction of the Canal by the French, making the royal palm a symbol of the image of the urban landscape of the interoceanic region. Attention should be paid to the second dominant species, which reveals the influence of decision-making to use in the Canal Zone and, of fruit trees in military

134

4 Historical, Cultural, and Urban Analysis of the Landscaping of the Canal … 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

Fig. 4.26 Tree species diversity index in Fort Clayton by landscaping and historical study area

Fig. 4.27 Fort Clayton partial Map on Simpson’s index tree diversity by applying

4.11 Probable Arborization Campaign of the 1950s

135

140

120

Number of tree species

100

80

60

40

20

0 First Officer’s Quarters Early military housing (Fort Façade)

Miller Field/ Officers Quarters

Headquarter

New Post

Wartime Housing

Non Commissioner Officers’ Quarters

Cocos nucifera

Delonix regia

Mangifera indica

Mimusops elengi

Roystonea regia

Handroanthus guayacan

Syzgium syzygioides

Lagerstroemia speciosa

Ormosia macrocalyx

Peltophorum pterocarpum

Capehart housing

Fig. 4.28 Graphic of dominant species by landscape unit area

Fig. 4.29 Fort Clayton historical center map of tree species present in each landscape unit area

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reserves. Five of the eight study areas present a fruit tree as the second dominant species, and one of them is a military area, the New Post, with the mango. We concluded that the variety of species and trees in Fort Clayton results from historical development and land use configuration.

References Abbot W (1914) The Panama Canal. An illustrated historical narrative of Panama and the great waterway which divides the American continents. Syndicate Publishing Co, Cleveland Arosemena G (2018) Los inicios del paisajismo de Balboa y su arborización, 1916–1919: Una aproximación cultural y ambiental. Canto Rodado 13:185–207 Beveridge C (2000) Olmsted. His essential theory. Victorian Society in America 20(2):32–37 Canal Zone Experiment Gardens (1930) Experiment gardens. Annual Reports of the Canal Zone for the Fiscal year 1929. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, CZ. University of Florida Canal Zone Experiment Gardens (1938) Annual Reports of the Canal Zone Experiment Gardens for the Fiscal years 1937 and 1938. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, CZ. University of Florida. Canal Zone Experiment Gardens (1939) Annual Reports of the Canal Zone Experiment Gardens for the Fiscal years 1937 and 1938. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, CZ. University of Florida Canal Zone Experiment Gardens (1941) Annual Report of the Canal Zone Experiment Gardens for the Fiscal Year 1940. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, CZ. University of Florida Cooke R, Sánchez L (2004) Historia General de Panamá. Vol I. Tomo II Primera Parte. Sociedades originarias. Capítulo II. Panamá indígena 1501–1550 Cooke R, Ranere A, Clary L, et al. (1985) La influencia de las poblaciones humanas sobre los ambientes terrestres de Panamá entre el 10,000 A.C y el 500 D.C. In: Heckadon S, Espinoza J (Eds.) Agonía de la Naturaleza. Ensayos sobre el costo ambiental del desarrollo panameño. Instituto de Investigación Agropecuaria de Panamá. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, pp 3–25 Coomission of Fine Arts (1913) Panama Canal: Senate Documents. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting a Report by the Commission of Fine Arts concerning the Artistic Structure of the Panama Canal. The University of Florida Cranz G (1989) The politics of park design: a history of urban parks in America. The MIT Press Descripción de Panamá y sus Provincias sacada de la relación que por mandato del Consejo hizo y envió aquella audiencia (1697) En Relaciones históricas y geográficas de América. Madrid, 1908 Dillon K, Sweezy S, Trancik R (2012) Garden cities of the Panama Canal. Cornell AAP, Ithaca, New York Downing AJ (2012) Andrew Jackson Downing: essential texts. W. W. Norton & Company, New York Enscore S, Gordon C, Johnson S, Webster J (2000) Guarding the gates. The story of Fort Clayton, its settings, its architecture, and its role in the Panama Canal history. Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development, US Army Corps of Engineers, Champaign, Illinois Frenkel S (1996) Jungle stories: North American representations of tropical Panama. Geogr Rev. The American Geographical Society of New York, 86:317–333 Fussell G (1984) Landscape painting and the agricultural revolution. Pindar Press, Pinner Grey G, Deneke F (1986) The urban forest. Comprehensive management, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York

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The Panama Canal Record (1908) The Panama Canal Record published Weekly Under the Authority and Supervision of the Isthmian Canal Commission. September 4, 1907, to August 26, 1908. Isthmian Canal Commission Printing Office, Ancon, Canal Zone. University of Florida The Panama Canal Record (1910) The Panama Canal Record published Weekly under the Authority and Supervision of the Isthmian Canal Commission. September 1, 1909, to August 24, 1910. Isthmian Canal Commission Printing Office, Ancon, CZ. University of Florida The Panama Canal Record (1913) The Panama Canal Record published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Panama Canal. August 28, 1912, to August 20, 1913. Volume VI. Isthmian Canal Commission Printing Office, Ancon, CZ. University of Florida. The Panama Canal Record (1914) The Panama Canal Record Published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Panama Canal. August 27, 1913, to June 19, 1914. Volume VII. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, Canal Zone. University of Florida The Panama Canal Record (1915) The Panama Canal Record Published weekly under the authority and supervision of Panama Canal. 1914–1915. Balboa Heights. University of Florida. The Panama Canal Record (1916) The Panama Canal Record published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Panama Canal. August 25, 1915, to August 16, 1916. University of Florida The Panama Canal Record (1917) The Panama Canal Record published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Panama Canal, August 23, 1916, to August 15, 1917. Vol X. The Panama Canal, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone The Panama Canal Review (1957) Panama Canal Review. 8(2). Panama Canal Company, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone Turnbull C (2009) An American Urban Residential Landscape 1890–1920. Chicago in the progressive era. Cambria Press, Amherst, New York United States Army Environmental Center (1998) For want of a home: a historic context for Wherry and Capehart Military Family Housing. United States Army Environmental Center, Maryland Wilson W (1989) The city beautiful movement (creating the North American landscape). The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London Zien K (2017) Sovereign acts: performing race, space, and belonging in Panama and the Canal Zone. Critical Caribbean Studies

Chapter 5

Cultural Landscapes Values

Abstract The study initially addresses the characterization through the examination of the plotting, architecture, and landscape of the seven distinct sectors of the Central Clayton study area. This systematized recognition of the site served as the basis for analyzing the heritage value of the built environment and natural landscape. The analysis of the heritage value included three aspects: the assessment of cultural and natural heritage specialists, the official valuation of the government of Panama and the United States, and the valuation by the population. The first aspect examined the fulfillment of the formal, symbolic, and use value criterion and corroborated the authenticity and integrity of the heritage in the Central Clayton study area. The official position was approached by examining studies and specialized publications prepared by Panama and the United States during the process of transferring the territory of the Canal Zone to Panama in the 1990s. Meanwhile, the chapter explores the heritage values attributed by the population through focus groups composed of Panamanian and American social actors linked to the territory of the former Canal Zone in the past and present. Keywords Heritage values · Cultural landscape · Panama Canal Zone · Fort Clayton · Integrity

5.1 Cultural Landscape: An Approach to Heritage This paper seeks to contribute elements to the discussion on the heritage value and relevance of protecting the former Canal Zone as a cultural landscape of indisputable value. A unique territory comprised by vast forested areas, civil, and military communities with architecture and high-quality open spaces, areas for military use, and service zones related to the management and security of the interoceanic route through Panama. The recognition of the heritage value of the legacy of the transisthmian route built during the twentieth century largely depends on the substantiation provided by research results to justify its protection. Only, this way will it be possible This chapter is an extended version of the conference “Paisaje cultural de la Zona del Canal: un patrimonio por reconocer, valorar y proteger. Caso estudio del Fuerte Clayton”. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_5

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to avoid its transfiguration or extinction, which is already evident in some of the former Canal Zone towns. This chapter starts by identifying elements defining the character of the cultural landscape of 7 sectors of Central Clayton. It then addresses the site’s value from the technical perspective of the official vision of the governments of Panama and the United States and, finally, the population’s appreciation.

5.2 Characterization of the Cultural Landscape The cultural landscape is “the geographical area where physical, biological and cultural are articulated in each place (and) … where the relationship between society and its territory is exposed” through the interaction of cultural and natural values defined according to the perception of its inhabitants (Ferrari 2013: 99). According to UNESCO’s cultural landscapes categories (1992), the former Canal Zone is an evolving and continuous cultural landscape. Evolutionary because it responds to the human activity developed through time in response to the natural environment, and “continuous” because activity continues to have an active role in contemporary society. At Central Clayton, our unit of study, the landscape has differentiated expressions in the civic-military sectors, housing areas, service, recreational areas, and forest areas. The sum of all these components makes up a unity of landscape easily recognized by the image depicted by isolated white buildings with earth-colored roofs and the omnipresent green of nature, which is automatically associated with the Canal area. The sectorization of Clayton reflects the various stages of expansion of the old Fort, made up of relatively homogeneous architecture and landscape, where the variants are dictated by the architectural and urban styles of each period, the shape of the land, and health considerations. In the urban fabric of the Central Clayton area, seven differentiated sectors are identified, listed below, and mapped in Fig. 5.1: – The Horseshoe was built between 1919 and 1922 (renovated between 1960 and 1965),1 – The Central Quadrangle (1932–1940) – The Service Area (1920–1940) – The New Post (1940–1941) – The housing complex of the World War II (1942–1943) – The Postwar housing complex (1948–1949) – Miller Field (1933, 1941, and 1948)

1

Barracks and the headquarters structures were demolished to make room for the buildings of the Capehart housing program.

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Fig. 5.1 Diagram of Central Clayton Sectors

5.2.1 Characterization of Central Fort Clayton The characterization of the sectors presented below describes the physical elements of a suburban landscape, namely: – Urban grid: shape of the road network – Architecture: description of the elements that make up architectural elements and styles of buildings – Landscape: topography and vegetation type. In general terms, harmony is observed between the natural landscape and the built environment in most of the landscape units; closer similarity is present in the sectors constructed between the origins of the Fort in 1922 and 1941. The common elements are the urban grid of a few roads and the semi-rural character of the landscape with variants in the grid elements, like a hierarchical separation between sectors for the troop and the officers at The Horseshoe. The first has a trapezoidal shape, where the barracks buildings for the soldiers and the headquarters bordered the prominent parade ground. The second occupied the curved section of The Horseshoe, where the housing for officers was located (Fig. 5.2). The architecture has, as a common element, the Spanish neocolonial style (Spanish revival), with its characteristic tiled roofs, white walls, large windows, and a few decorative details. The service area is an exception to this rule, where all ground-level surfaces are concrete-paved without vegetation. The buildings are of diverse materials without allusion to specific architectural styles. However, the Postwar housing

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Fig. 5.2 3D drawing of The Horseshoe (Sector 1) shows the original configuration of Fort Clayton. Source This study is based on a map of Fort Clayton and Corozal from the War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://cat alog.archives.gov/id/230248170

complex is linked to the Ranch style, in which architectural forms are a transition to rational architecture. In Miller Field, housing buildings for officers were built in several eras: the interwar period (1933), the Second World War, and the Postwar period. The result is a building compound of diverse architectural styles achieving a sense of unity through the ample open space and the vegetation of the surrounding environment.

5.2.1.1

Sector 1: The Horseshoe, 1922–1960

The sector of The Horseshoe corresponds to the initial stage of Fort Clayton, built between 1920 and 1922, with barrack buildings and administrative offices surrounding the trapezoidal parade ground and housing for officials located on the crescent side of the horseshoe shape of The Horseshoe (Fig. 5.2). Part of the original buildings and open spaces were destroyed in the late 1950s to build the two-family units of the Capehart Military Housing Program. Table 5.1 presents the details of the characterization of The Horseshoe.

5.2.1.2

Sector 2: The Central Quadrangle, 1933–1939

The Central Quadrangle was built in the second stage of the expansion of Fort Clayton as part of the overall modernization program of US military installations after the Great Depression. Its location west of The Horseshoe opened the way to developing

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Table 5.1 Characterization of Sector 1—The Horseshoe, 1922 Urban grid

Architecture

Landscape

Large, secluded buildings with undecorated white walls, pitched roofs with steep slopes

Flat topography Large meadows with few shrubs, groups of isolated robust trees, and palm trees lined up on the perimeter of the parade ground Open rainwater channels

Spanish revival

City Beautiful Movement

1922 Horseshoe shape with hierarchical and functional separation. On the trapeze were the parade ground, administration buildings, and barracks. On the crescent side, the officer housing Few roads

Reference models Military sites in the American Midwest 1960 Orthogonal plot with a regular number of streets

Small duplex houses Green spaces around the with zinc roofs with houses with groups of slight slopes trees of various species Open rainwater channels

Reference models Postwar American suburbs

Ranch2

Postwar American suburbs

Source Own elaboration

Fig. 5.3 3D drawing of the Central Quadrangle area (Drawing: Mariana Aguilar). Source This study is based on a map of Fort Clayton and Corozal from the War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers (1947). Identifier 230248170, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives. gov/id/230248170

previously uninhabited areas in the Fort. It comprises massive barrack buildings for the troops located on the perimeter of the enormous rectangular parade ground (see Fig. 5.3). The sector characteristics are rectangular blocks, isolated buildings, and flat topography (see Table 5.2).

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Style Ranch is defined as “ … a modern architectural look achieved … through… a horizontal emphasis, and an absence of detail” (Michael 2011: 69).

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Table 5.2 Characterization of Sector 2—Central Quadrangle, 1933 Urban grid

Architecture

Landscape

Sizeable rectangular block with the parade ground in the center and barrack buildings on the perimeter Perimeter roads

Large, isolated buildings with smooth white walls, undecorated, pitching roofs with steep slopes

Flat topography Large meadows with few shrubs and groups of isolated sturdies, robust trees located between the buildings and clusters of isolated palm trees around the parade ground Open rainwater channels

Spanish revival

City Beautiful Movement

Reference models Interwar US military sites

5.2.1.3

Sector 3: Service Area, 1928–1945

A secluded area northwest of The Horseshoe was initially occupied by wood structures serving as equine stables, later transformed into service workshops for the automotive fleet. Over the years, the sector was consolidated as a conglomerate of services with warehouses, the Post Exchange Service (PX), the Fire Station, and other minor services where the absence of vegetation contrasts with the rest of the Fort (Fig. 5.4).

Fig. 5.4 Building of the old gas station, a typical wood frame building of the Service Area (Sector 3). Photo Almyr Alba

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Table 5.3 Characterization of Sector 3—Services Area, 1928–1945 Urban grid

Architecture

Landscape

Large blocks with orthogonal pathways

Three types of buildings: – wooden with metal cover – of reinforced concrete with metal roof and – small buildings entirely made of metal

Flat topography without vegetation

World War II3

Interwar US military sites

Reference models Interwar US military sites

These buildings adopted reinforced concrete as a building material. The general urban and natural features of Sector 3 are large orthogonal blocks, diverse material construction, and flat topography without vegetation (see Table 5.3).

5.2.1.4

Sector 4: New Post, 1940–1941

The third expansion stage of the Fort occurred in 1940–1941 during World War II, after the United States joined the Allied forces. Due to the increase in American troops in the Canal Zone, the New Post was built in Clayton. This complex had large barrack buildings aligned around the parade ground following a pattern similar to the Central Quadrangle; it also had its headquarters and a radio and television station (Fig. 5.5). The sector’s characteristics are an anamorphic rectangular shape, isolated buildings and flat topography, and few shrubs and trees (see Table 5.4).

5.2.1.5

Sector 5: World War II Housing Complex, 1942–1943

As part of the expansion of World War II, a housing complex for officers was created west of Miller Field to complement New Post military facilities. The architectonic forms of the houses introduced novel elements in Clayton, such as the typology of duplex housing with the ground floor open for parking and laundry areas and housing on the upper floors. The placement of the housing units aligned next to the street (toward the front) and large green areas with shared children’s games in the back (Fig. 5.6) added to the novelty. The sector’s characteristics are its rectangular shape, isolated buildings, flat topography, and few shrubs and trees (see Table 5.5).

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World War II is the architectural style assigned to temporary wooden and metal roof buildings built during World War II (Michael 2011: 67).

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Fig. 5.5 A typical barrack building at the New Post (Sector 4). Photo Almyr Alba Table 5.4 Characterization of Sector 4—New Post, 1940–1941 Urban grid

Architecture

Landscape

Anamorphic rectangular shape with administration buildings, barracks, and ample central space Few tracks on the perimeter of the parade ground

Large, isolated buildings with smooth white walls without decoration, tile roofs pitching in several directions with steep slopes

Flat topography Large meadows with few shrubs and groups of isolated robust trees located between the buildings and groups of isolated palm trees around the parade ground Open rainwater channels

Spanish revival

Interwar US military sites

Reference models Interwar US military sites

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Fig. 5.6 Playgrounds and two-story houses at the World War II Housing Complex (Sector 5). Photo Almyr Alba Table 5.5 Characterization of Sector 5—Housing complex of the World War II, 1942–1943 Urban grid

Architecture

Landscape

Super blocks with green areas at the back of houses, separation of pedestrian and automotive mobilization Regulate the number of routes

Isolated duplex homes houses with two floors and an open ground floor Smooth white walls, without/ decoration, pitching tile roofs with steep slopes

Flat topography Large common green areas with children’s playgrounds behind the houses Grass cover complemented by diverse trees grouped next to buildings and in playgrounds Open rainwater channels

A hybrid between Spanish revival and modern architecture

Radburn

Reference models Radburn Superblock

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Fig. 5.7 One-story duplex houses at the Postwar Housing Complex (Sector 6). Photo Almyr Alba

5.2.1.6

Sector 6: Postwar Housing Complex, 1948–1949

This housing complex for non-commissioned officers was created after World War II, derived from the Wherry Housing Program, created to improve the living conditions of the Army. This small housing complex reflects the new course of urbanization of military bases in the United States, which promotes a sense of community in contrast to the rigid military post of the past. To do so, it creates environments similar to Postwar suburban neighborhoods with housing units integrated into the natural environment and existing facilities, ensuring the privacy of each family.4 The general urban and natural features of Sector 6 are one-story concrete houses, flat terrain with individual courtyards, and communal playgrounds (Fig. 5.7, see Table 5.6).

5.2.1.7

Sector 7: Miller Field and Houses of 1933, 1942, and 1948

Miller Field was originally an open area used for military practices (Enscore 2000). From 1933 onward, the northern and western perimeters of the field were occupied with housing for officers and non-commissioned officers, respectively, built during

4

Privacy sought to reduce “forced social contacts” in common areas and noise between housing units. Avoiding it was considered extremely necessary to ensure a comfortable life (United States Army Environmental Center 1998: 62).

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Table 5.6 Characterization of Sector 6—Postwar housing complex, 1948–1949 Urban grid

Architecture

Landscape

Orthogonal grid with buildings aligned parallel to the streets Regulates the number of routes

One-story duplex houses, design lines emphasizing horizontality, smooth walls without decoration, and slightly slanted metal ceilings

Terraced ground Individual courtyards and communal playgrounds Grass and tree cover (mango trees predominated) Open rainwater channels

Ranch Style

Postwar Suburban Neighborhoods

Reference models Postwar US Suburban Urbanization

1933, 1940, and 1948. The ample open space was gradually fit out for sports with a golf center course, baseball fields, and a swimming pool (Fig. 5.8).

Fig. 5.8 Officer’s house at Miller Field (Sector 7). Photo Almyr Alba

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Table 5.7 Characterization of Sector 7—Miller Field, 1933, 1942, and 1948 Urban grid

Architecture

– Buildings lined up along the curved perimeter of Miller Field with green areas in the backyard of the houses and double pedestrian circulation (frontal and backyard) – No inland roads

– Isolated duplex – Flat topography houses of two floors, large common green open ground floors, trees – Grass cover and smooth walls various trees are without decoration, grouped next to the and slanted tile roofs buildings and play – Isolated duplex areas houses with two floors, open ground – Open rainwater channels floors, undecorated wooden walls, and pitched metal roofs – Isolated one-story duplex houses, smooth walls without decoration, and slightly slanted pitched metal roofs

Landscape

Reference models Suburban urbanizations of the early twentieth century with the influence of the City Beautiful Movement

Spanish revival World War II Ranch

City Beautiful Movement

This building’s ensemble of diverse architectural styles has a sense of unity due to the way the buildings are placed on the terrain, the large open space, and the vegetation of the surrounding landscape (see Table 5.7).

5.3 Heritage Values Human groups treasure some historic objects because they transcend the ravages of time and symbolize past glories and/or memories shared by several generations of one or more social groups. Most probably, these assets will be protected as cultural heritage according to the values assigned to them by society. Although this approach seems logical, the scope of valuation has been tinged, over time, with imprecision, perhaps because it “falls within the speculative field of philosophy” (Ballart et al. 1996). The degree of imprecision is evident as there are several value classifications. The historical, aesthetic, economic, social, and scientific value classifications can be mentioned, among many others. The complexity becomes more remarkable when the significance of heritage changes over time and from one country to another (Díaz-Andreu 2017). In this scenario, some specialists consider that the valuation of heritage lacks accepted methods to allow comparable results (Manders et al. 2012).

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In the next section, we will explore the proposals of some researchers who have worked in recent years on the systematization of heritage values to serve as a starting point for the analysis of our case study.

5.3.1 Theoretical Background of Heritage Values The systematization of heritage values originated at the beginning of the twentieth century, referring us to the Viennese art historian Alois Riegl. In his dissertation “The Modern Cult of Monuments,” he establishes five immanent values of heritage. The main ones refer to the past of the heritage object and the rest to their present attribute. In the first group, we find the historical value, which refers to its condition of tangible testimony of culture that allows us to move from the past time to the present (Cirvini 2019). On the other hand, artistic value refers to its aesthetic attributes. In contrast, value of antiquity refers to the traces of age left by time on the object itself (e.g., patina), allowing us to experience the primeval moment of the historic artifact (Ballart 1997). The values related to the present condition are use and newness. Use indicates the ability of the urban site or architectural artifact to maintain its original function or a compatible alternative use to respond to current needs. The newness refers to the renewal of historical resources erasing the traces of aging in open opposition to the antiquity value (Rielg 2008). These five values of Rielg became valid in Europe, outside his native Austria and Germany, many years later in the 1980s (Scarrocchia, s/ f). Years later, in 1996, the use value was added to Rielg’s original list. This concept encompasses many intangible and tangible aspects, such as the need to provide knowledge to eminently utilitarian issues such as market value. The inclusion of the use value responds to the contemporary neoliberal policies that suppressed the former “protectionist” model where the State supported the promotion of culture (Ballart et al. 1996).

5.3.2 Categories and Subcategories of Heritage Values A little more than a decade ago, the discussion regarding heritage values was expanded with the proposal of Barbara Appelbaum. In search of precision, she proposed three primary categories of values (formal, symbolic, and use), decanted into subcategories attributable to movable cultural property (Appelbaum 2010). In the formal realm, the subcategories of values include artistic, aesthetic, newness, originality, and group (ensemble) aspects. The symbolic category encompasses historical attributes, antiquity, and associative and commemorative capacity. Finally, the use category is disaggregated into function, research, education, and personal, social, and economic ties. Subsequently, several Ibero-American authors adopted Appelbaum’s subcategories to attribute heritage values to immovable cultural property.

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5.4 Cultural and Natural Landscape Values Attributed by the Study For the analysis of our case study, we use Appelbaum’s general values and subcategories and complement them with authenticity and integrity verification to determine the reliability of the cultural landscape elements as a testimony of the past.

5.4.1 What’s Original in Clayton The age of the assets is a determining factor for their value; we see that older objects are considered more valuable (Rielg 2008). Antiquity is associated with the indisputable “sense of the origin of things” and the historical attribute of a cultural or natural asset. In the study area, between 1922 and 1969, an average of 332 buildings were built, and 266 (80% of the total) are still standing. The highest number of missing buildings disappeared during the great demolition campaign in 1957, then 27 buildings from 1919–1922 were demolished.5 The rest were intermittently removed during the US administration, with a total of 56 buildings eliminated by 1999. From 2000 to date, another 13 historic buildings were demolished in the study area.

5.4.1.1

Analysis of the Formal, Symbolic, and Use Values of the Cultural Landscape

This section presents the analyses of heritage values in the seven sectors of the Central Clayton study area. Because of their particularities, the values of cultural and natural elements of heritage were examined separately. In both cases, the formal, symbolic, and use categories and all or almost all Appelbaum’s subcategories were used. In the case of the built landscape, the subcategories were adapted to the situation of a suburban settlement derived from the proposals of ICOMOS (1999), Appelbaum (2010), Montañez Arica (2016), Nieto (2018), and Mechato Lara (2020) as shown in Fig. 5.9. In the case of the natural landscape, the category of biodiversity was added as a fourth criterion to evaluate the biotic components of cultural landscape (Fig. 5.10). Although of similar names (e.g., formal, symbolic, and use), some subcategories inherent to establishing heritage are slightly different when analyzing the biotic heritage particularities. In this case, the categorization was done according to the approaches of Hockings et al. (2008), Appelbaum (2010), and Montañez Arica (2016). 5

The destruction of the original buildings coincides with the Postwar era, designated in the Canal Zone as “the years of change,” when a large number of buildings were demolished for not meeting the housing standards of the time (The Panama Canal Review, August 3, 1956: 10).

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Fig. 5.9 Diagram of heritage values of the built landscape adapted to the particularities of an urban settlement based on the categories and subcategories of ICOMOS (1999), Appelbaum (2010), Montañez Arica (2016), Nieto (2018), and Mechato Lara (2020)

Fig. 5.10 Diagram of heritage values of the natural landscape based on the categories and subcategories of Hockings et al. (2008), Appelbaum (2010), and Montañez Arica (2016)

The general situation of the values of constructed and natural elements was evaluated through a simple matrix. Each subcategory present on the site was assigned a value of 1. The sum of the values was correlated with the value totality to obtain a percentage. The resulting percentages of 100% to 80% represent high values; from

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80 to 60%, moderately high values; from 61 to 40%, medium values; from 39 to 20%, moderately low; and from 19 to 0%, low values. Areas showing high and moderately high-value ranges are proposed as cultural heritage.

5.4.2 Heritage Values of Built Elements of the Cultural Landscape According to the evaluation, the sector with the most significant heritage importance is the Central Quadrangle which scored high on the heritage value scale. Meanwhile, The Horseshoe, New Post, World War II and Postwar Housing Complexes, and Miller Field scored moderately high levels. The Service Area was the sector with the lowest values but also within moderately high ranges. Generally speaking, the highest values lie in the use and symbolic aspects. The use value is higher because the historic buildings and landscape are still used in activities similar to the original ones that do not distort the physiognomy of the cultural landscape. At the same time, the site has excellent potential for research and education. The symbolic value is also significant due to the age of the buildings and the site’s relationship with historical events, such as the construction of the Canal and the First and Second World Wars. As far as formal values are concerned, they are higher in the Central Quadrangle, World War II and Postwar housing complexes, and Miller Field since they meet the aesthetic and originality criteria. In the general categories, the percentages are distributed as follows: the use represents 44%, the formal 29%, and the symbolic 27% (see Fig. 5.11). The overall average of cultural values is 75%; a moderately high range that denotes their unquestionable cultural significance and the need for special protection of the site.

5.4.3 Heritage Values of Natural Elements of Cultural Landscape The sector where natural elements have the most significant heritage importance is Miller Field. On the second level of importance are The Horseshoe, the housing complexes of the World War II, and the Postwar period also with high values. Moderately high ranges were obtained in the New Post, followed by the Central Quadrangle in the middle range. The lowest percentage occurs in the Service Area, a sector lacking natural attributes (Fig. 5.12). The symbolic value is of greater importance because of the relationship of the natural landscape with the conformation and image of the Panama Canal area. Meanwhile, the formal values are positioned on a significant level because they evidence a landscape of harmonious and beautiful design in the Central Quadrangle, New Post,

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Fig. 5.11 Situation of the heritage values of the built elements of the cultural landscape by sectors of Central Clayton area. Source Own elaboration

Fig. 5.12 Situation of the heritage values of the natural elements of the cultural landscape by sectors of Central Clayton area. Source Own elaboration

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World War II and Postwar housing complexes, and Miller Field. The opposite occurs in the section of the Capehart houses of The Horseshoe and the Service Area. The concept of unity is relevant in the sectors of the New Post, World War II and Postwar housing complexes, and Miller Field. The use value, mostly related to recreational activities, is significant in 6 sectors of the study area. Biodiversity represents high values in the Postwar sector and the Capeheart sector of The Horseshoe and Miller Field. The Central Quadrangle and the New Post have an intermediate value as the criteria of diversity and connectivity are not met. Meanwhile, integrity is affected in the Central Quadrangle and New Post sectors. The Service Area does not meet any criteria in this category; therefore, it is at the lower end of the scale of natural heritage. The percentages are distributed by category: the form and the symbolic criteria represent 27% each; the use, 24%; and biodiversity, 22%. On average, the values of the natural elements cultural landscape correspond to 65%, which is moderately high.

5.5 Authenticity Valorization of authenticity and integrity aims to ensure that the heritage assets are reliable testimonies to the historical past. On the one hand, authenticity determines whether the historic artifact’s form and materiality are original. On the other hand, integrity determines whether it is sufficiently intact to understand how it was originally (Stovel 2007). The site’s authenticity is defined as the place’s ability to convey its meaning. An authentic heritage artifact must retain the original material, form, and immaterial elements, considering that it has aged and changed with time (del Cambón 2009). Authenticity makes it possible to distinguish whether the historic building or artifact is original or has been subjected to interventions transforming it into a “new fake antique” (Szmygin 2015). In an urban location, authenticity includes site examination to identify changes in site configuration, building design, landscape design, and changes in uses and building materials. In the case of the Canal Zone, its attributes derive from the model of the North American suburbs of the early twentieth century, primarily designed in the likeness of semi-rural areas. These are qualities expressed through wide landscaped avenues, colorful gardens in houses, neighborhood parks, and groves or river basins in a natural state between the city and the suburbs (Ames and McCleland 2002). Authenticity was evaluated through 7 criteria derived from the proposals of the National Park Service of the United States (2002), the Declaration of Québec (2008), the Valletta Principles (2011), and the Operational Guidelines of World Heritage (2019). For each criterion, a verification was conducted to see if it maintained its

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original conformation or if it was transformed.6 The site’s configuration verifies the spatial organization of the original site (boundaries, street shapes and dimensions, lots, and buildings). The building design, its original size and shape, and the significant additions that occurred during periods of historical relevance are preserved until the present. Landscape design analyzes the relationship between roads, sidewalks, vegetation, open spaces, bodies of water, and forest. The site’s character refers to the array of material and immaterial elements that create a site’s specific identity. The use and function verify whether the historic setting (buildings and landscape) is in use, either for the original function or for an alternative use related to contemporary needs, as far as the original physiognomy is not distorted. The materials refer to the original buildings’ materials and vegetation in the open spaces.7 The techniques relate to using and conserving the original construction methods in buildings and replanting with original species when necessary, and periodic vegetation maintenance in the landscape. The general situation of the authenticity criteria was evaluated in the sectors of the study area through a simple assessment matrix. The criteria were correlated with the gradient of compliance with each criterion, with a scale of 1 to 5. The value of 1 represents considerable alterations between 75 and 100%, and the value of 5 represents absence or minimal alterations (less than 4%). Values 2 to 4 represent moderately high to moderately low situations, between 74 and 5%. The results obtained in the authenticity assessment indicate that the sectors of the housing complexes of the World War II and the Postwar period present an ideal situation with the highest values on the scale, with unaltered authenticity criteria. Miller Field follows in the degree of importance with slight alterations in the designs of the buildings and construction materials. With intermediate values appear the Central Quadrangle, the New Post, and the Service Area due to alterations of use and function and the site’s character. In the Service Area, there were also changes in the original designs. The lowest values were obtained in The Horseshoe due to the destruction of a considerable part of the site’s components dating from the original stage of Fort Clayton. When analyzing the authenticity criteria individually, all correspond to intermediate values. The most intact criteria are site configuration, landscape design, and technique. Slightly significant alterations occur in the character of the site, the design of buildings, and the materials. The criterion of use and function is the one that has undergone the most changes in the study area.

6

The immaterial elements of the site were excluded due to the difficulty in verifying nonmaterial aspects in our case study. 7 The rehabilitation of buildings is acceptable if it retains original materials and formal features. In vegetation, replacements are acceptable when it responds to the plant life cycles, and the same species are used.

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5.5.1 Integrity In the context of the cultural landscape, integrity is the product of the optimal maintenance of natural and cultural attributes of the site and the implementation of policies and protection plans appropriate to the heritage reality of the site (del Cambón 2009). The six criteria used to verify the integrity situation in our study area derive from what Hockings et al. (2008) and UNESCO (2019) have proposed. The integrity was corroborated by verifying whether (1) the study area has all the attributes (original built and landscape elements) to express its value, (2) all the elements expressing the site’s value is within its limits, and (3) they have adequate building standards to avoid uncontrolled urban development and conservation plans for landscape areas. As well as programs for conservation and periodical maintenance of building and landscape attributes. The integrity of study’s sectors was verified through a simple valuation matrix like the one used for authenticity. The results show few alterations in the sectors of the housing complexes of the World War II and Postwar period, with values in the middle ranges. In descending order, the Central Quadrangle and New Post, Miller Field, also in the middle ranges. The lowest levels occur in the Service Area and The Horseshoe due to considerable losses of the original buildings. In the review of compliance with integrity by criteria, the highest value lies in the attributes defining the overall image of the original cultural landscape. In order of importance, the most affected sectors are The Horseshoe, the Service Area, and Miller Field due to the replacement of original buildings. Sectors in the middle ranges include The Horseshoe, the Central Quadrangle, the New Post, and Miller Field due to original species loss and the lack of a maintenance policy for the biotic elements of the cultural landscape. Also, in the middle range is the “building condition” due to the precarious state of conservation of the wooden buildings in the Miller Field sector and the Service Area. The lowest values lie in the absence of standards for protecting the landscape, onestory buildings, and wooden buildings. Indeed, these elements can be freely replaced according to the Master Plan (Suma 2009: 8). The lack of protection includes the Service Area, Miller Field’s wooden dwellings, and all the houses of the Capehart program within Central Clayton. This norm is in open opposition to the recommendations of the Burra Charter of 1999 which calls for containing demolitions, minimizing the number of new constructions, and any other changes adversely affecting the cultural landscape.

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5.6 A Shared Heritage: The Official Assessment of the United States and Panama The Canal Zone heritage is undoubtedly a heritage shared by Panamanians and Americans as both governments recognized the Canal Zone during the transition stage of the administration between the 1990s–2000s. The Americans’ motivation was to protect the legacy they built nearly a century ago. Their concern was not unfounded; since 19938 the absence of a protection or maintenance policy for the assets transferred by the USA to Panama was already notorious (Environmental Resources Planning Section 1995). Meanwhile, Panamanians recognized the quality of the Canal Zone’s built heritage and the need to protect it from Panama City’s voracious development patterns. To visualize sites of cultural interest within the Canal Zone, the Department of Defense (DoD) developed two specialized studies on cultural resources from US military bases in the Canal Zone in 1993 and 1996. In 1993, DoD identified five Clayton buildings that met the criteria for historical and architectural value of the National Register of Historic Property (NRHP) (Environmental Resources Planning Section 1995). The scope of protection was considerably expanded in the 1996 study when it recommended the preservation of all buildings over 50 years old,9 about 220 buildings (IT Corporation 1996). Panama, for its part, determined the future use of the lands and real estate of the former Canal Zone through the 1997 General Plan for the Use, Conservation, and Development of the Canal Area. In a similar fashion to DoD studies, this plan proposed the protection of the entire Fort Clayton because it has buildings and urban features with “unique qualities” (Intercarib S.A. and Nathan Associates, Inc. 1995).

5.7 Valuation Attributed by the Population According to specialists’ opinions, heritage has been traditionally understood as a witness of a past full of heroic stories or symbols of the great aesthetic value of high culture. Although these are real dimensions of heritage objects, they do not establish connections with the present experiences of collectivity. The assessment is mainly based on legal and scientific criteria, which forget that “Heritage is a social construction and therefore is subject to different meanings and forms of valorization established by social actors…” (Ruarte 2015). Consequently, the population’s valuation approach is increasingly accepted as an effective and sustainable way to safeguard heritage (Manders et al. 2012). Even more in the societies of liquid capitalism, where heritage has taken a back seat, and the developmental interests of the market define the use of territory and heritage. Closer 8 9

The transfer of US assets from the Canal Zone to Panama began in 1979. The criterion was established in the Historic Sites Act of 1935 of the United States.

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to individuals and centered on the community is urgently required to respond to the expectations of a heterodox postmodern and “liquid” modern society (Nieto 2018). The recognition by the population is, at the present time, understood as the cornerstone of the protection of cultural heritage. Therefore, it is crucial to know from a heritage viewpoint the public’s perception of the cultural landscape of the former Canal Zone.

5.7.1 Approach to the Valuation of the Population Díaz-Andreu (2017) suggested that the focus group technique is the most appropriate method to approach the heritage values situation among the population. Consequently, this was the technique used in the study to ascertain people’s perception and valuation of the former Canal Zone cultural landscape. Several focus groups were established based on the premise that it is a heritage shared by the Americans and Panamanians. These groups, in addition, represent two historical stages of the territory: the Canal Zone in the past and the Reverted Areas in the present.10 These precedents denote a shared heritage typical of postcolonial relations, which presupposes that at least two social groups consider themselves heirs of the same heritage assets and value the site differently (Van Stiprian 2006). According to the Burra Charter, cultural significance can change due to historical continuity; in our case, changes are the product of the presence of new social actors in the territory. The focus groups involved 35 individuals of diverse ages and social strata from Panama and the former Canal Zone divided into 5 groups of 7 members with a balanced representation of both genders. The groups were formed as follows: Group No. 1: Zonians11 Group No. 2: Panamanians who worked in the Canal Zone Group No. 3: Adult Panamanians living or working in the Reverted Areas Group No. 4: Adult Panamanians who do not live or work in the Reverted Areas Group No. 5: Young Panamanians who do not live or work in the Reverted Areas During the focus group dynamic, participants were encouraged to share their opinions and past and present experiences in the former Canal Zone. At the same time, a photo test was conducted to determine how the participants valued the site’s cultural heritage.

10

Reverted Areas correspond to the new name given to the Canal Zone starting in 1977. Zoneites, or Zonians, is the name of the American settlers from the United States who lived in the Canal Zone.

11

5.7 Valuation Attributed by the Population

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5.7.2 Photo Test The photo test, a method used to identify heritage values, is a landscape analysis technique developed from images of the study area. According to Kaplan, the instrument’s validity lies in recognizing visual mechanisms as the dominant way humans experience the environment. Ellard (2018) backs Kaplan’s method stating that the image “automatically takes us back to our experiences, feelings, and intentions with the place.” Similarly, during the study, each participant correlated the images with verbal expressions indicating the preferences or value gradients that participants associated with the image (Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). In the photo test, ten images of buildings, infrastructure works, and open spaces depicting the former Canal Zone were used. The participants correlated the images with 15 words associated with the three categories of heritage values: symbolic, formal, and use and the word “nature” was added to approximate the valuation of the natural landscape. The words associated with the formal category were beauty, architecture, and artistic. The words associated to the symbolic category were sovereignty, history, heritage, and Panama Canal, and in the category of use the words were linked with personal use, family, memories, fun, and friends.

5.7.3 Photo Test Results The photo test results were measured from the words selected by each participant in the different groups, compiled, and tabulated to define the trends of each focus group. In turn, the preferences of each group were contrasted to identify convergences and divergences between the five groups to establish the general trend of the study. According to the results, aspects related to symbolic values were preferred by 38.81%. From the point of view of heritage valuation, this result is significant because it indicates that an individual’s relationship with the site has transcended the present and allowed them to build symbolic relationships. Formal represents the second order of magnitude (25.5%), nature the third (19.72%), and uses the fourth place (16.12%) (Fig. 5.13). In particular, the group of Zonians is the most inclined to symbolic values due to their childhood and adult experiences in this place. Symbolic values are also relevant for adult Panamanians who experienced, first-hand, the North American presence in Panama and valued, above all other factors, the reunification of the country fragmented by the foreign presence. They consider this reunification an extraordinary achievement resulting from long years of a disparate struggle between a small nation and a world colossus in the manner of David and Goliath. Formal value is significant for young people and has a high valuation for groups 1, 2, and 3, who perceive the site as neat, beautiful, and with quality architecture, in

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Fig. 5.13 Compendium of heritage values attributed by the focus group participants. Source Own elaboration

contrast to the rest of Panama City. Group 3 (adult Panamanians who live or work in the Reverted Areas) attributed a lower value to the formal aspects because the order and beauty of the place have been altered in recent years. The following opinions show the frustration of the new residents of the former Canal Zone: “It was very nice, no dirtiness, there was surveillance, now it is chaotic.” “if everything continues like this, the charm of the Reverted Areas will be lost and will become like the rest of the country.” The values of personal uses have, with all logic, greater significance for the participants of group 3 since its members interact daily with the place and have family and friendship relationships there. Personal uses are also valued by the members of group 2, individuals who, due to their work activity, interacted very frequently in the Canal Zone. For young Panamanians in group 5, nature represents an element of great appreciation; they perceive the access to open spaces as widely met in the Reverted Areas and unmet in the rest of the city. The lowest valuation of nature comes again from group 3, who experience daily the recent negative transformations of the natural environment. There are at least three unanimous agreements among the participants. First, the Canal landscape connects the capital’s population with the natural environment. Second, the already demonstrated capability of Panamanians to handle the Panama Canal places the country in the universal concert of nations, and third, the history of the Canal has been a determining factor in the conformation of modern Panama.

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5.8 Final Review The results of the characterization allowed us to identify the dates of creation, the distinctive elements of the cultural landscape, and seven differentiated sectors in the study area. All are derived from models of North American military and suburban sites adapted to the tropics. Despite the variations between the sectors, the sum of the parts results in a landscape unit made up of simple buildings of Spanish colonial air with open spaces of large meadows, lined palm trees, clusters of trees, and a backdrop of dense forests. The heritage values of the cultural resources evaluated led to the conclusion that heritage value is moderately high, the use value predominates, followed by the formal aspects and, in third place, the symbolic aspects. The functional aspect stands out because the heritage artifacts maintain activities similar to the original ones and have great potential for research and education. The aesthetic, originality, and overall sub-values stand out in the formal field. Finally, the symbolic values of the site’s relationship with historical events, such as the construction and security of the Canal and the First and Second World Wars, were highlighted by the site. The values of natural elements are moderately high, where the symbolic occupies the first place, followed by use, biodiversity, and formal aspects. The symbolic values derive from the relationship of the natural landscape with the shaping of the image of the Panama Canal Area. Formal values represent quality designs and set values. The use is significant for the recreational activities in 6 sectors of the study area. Finally, biodiversity represents intermediate ranges because three sectors do not meet the criteria of diversity, connectivity, and integrity and because of the loss of tree species symbolic of Canal landscape in key sectors of the study area. On average, the values of the built elements are 75% and the natural ones 65%. Both are in moderately high ranges showing their unquestionable patrimonial value. Both authenticity and integrity have intermediate values. In the case of authenticity, the effects are primarily due to changes in use and construction materials. For integrity, values do not meet the desired standards due to a lack of nature management plans and inadequacies in the instruments of conservation of architecture. The most authentic and integral sectors are the World War II and Postwar housing complexes. In contrast, the least integral are The Horseshoe and the Service Area. Regarding heritage appreciation at the governmental level, Panama and the United States recognized the importance of heritage assets in the 1990s. The Americans determined buildings over 50 years old would be subject to heritage protection, and most of the current City of Knowledge buildings would be protected. The Panamanians expanded the scope of protection to the entire Fort Clayton. However, to date, the protection of the former Canal Zone has yet to materialize. Finally, the population investigated gives greater value to the symbolic aspects of the cultural landscape of the former Canal Zone. In particular, the Zonians give greater weight to the symbolic aspect because of their close past relationship with this territory. Meanwhile, for Panamanians, the valuation varies according to their past and current relationship with the site. Adults who lived through the era of American

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colonial times attribute a high symbolic value to the site; a value less relevant to younger people who prefer the formal and natural elements of the site. Nevertheless, there are coincidences between young people and adults since they all attribute great value to the natural landscape and the Panama Canal because it symbolizes our progress and a promising future for the country.

References Ames D, McCleland L (2002) Historic residential suburbs. Guidelines for Evaluation and Documentation for the National Register of Historic Places. National Register Bulletin. National Park Service Appelbaum B (2010) Conservation treatment methodology. Barbara Appelbaum Books, Nueva York Ballart J (1997) El patrimonio histórico y arqueológico: valor y uso. Ariel Patrimonio Histórico, Barcelona Ballart J, Fullola J, de los Mendizábal MÁ (1996) El valor del Patrimonio Histórico. Complutum Extra 6(II):215–224 Cirvini S (2019) El valor del pasado. Aportes para la evaluación del patrimonio arquitectónico de Argentina. Revista de Historia Americana y Argentina 54(2):13–38. Mendoza (Argentina) Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. ISSN: 0556-5960, ISSNe 2314-1549 del Cambón EC (2009) Paisajes Culturales como Patrimonio: Criterios para identificación y evaluación. Revista Arquitectura y Urbanismo XXX(1):10–17. Instituto Superior Politécnico José´ Antonio Echeverría, La Habana, Cuba Díaz-Andreu M (2017) Heritage values and the public. J Comm Archaeol Heritage 4(1):2–6. https:/ /doi.org/10.1080/20518196.2016.1228213 Ellard C (2018) Psicogeografía. La Influencia de los lugares en la mente y en el corazón. Editorial Ariel, Barcelona Environmental Resources Planning Section (1995) Historic resources assessments. Department of Defense Activities 1993. Panamá, C.A. Mobile, Alabama: Planning and Environmental Division, Mobile District Corps of Engineers Ferrari M (2013, octubre) La conservación de la autenticidad y la integridad del paisaje cultural como bases de los procesos de gestión. Revista PH, No. 84, Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico No. 84, pp 86–107 Hockings M et al (2008) Enhancing our heritage toolkit. Assessing management effectiveness of natural World Heritage sites. World Heritage Papers 23. UNESCO ICOMOS (1999) Carta de Burra para la Conservación de Lugares de Valor Cultural Intercarib S.A. y Nathan Associates, Inc. (1995) Plan General de Uso, Conservación y Desarrollo del Área del Canal. Panamá. Panamá IT Corporation (1996) Historic properties management plan for the USARSO. Republic of Panama, CA, Tampa, Florida Kaplan R, Kaplan S (1989) The experience of nature: a psychological perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Nueva York Manders M, Van Tilbirg H, Staniforth M (2012) Significance assessment. Unit 6, The Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. UNESCO, Tailandia. Mechato Lara F (2020, diciembre) Los valores patrimoniales de la Unidad. Vecinal Santa Marina en el Callao desde la mirada de residentes y vecinos. Devenir 7(14, julio – diciembre):11–34. Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima. https://doi.org/10.21754/devenir.v7i14.761 Michael M, Smith A, Sin J (2011) The architecture of the department of defense. A Military Style Guide. DoD Legacy Resource Management Program

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Montañez Arica M (2016) Gestión y valoración del patrimonio histórico inmueble en el Centro Histórico del Callao. Devenir - Revista de Estudios sobre Patrimonio Edificado 3(6):98–124. https://doi.org/10.21754/devenir.v3i6.303 Nieto C (2018) La apropiación social como elemento preventivo en la salvaguarda de los bienes culturales (Tesis doctoral). Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, España Rielg A (2008) El culto modern a los monumentos. Caracteres y origen. A Machado Libros, S.A, Madrid Ruarte P (2015) Un patrimonio con valoraciones disonantes: El sitio arqueológico de Tambería del Inca (Chilecito, La Rioja). Comechingonia. Revista de Arqueología 19(1). Primer semestre de 2015 Scarrocchia S (s/f) Riegl en la práctica. De la maestría en la conservación de los monumentos al proyecto de restauro arquitectónico en. https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/export/drupaljda/pub licacion/19/01/AloisRiegl_CapMuestra.pdf. Revisado15 July 2021 Stovel H (2007) Effective use of authenticity and integrity as world heritage qualifying conditions. City and Time 2(3). Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Conservación Brasil, [En línea] Disponible en: http://www.ct.ceci-br.org. Revisado15 June 2021 Suma (2009) Plan Maestro de la Ciudad del Saber. Fundación Ciudad del Saber, Panamá Szmygin B (2015) How to assess built heritage? Assumptions, methodologies, examples of heritage assessment systems. International Scientific Committee for Theory and Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration ICOMOS, Florencia The Panama Canal Review (1956, Agosto 3) Canal Organization and its workers vitally affected by Postwar Changes, pp 10–11 (Robert F. Chiari Library) UNESCO (2019) Operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. World Heritage Center, Paris United States Army Environmental Center (1998) For want of a home: a historic context for Wherry and Capehart military family housing Van Striprian A (2006, November 27–January 12) Atlantic heritage: mutual, shared....? Conference at Presentation for AWAD Conference Amsterdam. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/ view/10395392/alex-van-stipriaan-paper-mutual-heritage-awad

Chapter 6

Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

Abstract The forests of the old Canal Zone formed a landscape that, at first glance, gives the impression of being the result of a plan to create green rings around urban areas. However, the reality was quite different. The management of the Canal Zone territory, having been subordinated to the Canal management needs, was under military control. This chapter deals with the forests of the Canal Zone and the environmental assessment of the Canal Zone urban model through the case study of Fort Clayton. It describes the environmental impact that the territorial model of the Fort generates on the forests, highlighting its behavior in the ecological connectivity of the forests. This chapter ends with a study on the bioclimatic behavior of the urban model applied in Fort Clayton in tropical weather and inferring how successful the American urban model was in the humid tropical climate. Keywords Forest · Environmental assessment · Bioclimate · Urban model

6.1 North American Regional Planning and the Canal Zone The spatial organization of urban occupation in the territory of the Canal Zone and its relationship with forest regeneration throughout the twentieth century have been linked to the North American tradition of regional planning, and the theories of Patrick Geddes and the Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA) (Dillon et al. 2012). This perception may have originated from the resulting Canal Zone landscape at the end of the twentieth century, which consisted of several villages that gave the impression of having been interconnected in a planned way through tropical forests. However, the relationship between canal towns and forests should be analyzed in greater depth to establish similarities and differences between what happened in the Canal Zone and regional planning in the United States. Three critical aspects of reviewing the United States’ regionalism and its relationship to the Canal Zone must be considered. The first is the regional territorial structure and the green belts; second, the concept of the survey before planning and finally, nature conservancy tradition.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_6

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On the one hand, multiple factors shaped the American territorial model, including the emergence of suburbs in the nineteenth century. But at the formal regional planning theory level, Ebenezer Howard presented the first reference that laid the conceptual foundations for it in the United States since the second decade of the twentieth century. Howard’s Social City was the first complete blueprint for a region (see Fig. 6.1) and held particular sway over the thought of the American regionalists (Meyers 1998). In his model, a Central City would anchor the cluster of smaller Garden Cities separated from each other by forests and green belts and connected by a rapid transit system. However, the settlements of the Canal Zone had a very particular structure since they were organized according to the needs of management and defense of the Canal. Nevertheless, the result of the territorial organization of the populations in the Canal Zone was a linear structure (see Fig. 6.2). Their operation was similar to that of the Howard region, constituted by self-sufficient villages of community services, interconnected with each other and separated by forests. The significant difference is that in the Canal Zone; there was no intention for these forests to create green rings around the villages of the Zone. Furthermore, the regional city model, conceived by the RPAA as a contrast to the congested city, is dependent on the new technologies of the time, such as the private vehicle. It is likely to be the aspect in which it most resembles the Canal Zone. For the RPAA, regional planning was projected as a rationally planned and zoned city that segregated residential, commercial, and industrial uses and social classes. Something in which the planning of the villages of the Canal Zone fits. The origin of functional separation from the territory conceptually arises from the production process of Fordism, which was subdivided into minor units and had an effect far beyond the industry. The principle of functional subdivision was also applied to urban structures as regional planning (Roost and Jeckerl 2021). This principle of functional separation appears even decades before the RPAA, when the “functional city” emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, promoting zoning, and the separation of functions. The territory was segregated on areas of residential, leisure, and work uses, in the same way, as in the villages of the Canal Zone, initially in Balboa in 1914, and even in Fort Clayton. However, because the RPAA’s concepts of urban decongestion and decentralization permeated the United States in an unplanned way at the regional level, urban sprawl overwhelmed the entire notion of planned dispersal (Fishman 1992, 153, 158; Hall 1996). It is also vital to consider the influence of Geddes’s planning on American regionalism, especially on the survey concept. For Geddes, with a survey of the resources of the natural regions, the planning should start recovering the elemental and naturalistlike point of view (Hall 1996). He also argued that cities must be conceived in the framework of the biological region they fit within. Meanwhile, in contrast, within the Canal Zone, the survey prior to the planning was not applied to find a balance between villages and the surrounding nature. The Canal Zone survey aimed to determine the modifications that should be made to the natural environment to reduce the risks to public health, which meant the loss of ecosystems. The survey concept applied in the Canal Zone was closer to the criteria of Frederick Olmsted Sr.

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Fig. 6.1 Garden city scheme by Howard. Source Howard, Garden Cities of To-Morrow (being the second edition of “To-morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform”). London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Ltd, 1902

In the nineteenth century, Olmsted developed the postulate of the survey before urban planning, but with an opposite objective from Geddes: remediation of the landscape for health purposes. This approach was first conceived by nineteenthcentury sanitarians, an approach which historian Peterson named sanitary survey planning (1979). This survey involved modifying the territory to become a new healthy safe urban development for the inhabitants considering the conservation of ecosystems such as

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Fig. 6.2 Map of the Pacific side of the Panama Canal showing the regional location of towns in the East slope of the former Canal Zone. Source The study is based on the map of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1948. Series published maps, 1947–2015. Identifier: 159081899. NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/159081899

wetlands. At the same time, in the Canal Zone, the entire intervention in and around the villages focused on the health premise, whose objective was controlling, as a priority, Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes, thus, preventing yellow fever and malaria, as detailed in Chap. 3. Thus, in the Canal Zone there was no contemplation of the natural environment to guarantee the health of the inhabitants, as in the nineteenth century. Geddes’ theory, on the contrary, was concerned with the functioning of the city from the ecological point of view, a very advanced concept for the time, so much so that today he is considered the father of urban ecology (Hall 1996). Geddes’ influence in the United States would be evident in 1923 when RPAA was founded. RPPA staff comprised personalities of different backgrounds, generally oriented toward developing rural villages and conserving the wild and rural, including community planners such as Clarence Stein. All his ideas merged into the “regional city” concept: an urban form in which a wide variety of urban communities would be located against a continuous green backdrop of farms, parks, and wilderness areas (Hall 1996). The conservationist aspect of RPAA regionalism has also been linked to what happened in the Canal Zone (Dillon et al. 2012); however, the search for balance with nature as a planning objective did not seem to have existed. Furthermore, the forests generated around the towns and Forts of the Canal had nothing to do with the concept of the green belt as an element of containment of Howard’s urban growth.

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As managing the Canal Zone’s undeveloped territory was under the guidelines of the military interests of the United States. The management of the territory of the Canal Zone was marked mostly by military strategies that were exactly contrary to the conservationist concepts of American regionalism. Military strategies were first aimed at preventing the growth of forests in the Canal Zone through livestock activity to facilitate visibility in the military strategy of defense of the Canal, as detailed in Chap. 1. Nevertheless, conservationist concepts did arrive to the Canal Zone. The conservation of land globes for the protection of Canal watersheds was foreseen since 1912 at the very early stages of the Canal Zone. Evidence of this is the property map of the Canal Zone of 1911, which indicates which parts of the territory should be preserved to protect the basins that would guarantee the operation of the Canal (Isthmian Canal Commission, U.S.D.O.L. 1911). This kind of strategy proves the utilitarian nature of nature conservation by Zonian authorities, having nothing to do with the concept of “green belts” and the theories of RPAA. The Canal Zone’s utilitarian perspective of conservation was aligned with another conception of nature. By 1908 in the United States, this conception was defined as the use of “foresight and restraint in the exploitation of the physical resources of wealth as necessary for the perpetuity of civilization, and the welfare of present and future generations” (Hays 1980). Hence, the first intention to protect forests in the Canal Zone was associated with the conservation of the Canal’s long-term commercial and military goals (Lindsay-Poland 2003). However, it is worth noting the relative influence that the North American conservation movement had on the management of some forests in the Canal Zone. Such is the case of the Barro Colorado Island (BCI), an important forested area isolated by the flooding of Gatun Lake between 1912 and 1914. In 1923, BCI became a biological reserve, proclaimed by Governor Jay J. Morrow and under the patronage of the National Research Council (see Fig. 6.3). The conservation of Barro Colorado was promoted by Dr. Thomas Barbour, who, together with James Zetek, an entomologist who had worked in the Canal Sanitary Department, identified BCI as a space susceptible to conservation and to the establishment of a scientific laboratory on it for which in 1940 the US Congress authorized an annual grant of $ 10,000 (The Panama Canal Review 1956). Seven years later, in 1930, Dr. Barbour also suggested to Col. Harry Burgess, Governor of the Panama Canal, the creation of the Madden Forest Preserve, the second and last piece of land formally protected by the Canal Zone. Madden was one of the best-preserved forests in the entire interoceanic region. It had a rich mature forest, and it was established with the idea of taking advantage of it for biological exploration due to its scientific potential. Although behind the scientific interest, the US authorities would likely consider the value that the knowledge of plants and animals would have for their imperialist interests as scientific knowledge has also been part of the project of modern empires. In fact, over time, the medical applications of the forest were discovered. An example of this is the medical knowledge about the origin of mosquito-borne diseases, which led the United States to build the Canal, a significant milestone in

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Fig. 6.3 Map of the protected natural areas in the Canal Zone, marked in light green. Source War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers, 1938. Identifier 192812435, NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/192812435

its imperial aspirations. According to historian Harari’s research, empires’ political and economic institutions support science to obtain new powers such as technical, medical and military advances, which evidences the close link between science and empire (Harari 2015). Nevertheless, also through the protected areas established by the Canal Zone authorities, North American culture linked to wildlife conservation was introduced in Panama’s territory. They were the start of the system of protected natural spaces that, the Republic of Panama established several decades later, in the reverted lands of the old Canal Zone. At the same time, during the first decades of the twentieth century, the policy that prevailed in the Canal Zone was not one of conservation but a policy to prevent forest growth through livestock activity to favor the defense of the Canal. The livestock policy postponed the spontaneous regeneration of forests in the Canal Zone, making it a slow process. The process was subject to the gradual abandonment of livestock use in the territory. At the same time, the forests regenerating in the Canal Zone continued to be associated with the US military through a spontaneous repopulation in large land globes that were converted into military reserves. Thus, the United

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States Department of Defense came to control 80% of the territory of the Canal Zone (Lindsay-Poland 2003). Due to the above, the romantic idea that forested green belts functioned as buffer zones, as in the RPAA regional planning concept, and that they limited village growth is unlikely. In fact, in the case of Fort Clayton and other military forts, their urban footprint grew as much as they considered necessary. Several times they deforested in some of those expansions throughout the twentieth century.

6.1.1 Militarization of the Forests of the Canal Zone (1940–1999) The areas of the Canal Zone were used, essentially in the so-called “Defense of the Panama Canal” by the United States military. Moreover, since the 1940s, the defense of the Canal coexisted with an important program of military weapons tests (see Fig. 6.4) which consolidated firing ranges and test areas. The uses applied to these ranges had to do with military tests of all kinds, linked to different wars, “because of equipment failures and operational problems encountered in Southeast Asia, increasing emphasis was placed on tropic testing” (US Army

Fig. 6.4 M1E1 Abrams tank moving through Empire (Emperador) Range Complex, Canal Zone, to test their effectiveness in tropical weather. Source Department of Defense (1984) American Forces Information Services. Identifier 6385355, National Archives. https://catalog.archives.gov/ id/6385355

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Tropic Test Center 1979) first, during World War II and especially decades later with the Vietnam War. The US Army Test and Evaluation Command, later named US Army Tropic Test Center (TTC) in 1964, emphasized the problems faced in Vietnam because of the characteristics of the jungle. The TTC considered that vegetation could influence the test result, so a structural characterization of vegetation was essential. Choosing specific structured vegetation ensured that the tests were carried out at sites similar to the war zones and allowed for prediction of the performance of the test elements in other parts of the world where similar plant associations exist. Activities that were influenced by vegetation included: airborne launches through the jungle canopy, mobility, propagation of radio frequency and radar signals, aerosol and smoke surveillance dispersal, and weapons effectiveness. The military aimed to demonstrate how the tropical climate, which prevailed in the Panama Canal Zone, could adversely affect weapons and rifles. These tropical tests are a clear example of the use of science in the service of power and war. These objectives turned a large part of the Canal Zone into open-air military testing laboratory that, in part, required different types of forest density and moisture, which reproduced the environmental conditions of other tropical warring terrains. Therefore, by the middle of the twentieth century, the defensive perspective associated to controlling tropical forest growth in the Zone was likely to change. The need for tropical areas for military testing probably influenced the decision to allow spontaneous forest regeneration. Hence, the cattle fields that were gradually abandoned became secondary forests that, together with denser forests, were used to test weapons of all kinds. The change in military policy in the Canal Zone is reflected in the uses of military land that gained ground throughout the twentieth century, with greater force starting in the 1950s (see Fig. 6.5), in the context of the wars in which the United States was involved in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The military land use occupancy between 1937 and 1968, including built facilities and maneuvering areas, tests, and firing ranges, increased by 76% of the total Canal Zone’s territory. This meant going from an occupation of 21% to 68% in 30 years. By 1966, when the Army was studying forest density as part of the Canal Zone’s military test plans, little should have remained of the fields of crops and livestock abandoned in previous decades although cleared areas of the forest continued to be needed for specific military tests. One of these cleared areas is the Fort Clayton General Purpose Test Area, formerly the Chivo Chivo test area, made up of 15 hectares, half of which was a 50-year-old secondary forest probably resulting from a regeneration begun around the 1920s. The other half of the land was covered by a continuous stand of mixed grasses and sedges reaching 2 m height (US Army Tropic Test Center 1979). In fact, cleared forest spaces were required to conduct various outdoor tests of military equipment and ammunition (see Fig. 6.6), which had to be exposed to direct sunlight. The typical procedure for determining the effects of exposure on ordnance items in a tropical environment consisted of exposing the test item to the outdoors for several weeks and then firing it to evaluate the ballistic performance (US Army Tropic Test

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Soil use in the Canal Zone land in 1937 (without counting water bodies)

Air Force, Army and Navy reservations

17% 3% 3% 54%

Canal Zone towns Nature Preserve (Barro Colorado y Madden Forest Preserve) Cattle pastures

23% Remaining land (mountain or jungles)

Soil use in the Canal Zone land in 1968 (without counting water bodies) Air Force, Army and Navy reservations Canal Zone towns

21%

Nature Preserve (Barro Colorado y Madden Forest Preserve) 4% 0% 3%

Cattle pastures Agriculture and garden plots

4% 68%

Swamps Remaining land (mountain or jungles)

Fig. 6.5 Comparison of military land occupation between 1937 and 1968. Source This study is based on data from the Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal (1937, 1943, 1947), Panama Canal Company (1958, 1968). University of Florida

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Fig. 6.6 Weapons test at the Army Tropic Test Center. Source Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center (1984). Identifier 6385379, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6385379

Center 1979: VI-24). So, the first source of contamination was associated with the spread of ammunition during the tests. Chemical weapons were allegedly tested, such as mustard gas, Agent Orange, and nerve agent, and burial sites for chemical waste were also allegedly developed in the Canal Zone (Lindsay-Poland 2003). Additionally, forested lands were contaminated with unexploded ordnances from various munitions. The report “Material Testing in the Tropics” carried out by the US Army (1976) indicates that chemical weapons were tested in 51 projects in Panama from 1962 to 1986,1 including grenades, bombs, gas rockets, 115 mm and 2-gal, and V.X. mines. The US Army, however, argued that the munitions were purged of chemical agents and decontaminated before being fired or exploded. It is the same with the depleted uranium munitions tested out at Rodman. Despite these weapons remaining undetonated, their purge and previous decontamination still generate crucial unknowns. For instance, how was the process carried out and where were the storage sites of these chemical agents in the Canal Zone’s territory. The above is alluded to in a 1

The report appears as a reference in the document “Síntesis de Información Ambiental de Áreas y Bienes Revertidos. Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica” by the Panamanian Government (2000).

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Panama Canal Defense Project document. The Chemical Annex (1940) describes plans to store mustard gas at Cerro Tigre and Corozal. It also raised the need to store chemical munitions in Paraíso Camp, Cerro Tigre, Clayton, Corozal, Albrook (see Fig. 6.7), Howard, Fort Randolph, France Field, and Gulick/Espinar (US Army 1976). Moreover, the Fellowship of Reconciliation group obtained a Pentagon study of firing ranges in Panama under the Freedom of Information Act. Through that study, the Panamanian government learned of the use of depleted uranium anti-tank projectiles and nerve gas weapons on the Emperador Range (Lindsay-Poland 1998). In that same report, it is estimated that from 1953 to 1957, a unit of the Chemical Corps of the Tropical Test Center team carried out tests of distilled mustard gas in Panama. Such tests included pressure tests of one-ton containers and freezing of distilled mustard. It is presumed that the team also conducted tests of toxic materials

Fig. 6.7 Map of the Albrook Field ammunition depot. Source War Department. Office of the Chief of Engineers, Panama Canal Department (1917–1936). Identifier 192812307. NARA-Cartographic (RDSC). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/192812307

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in Curundú and on the Chivo Chivo trail (Fort Clayton). Furthermore, toxic materials were presumably stored in a large, open building in Cerro Tigre. The testimony of Jack Cadenhead stands out on the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Canal Zone. He was stationed in the Canal Zone and argued that he was exposed to some chemicals in a test carried out in a building in Fort Clayton in July 1941. Volunteers were requested; each was given a gas mask and then exposed to some gas. However, then they were asked to take off their masks and breathe as they ran along the building. The veteran notes that soldiers were immediately affected by respiratory problems and other issues (Lindsay-Poland 2003). While stationed in Panama from 1972 to 1973, in Fort Kobbe, and for three months at Fort Clayton, another veteran claims to have been exposed to herbicides during his active military service. In one military maneuver, his battalion was sprayed with a chemical dropped by an airplane. According to him, the sprayed gas caused skin bleeding, and two weeks later, the sprayed area was completely defoliated (US Department of Veteran Affairs 2015). A description of the effects that Agent Orange could cause, a herbicide widely used in the Vietnam War to clear the forest and improve visibility and communication of the US military, could cause. Although several complaints emerged in the 2010s from the Board of Veterans’ Appeals about veterans who served in the Canal Zone and had various illnesses, the United States continues to deny handling chemical weapons. However, on August 13, 2021, the H.R.5026 Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act of 2021 was proposed to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs by the Congress of the United States. Its summary says that “this bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified conditions associated with active duty service in or near the Panama Canal Zone (Zone) from January 1, 1958, through the latter of December 31, 1999 (…) The presumption of service-connection applies to illnesses listed in the bill (e.g., Hodgkin’s disease) or those that (1) have a positive association with exposure to an herbicide agent that is known or presumed to be associated with service in the Zone during the specified time period, and (2) become manifest in a veteran who served in the Zone during the specified time period and was exposed to a herbicide agent during such service” (Congress of the United States 2021). In any case, the result of the military management of the territory of the Canal Zone, including forests, especially after the World War II, means that out of the 14,500 hectares corresponding to firing ranges, 7300 hectares were contaminated with unexploded explosives and other pollutants associated with military activity (Gandásegui 2000) (see Fig. 6.8). With the reversal process, the United States prepared a plan to decontaminate the firing ranges. However, about 3250 hectares contaminated with unexploded ordnance bombs could not “be” cleaned, according to the US South Com Transfer Plan (1997) and were to be maintained as “protected areas” (Corcoran 1999). No cleanup promises were made following the US withdrawal, and the plan did not call for removing any chemical weapons. In grassland areas of “none, suspected, or very low UXO densities,” the plan calls for clearing the surface or partially buried UXOs. No below-ground cleanup was a decision made by the United States, arguing high expense, loss of flora and fauna, and hazard to personnel.

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2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Empire Very High

Balboa West High

Med

Low

Piña/Ft Sherman Very Low

Suspected

Fig. 6.8 Hectares with indicated UXO Density in former firing ranges in the Canal Zone. Source Data from US Army Environmental Center; Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (1998). Defense Technical Information Center

Finally, the firing ranges were not received in environmental conditions “acceptable within the norms, parameters and possibilities of the Government of the Republic of Panama,” according to a report by the Government of Panama (Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica 2000). Eventually, in the following two decades after the reversal of the Canal Zone, contaminated firing ranges were partially remedied as part of various infrastructure works carried out by Panama Government. The United States did not bear the cost of this decontamination.

6.2 Territorial Model of Towns in the Canal Zone and Its Environmental Effects The present analysis aims to understand the occupation model of the Canal Zone’s territory, from the perspective of the environmental consequences it caused. Theoretically, a sustainable territorial model must guarantee the conservation of the ecological structure of the territory at all scales of action, from the planning of large territorial areas to the design of streets and urban environments. Moreover, this must result in a balance with the entire territorial biodiversity and, at the same time, guarantee the conservation and, where appropriate, the recovery of ecological permeability. Understanding permeability and connectivity as the territory’s capacity to allow species displacement, therefore largely the permeability of ensuring the continuity of habitats. The dispersed territorial structure of the urban occupation of the Canal Zone gave room to the spontaneous regeneration of large areas of forests, which contributed

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to connecting those wooded patches that had survived the Canal construction and the livestock activity within the Canal Zone. However, the Canal became a tremendous ecological barrier that did not allow the mobility of most terrestrial species. In addition, the strong north-south axis of the Canal caused the villages, and all the land communication routes to become parallelly aligned. Such alignment caused the forests to also maintain a degree of permeability, especially in the north-south direction and east of the infrastructures and towns. The soil occupation sustainability of an urban area is related to biodiversity protection. By avoiding urban dispersion the transformation of natural soil into urban land it is prevented. Hence, to direct urban fabric toward sustainability, it would be convenient to look for compact urban models that reduce consumption of land, and provide contact, exchange, and communication so that the consumption of natural resources decreases. However, at the territorial level, the Canal Zone developed an urban system that was the opposite of compact, it was dispersed, compromising sustainability due to the high consumption of land required for urbanization. For an urban fabric to have a balanced land occupation, there must be a minimum acceptable population density. In that sense, the appropriate population density range usually moves between 200– 350 inhabitants/ha. In the case of Fort Clayton, two defining phenomena occurred: first, the land uses were delimited and separated in the territory. Second, population densities in residential areas ranged between 25–50 inhabitants/ha. In some cases, there were urban developments of very low building intensity with fewer than 60 homes/ha. In this regard, Fort Clayton represents a model of extensive and dispersed land occupation, leaving many open spaces within the urban fabric. This urban sprawl moves away from sustainability because it requires greater consumption of resources and increasingly larger surfaces to supply itself with the essential elements for its subsistence (food, wood, gas exchange). Apart from the influences of the American urban and planning referents, one of the probable reasons for the urban dispersion of Fort Clayton was the building regulations developed in the Canal Zone. They established the retreats that should be kept free, between the streets and the buildings, the lateral retreats between buildings, and the rear retreats. Retreats partially guaranteed a suburb-like spatial organization, but these rules were also applied to prevent fires (see Table 6.1).

6.2.1 Impact of Fort Clayton on Ecological Connectivity At the beginning of the first urban stage, that of “The Horseshoe”, patches of secondary forest had already been repopulated, bordering the perimeter to the northwest and part of the southeast (see Fig. 6.9). Over the decades, the patches of secondary forests bordering the Fort would regenerate entirely until they became mature secondary forests, except for the banks of the Cárdenas River, where along its margins, even until 1999, vegetation continued to be eliminated.

6.2 Territorial Model of Towns in the Canal Zone and Its Environmental Effects Table 6.1 Distance between buildings according to building regulations of the Panama Canal Zone

Fire resistive buildings

One story frame construction

Between buildings

15 ft (4.5 m)

30 ft (9 m)

Between lot line and building line

7.5 ft (2.28 m)

15 ft (4.5 m)

Between the rear of two houses

50 ft (15 m)

Between two houses built in front

50 ft (15 m)

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Source This study with data from (Potter 1957). University of Florida

Fig. 6.9 Aerial view of the first urban stage of Fort Clayton. Source Voyage officiel du General Mangin aux Antilles française et en Amerique du sud. 1921. Bibliothèque Nationale du France (Gallica). https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j.r=canal%20de%20panama?rk=42918;4

These secondary forests were maturing while Fort Clayton was growing in extension. The relationship between them is the focus of the evaluation of the ecological connectivity or capacity of the territory to allow the displacement of fauna species.

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The dispersed character of the urban footprint of Clayton fragmented the territory, in which, from the beginning, the terrestrial fauna coexisted with the difficulty of mobility and the forests limited by roads. Even though this model does not conform to the canons of urban sustainability, the fact that the different urban expansions of Clayton have appeared to be sprawled in time and space, there is a positive side. The disaggregated structure opens green spaces within the urban fabric and allows a certain degree of ecological connectivity (see Fig. 6.10). Although it was not planned for this purpose, from an environmental perspective, the presence of these large green areas of Clayton, in addition to developing functions related to climate control and rainwater drainage, contribute positively to the biological diversity of the territory and ecological connectivity. The open spaces, and the urban arborization of the Fort, propitiated the attraction of the fauna. An example of the impact of these wide-open spaces is the old Miller field, located in the flood areas that were filled during the Canal construction. This space is often visited by the white ibis, Eudocimus albus, a bird that inhabits coastal marshes, wetlands, mangroves, and floodplains (see Fig. 6.11). Its presence in the ancient Fort Clayton echoes the pre-existing natural ecosystem. Besides, the linear urban trees on the road network and the internal courtyards of the residential areas of Clayton play an essential role as biological corridors (see Fig. 6.12) connecting the urban ecological network to the nearby natural ecosystems (Arosemena et al. 2021). In addition, the diversity of tree species reported by the

Fig. 6.10 Representation of the urban spot of Clayton with its green spaces and the fragmentation of forests. Source Current study based on General Plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999), Google Earth Pro (2001) Clayton, Ciudad del Saber and Cardenas, 8º59’56”N, 79º34’52ºW, elevation 3.63 m

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Fig. 6.11 Ibis aquatic bird, visiting former Miller Field, Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2021)

floristic inventory carried out by the City of Knowledge is another factor that positively impacts the biodiversity of Clayton. About 1065 individual trees and palms were identified and classified into 81 species. Of the total number identified, 543 are trees, 522 are palms, while 51% of the species are native, and 49% are introduced. Indeed, it is the native species of urban trees that allow a better genetic exchange with the wild populations near Clayton and, at the same time, serve as food for wildlife, mainly specialist species. Furthermore, it is precisely the birds, in general, that benefit most from urban arborization. In any case, the diversity of urban tree species makes Clayton a favorable environment to attract fauna. This attraction occurs because the trees provide habitat, shelter, and food for the fauna. For example, guava and mango, species present in Clayton, provide food for various species of birds, such as yellow parrots (Amazona autumnalis), and avocado attracts painted squirrels and rabbits. In Clayton, other different species of birds are also observed, including, very commonly, rainbow toucans (Ramphastos sulfuratus), and yellow-backed rafters (Icterus chrysater) (see Fig. 6.13). Other animals present in the old Fort include reptiles such as green iguanas (Iguana iguana); mammals such as the coatimundi (Nasua narica), the marmoset monkey (Saguinus geoffroyi) (see Fig. 6.14), and agouties (Dasyprocta punctata). However, the mobility of the fauna of other vertebrates, such as mammals, is limited because they must cross roads to reach the urban fabric of the Fort.

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Fig. 6.12 Street tree density at Fort Clayton historical center by 2001. Source Current study based on General Plan of Fort Clayton from Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (1999); Google Earth Pro (2001) Historical Center of Fort Clayton, Ciudad del Saber. 8º59’54”N, 79º34’52ºW, elevation 2514 m

Fig. 6.13 Yellow-backed rafter (Icterus chrysater) in the former Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2020)

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Fig. 6.14 Marmoset monkey (Saguinus geoffroyi) in the former Fort Clayton. Source Arosemena (2019)

It should be noted that a critical biological corridor exists in the area because the hill (65 m.a.s.l.) between Morse Street and Hospital Street maintains a forest fragment of about 250 m2 that connects the southeast of Clayton with the Camino de Cruces National Park. In contrast, the Cárdenas River, located south and southeast of Clayton, has a very fragmented riparian forest and is only limited to a very narrow strip of vegetation. Since the beginning of Fort Clayton, the gallery forest at the Cardenas River banks was eliminated as a malaria prevention measure, as explained in Chap. 3. Those riparian ecosystems are home to a great diversity of habitats that benefit both plant and animal species and play a vital role in reducing soil erosion and sedimentation of water sources. Considering the above, the fragmentation of the riparian ecosystem of the Cárdenas River possibly affected the mobility of medium and large species of fauna along it. The concrete pipes of the streams that extended throughout Clayton, as seen in the extract of the drainage map of 1969, must have affected the natural flows of the water which in turn altered the movements of the aquatic fauna.

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6.3 Urban Ecology and the Cycle of Matter in the Towns of the Canal Zone This analysis does not aim to judge the practices implemented 100 years ago, based on urban ecology and the sustainability concepts of the twenty-first century. Nevertheless, the purpose of this section is, through the study of urban ecology, to understand the environmental implications of the urban functioning of the Canal Zone. Urban ecology proposes a different understanding of the city as an ecosystem. Analyzing the city as a living system is nothing new, and this concept has been known since Patrick Geddes. In 1915, he published “City Developments;” a theory about the city that combines geography and culture and established a methodology to achieve structural change in cities and regions. It was not until 1973 that the importance of urban ecosystem analysis was conventionally recognized by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program. From an ecological approach, cities are ecosystems and, as such, are open systems that require matter and energy to maintain their complex structure (Rueda 1995). How cities obtain matter and energy from nature and how these are returned to nature after metabolizing them, determine the actual ecological impacts. The city will be more sustainable if it reduces its dependence on other territories to obtain the resources it requires to function. In practice, the city must tend toward a degree of self-sufficiency, producing what is consumed. Nevertheless, it is also essential to identify how the material circulates in the urban ecosystem and to what extent natural cycles are closed locally, a condition for reducing solid waste generation. From this approach, below is a description of the cycle of matter in the former Canal Zone, focusing on food and water and analyzing waste management.

6.3.1 Cycle of Matter in the Towns of the Canal Zone Urban areas alter the environment and its pre-existing ecological cycles, known as biogeochemical cycles or cycles of matter. These cycles deal with the exchange of chemical elements between living beings and their surrounding environment through a series of transport, production, and decomposition processes. In their natural state, these cycles maintain a balance and are permanently closed cycles. However, by consuming and transforming resources, a conventional city’s urban metabolism causes the natural cycles to short-circuit. Indeed, the absence of cycles is a characteristic of urban “cycles.” Moreover, a key criterion to consider a cycle of matter sustainable is that the city closes the cycle locally.

6.3 Urban Ecology and the Cycle of Matter in the Towns of the Canal Zone

6.3.1.1

187

Feeding (Cycling or Nutrient)

In the Canal Zone, the material required for the operation of villages would be categorized as endosomatic needs according to the standards of the United States. The cycle of matter is described from this point of view. Endosomatic consumption is comprised of the resources necessary to sustain people’s lives, such as food. Wherever the agri-food system intervenes, it implies production, distribution, consumption, and food waste management. The production phase of the Canal Zone’s agri-food system did not always work in the same way and changed throughout the twentieth century. In the first stage of the Canal construction, there were unsuccessful attempts to produce food locally close to the villages, so most foods had to be imported from the United States. After the completion of the Canal construction, there was a more forceful policy in place for developing a certain degree of food self-sufficiency due to political, economic, and military reasons. Based on this, the Canal Zone developed plans for agriculture and livestock production. Livestock was imported before establishing a policy of self-sufficiency in the Canal Zone through a 1916 plan to introduce grazing lands and develop pastures for about 20,000 heads (The Panama Canal Record 1916). Several plantations of various species were also created during the 1920s, producing papaya, avocado, and citrus fruits and operating orchards called “Chinese gardens.” These plantations produced a wide variety of products, including beans, chayote, cucumber, eggplant, endive, onions, peppers, papaya, spinach, and radishes. At the level of urban ecological functioning, these attempts aligned with what today represents the search for urban sustainability since they achieve greater food self-sufficiency and, therefore, lower dependence on imports of products that require the exploitation of other ecosystems (Arosemena 2012). Bringing food production closer to the Canal Zone meant environmentally, before anything else, reducing transport and thereby minimizing the carbon footprint of food although products from the United States never stopped being imported, and intermittently cattle were bought from Colombia. It is worth mentioning that despite these positive aspects of self-sufficiency; the adverse effects extensive livestock farming generates cannot be ignored. Extensive livestock farming is associated with deforestation and soil erosion, pollution of water sources, greenhouse gas generation, and a high water footprint. In any case, these activities did not last long. They were abandoned and then a more unsustainable stage started which was dependent on the importing of products. In particular, began the import of livestock from Panama, which resulted in the transfer out from the Canal Zone of its environmental externalities. For Panama, it meant livestock expansion and loss of biodiversity (Castro 2005). Once the agricultural activities were abandoned, the villages of the old Canal Zone, from an ecological point of view, functioned as a heterotrophic system (Rueda 1998), that is, a system that depends on other natural and agricultural ecosystems that are often very distant. Besides, resources were imported through transport networks that depended on fossil fuels. This heterotrophic characteristic of cities means that

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cities are currently responsible for 70% of the greenhouse gases associated with transport (UN-HABITAT 2019). Finally, the nutrient cycle, specifically the agri-food system of the Canal Zone, was an open cycle since food waste was not composted to be returned as an amendment to agricultural soils.

6.3.1.2

Water

Water is a limited and renewable natural resource, and the way the city intervenes in the natural water cycle determines its degree of sustainability. If the city does not alter the water cycle and does not interrupt part of this cycle, it will be better ecologically speaking. Generally, twentieth-century cities affect the natural water cycle in 3 ways: first, directly on the water supply model; second, based on the model of water consumption and how wastewater is returned to nature; and finally, how rainwater flows through the city. From the point of view of water supply, the model used in the Canal Zone is part of the unsustainable city model since it involves the exploitation of river systems through large reservoirs and aqueducts. This system does not contribute to reducing the exploitation of natural ecosystems to supply water, an essential condition for urban sustainability. Indeed, reservoirs and water purification plants were among the outstanding contributions of the nineteenth-century hygienist movement in the United States and Europe, solving the most pressing challenges at that historical moment, such as purifying water so it was free of pathogens for human consumption. Moreover, the water purification system also improved the yellow fever control framework since it supplanted the rainwater collection system in containers, which were mosquito breeding sites in the Transisthmian region. From the perspective of the recent sustainability model, new solutions propose introducing systems that reduce water’s horizontal transport, taking local advantage of rainwater through its storage in underground tanks. Currently, gray water recycling is also promoted through filters that allow its reuse for indirect human consumption, such as for the toilet. Nevertheless, these types of solutions had yet to be developed at the historical moment in which the Canal Zone was operational. Concerning water consumption in the Canal Zone, the data indicate a very high consumption for municipal uses, which were analyzed from the fiscal year of 1957, with a consumption rate of 1114 L/inhabitant/day, while the consumption of Panama City for that year was 200 L/inhabitant/day. This difference is a result of cultural factors in water use as well as the lifestyle of the population. Considering that the amount of water a person requires to meet all their basic needs, estimated at 100 L per person per day (Naciones Unidas n.d.), it is likely that more water was consumed in the Canal Zone than was needed. Although there could also be other municipal uses that involved additional consumption, it is still an excessively high figure.

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Finally, the city also interrupts water flow to aquifers since cities are generally spaces where impermeable surfaces dominate, which causes water to flow superficially over the city, generating problems of runoff or flooding. The planning of the villages of the Canal Zone is opposed to the conventional model of excessive paving, partly due to the model of suburbia that tends to increase open and green spaces. To this was introduced in the Canal Zone the decision to cover with grass most of the surface around the buildings to prevent water puddles and avoid the formation of breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit diseases. Although focused on mosquito control, this strategy was beneficial to the partial integration of urban space into the water cycle since, without having planned it for that purpose, this domain of grass-covered soil allowed the percolation of rainwater and consequently the recharge of aquifers. In this context, numerous rainwater pipes were also introduced in the villages of the Canal Zone for sanitary purposes to channel water to natural water bodies. From the present-day sustainable point of view, this rainwater was wasted instead of being harnessed for local urban uses, which would have reduced reliance on water from reservoirs.

6.3.1.3

Waste Management

Waste recovery, reuse, and recycling policies began to be promoted in Europe in the 1980s with the aim of closing the materials cycle in sustainable waste management. Thus, the waste management of the Canal Zone was based on the conventional model of collection, transport, and disposal in landfills. For some years, the garbage of Panama City, Ancon, Balboa, and the Army posts had been disposed of by burying in the low swampy ground around Panama City. This management was executed under the supervision of the health officer of Panama because the Canal Zone authorities through the Health Department considered waste management a public health matter. The practice of filling wetlands with waste was widely used during the nineteenth century in the United States, as it was considered a method that solved two problems at once. One problem was linked to the risk of malaria, and the possibility of mosquito breeding sites, and the other, eliminated waste from cities. The first cities to do so were Boston, New York, and Washington, depositing solid waste in swamps, and transforming them into new developable land (Stine 2008). From the perspective of Canal Zone authorities, this approach worked well, at least temporarily, to manage the garbage with the least amount of hassle and price (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1925), without even considering the ecosystem impacts that this practice caused. The environmental concerns came from the potential bad smell and pests. Due to that, the Health Department’s general practice for preventing flies in landfills was covering them with a 6-inch layer of damp earth, tamping it down, and constantly inspecting for larvae that may crawl out (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1931). Notably, in the 1920s, composting pits were also constructed near the Panama garbage dump to cure horse manure collected in the City of Panama. Composting was a measure that promoted the closure of the

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cycle of materials and can be considered a sustainable strategy. At that time, these concepts did not exist, but empirically horse excrement was used as a source of nutrients (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1925). This compost was used in orchards operating in the Canal Zone (Governor of the Panama Canal 1917) within the framework of the food self-sufficiency movement. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Health Department still dumped and buried waste on wastelands. The landfills were in Marañón and Exposición both Panama City neighborhoods, and then on the banks of the Curundú River, but it caused an enormous pestilence and was removed. The waste management system that would endure was established in the 1940s, with the Panama Viejo Dump, located then on the outskirts of Panama City, next to the Río Abajo River. From 1941, waste began to be deposited in the mangroves of Panama Viejo, in a landfill that operated until the end of the twentieth century (Heckadon Moreno 1985). At the same time, the Thatcher, Diablo, and Summit landfills operated within the Canal Zone. Despite the waste management efforts, by 1947, there were numerous claims due to the lack of waste collection in the Pacific sector of the Canal Zone (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1947). Regarding the rate of garbage generation in 1947 there were cultural and urban differences between the Canal Zone and Panama City. Panama City’s estimated waste generation rate, including garbage and rubbish, was 1.13 kg/person/day. In contrast, although rubbish was not counted in the report in the Pacific sector of the Canal Zone, the rate was three times higher than that of Panama, with a generation of 3.4 kg/person/day (Health Department of the Panama Canal 1947). This generation rate was probably due to a large amount of pruning waste from the villages and military reserves of the Canal Zone, which were characterized by large green areas. However, this is likely to indicate the excessive consumption model of American society. By that time, the industrial overpacking of products in the United States was already beginning, causing excess of waste. Excessive packaging was related to the growth of the industrial base of the US during and after World War II, which, together with changes in the lifestyle of Americans, caused significant increases in water and solid waste emissions (A Brief History of Solid Waste Management in the US 1950 to 2000—Part 3 2000). Worthy of note is that municipal solid waste was managed according to its nature by Canal Zone authorities, remarking the difference between garbage and rubbish in its management. Garbage is primarily decomposable food or highly putrescible yard waste, while rubbish does not readily decompose; it is primarily dry material such as glass, paper, cloth, or wood. This differentiation affected where the waste was disposed of, evidencing a clear environmental inequality since only 9% of all garbage produced in the Pacific side was deposited in the landfill of the Canal Zone, Thatcher Dump (see Fig. 6.15). While the rest of the garbage from the Canal Zone was taken to the Panama landfill. Thus, the environmental externalities derived from the garbage management of the Canal Zone, that is, the most polluting waste and focus of rats and flies, was transferred to the territory of Panama. The effort to transfer these environmental

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Old Panama Viejo (1) Thatcher Dump (2)

Fig. 6.15 Garbage disposal from Panama City and Canal Zone-Pacific side in 1947 ([1] Garbage disposal: Ancon, Balboa, La Boca, Diablo Heights, Fort Amador, Quarry Heights, Albrook Field, Curundu, Corozal, US Navy. [2] Garbage disposal: Gamboa, Madden Dam, Summit, Pedro Miguel, Red Tank, Miraflores, Cocoli, Fort Clayton, Paraiso, US Navy at Summit and West Bank, Howard Field, Fort Kobbe). Source Own elaboration based on data obtained from the Report of Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida

externalities was such that the United States would pay more to deposit them as far as possible, even if such transfer cost Americans 4 times more than the disposal of rubbish within the Canal Zone. This waste management system inherited from the Americans worked until the end of the twentieth century, turning 44 hectares of swampy land in Panama Viejo, previously covered with mangroves, into a rotting landscape. Partly because after the management passed into Panamanian hands, it became an open-air crematorium instead of a landfill. So, with the extension of the urban footprint, Panama City ended up surrounding this landfill, and the enormous amount of accumulated and incinerated waste became a source of air pollution and a breeding ground for pathogenic microorganisms (Heckadon Moreno 1985). On the other hand, US authorities deposited approximately 78% of rubbish generated on the pacific side of the Canal Zone within the Canal Zone specialized landfills, such as Diablo and Summit (see Fig. 6.16). It means that dry waste, which does not cause odor or pest problems, could stay near the United States population. Moreover, this waste landfill system is linked to waste collection, and its disposal use transport dependent on fossil fuels. This is one of the most inefficient procedures, both environmentally and economically. From the point of view of urban ecology,

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17%

Old Panama Dump Thatcher Dump 11%

4% 68%

Summit/Gamboa Dump Diablo Dump

Fig. 6.16 Rubbish disposal from Canal Zone-Pacific side and Panama City. Source Current study, based on data from the Report of Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947). University of Florida

waste is a resource that can be used, so transporting it to dispose of it is nonsense, and it is even more so because greenhouse gases are generated during its transport.

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone The bioclimatic behavior of the towns in the Canal Zone can be understood by analyzing the climate faced by the Americans, focusing on the two environmental parameters that evaluate thermal comfort, which are air temperature, and relative humidity. Before starting this analysis, it is essential to clarify that numerous factors influence the perception of climate and the environment. In experimental psychology, sensations and perceptions are considered differentiated processes, which participate in a diverse and individualized way in the person-environment relationship. As sensation and perception can not be clearly distinguished, sensation began to be considered a hypothetical construction, using the term “sensory response,” and perception as a “sensory response influenced by learning and previous experiences” (Serra 2001). Summarizing, sensory responses can be fixed (sensations), and others can vary (perceptions). On a physiological level, perceptual processes allow us to know our environment. Furthermore, thermal comfort environmental is the condition of mind that expresses a degree of satisfaction with the thermal environment. Comfort is influenced by biological-physiological conditions (heredity, sex,

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone

193

and age, among others), sociological (activity, education, fashion), and psychological conditions. Furthermore, comfort will depend on the environmental parameters and the factors of the users. From the point of view of numerical environmental parameters, thermal comfort is associated with combining two variables: air temperature and relative humidity. Victor Olgyay, Hungarian architect and urban planner, pioneer of bioclimatism, exhaustively studied this subject. He developed the well-known Victor Olgyay graphic, which is nothing more than a representation of thermal comfort according to different variations of air temperature and relative humidity, which defines the “comfort zone” (see Fig. 6.17) (Olgyay 2019). The base climatic conditions near the urbanized environment of Fort Clayton can give an idea of the degree of thermal comfort that could exist in an undeveloped territory. Environmental data analysis from the Chivo Chivo experimental area (Fort Clayton) taken in April, the warmest month in Panama, yields information on the parameters of air temperature and relative humidity, which we compared to Olgyay’s “comfort zone” (see Fig. 6.17). As shown, the temperature and relative humidity conditions in Chivo Chivo are outside Olgyay’s so-called comfort zone, indicating that thermal comfort was not achieved throughout the day and night of April.

35

30

Air Temperature (ºC)

25

20

15

10

5

0 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Relative humidity (%) Chivo Chivo data

Olgyay comfort zone boundary

Fig. 6.17 Thermal comfort conditions in a rustic area of the old Fort Clayton, compared to the Olgyay comfort zone defined for the tropics. Source this study with climate data from US Army Tropic Test Center April (1967)

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6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

Humidex is another indicator used to describe the feeling of warmth of an average person. The indicator is calculated by combining air temperature and relative humidity and using a table developed by Masterson and Richardson (1979). Humidex ranges determine the degree of thermal comfort so that less than 29 ºC implies comfort; from 30 ºC to 39 ºC determines some discomfort; from 40 ºC to 45 ºC, significant discomfort and efforts must be avoided; and about 45 ºC indicates danger and probable heat stroke. When evaluating the same parameters taken by the Army in April 1967 in Chivo Chivo and calculating with them the Humidex index, values obtained are out of the comfortable range throughout the day reaching a maximum of 40 ºC and indicating great misfortune and having to avoid efforts between noon and 3:00 p.m. (see Table 6.2). In both evaluations, Olgyay comfort graphic and Humidex, the thermal comfort conditions are unfavorable due to high temperature and high relative humidity. The body temperature of humans must be maintained between 36 °C and 38 °C, so the body must be able to cool or warm itself. In hot climates, the body reduces its temperature through sweating. However, in hot and humid climates, sweating is not enough to lower the temperature and can cause thermal stress. This term is used when a thermal overload occurs and does not correspond to an adequate physiological adjustment. The consequences suffered by the individual when trying to adapt can cause various pathological states. In thermally unfavorable environments to health, the effects of excessive heat on humans can be classified into psychological, psychophysiological, and pathological. Moreover, among the pathologies that may arise is syncope due to heat, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or dehydration (Ávila et al. 2016). In the specific case of the Humidex in Chivo Chivo, the values obtained ranged between 35 °C and 39 °C, which should entail attenuating or modifying certain types of outdoor exercise, depending on the age and health conditions of the individual, physical fitness, the type of clothing worn, and other weather conditions. While at 40 °C, obtained in Chivo Chivo between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m., it is considered extremely high. In those conditions, it is recommended to reduce all unnecessary physical activity (Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety 1997–2022). In hot and humid circumstances, such as those that usually occur in April in Chivo Chivo, there is a considerable risk of heat stroke. These climatic conditions of Chivo Chivo, which cause thermal discomfort and potential health problems, can be modified in one way or another through urban space design. The urban structure can increase the temperature of the urban microclimate and, consequently, increase the discomfort, or facilitate the flow of ventilation that favors the reduction of temperature and relative humidity.

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone Table 6.2 Humidex index according to average hourly data for April 1967 (Chivo Chivo), at 2 m high

195

Hour

Air temperature (ºC)

Relative humidity (%)

Humidex index (ºC) (1)

1

23.88

90

33

2

23.72

91

33

3

23.5

92

33

4

23.27

93

32

5

23.16

93

32

6

23.05

93

32

7

24.44

89

34

8

26.88

78

38

9

28.55

70

38

10

29.72

64

39

11

30.33

62

39

12

30.66

61

40

13

30.36

62

40

14

30.38

62

40

15

30.33

62

40

16

29.77

64

39

17

28.11

72

38

18

27

77

37

19

25.94

81

35

20

25.5

83

35

21

25.05

85

34

22

24.66

87

34

23

24.33

88

33

24

24.11

89

33

Classification (ºC)

Degree of Comfort (2)

Less than 29

No discomfort

30–39

Some discomfort

40–45

Significant discomfort; avoid efforts

About 45

Danger

About 54

Impending heat stroke

(1) Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (2021) (2) Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety (1997– 2022) Source This study with climate data from the Tropic Test Center (1967). Defense Technical Information Center

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6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

6.4.1 Urban Structure, Architecture, and Climate Adaptation The structure and morphology of the Canal Zone’s urban design are analyzed to interpret the adaptation to the tropical weather, contrasting it (the design) with the criteria of urbanism that promotes thermal relief in a humid tropical climate. In addition to this, urban structure and geometry, as well as the level of built density, play an essential role in urban adaptation to tropical conditions. The conditions of high air temperature and high relative humidity in the tropics demand urban solutions that promote ventilation and reduce the coverage of the paved ground to reduce the urban heat island effect. Based on this criteria, the different urban structures developed in the transisthmian region are analyzed. Before describing the Canal Zone’s town urban structure, it is important to briefly recall its origin. When American hygienism emerged in the nineteenth century, sanitary criteria were introduced to improve the urban environment, which resulted in substantial changes in urban form and structure. There was a desire to improve ventilation in narrow, densely built and populated streets as part of strategies to prevent contagious diseases. Although, at that time, there was no scientific explanation about the etiology of diseases and their relationship with ventilation; evidence infers that the detection of indoor pathogens may indicate an indirect relationship between lack of ventilation and disease transmission (Artenstein et al. 1967; Aintabian et al. 1998; Mastorides et al. 1999). Certainly, the search for wind flow started a trend of changes toward urban sprawl that determined the suburb’s rise, which led to the development of isolated house typology. This was the urban structure introduced by the United States into the Canal Zone. Clearly, the urban structure has much to do with architecture typology. Before the United States, isolated building typology arrived in the villages-camps of the transisthmian region during the nineteenth century as a measure of adaptation to the tropics. Isolated house typology was first introduced in the transisthmian railway, specifically in the camps accompanying the stations along the route. House portals or verandas accompanied houses built of wood and “Dutch style” wide-hipped roofs of galvanized sheet (Tejeira-Davis, n.d). The origins of this architecture are found in the non-Hispanic colonies of the Caribbean Sea, because of two centuries of British, French, and Dutch tropical experience and how elites approached climate and wilderness (Tejeira-Davis, n.d.) (see Fig. 6.18). Then, with the French arrival to the interoceanic region, this type of isolated housing continued to be used in the railway villages, but in the exclusive areas destined for the French employees. At the same time, the French designed houses to be comfortable from their hygienic criteria, with architectural elements greatly influenced by miasmatic theory, such as elevation from the ground to separate housings “from where the miasmas emanate” (Gired 1884: 93). In general, this architecture was applied for the control of miasmatic diseases. However, recent studies on the island of São Tomé off the coast of West Africa determined that houses built on stilts had about half of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes—a malaria vector—than houses built at ground level (Charlwood et al. 2003; Howell

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone

197

Fig. 6.18 Housing of a French doctor during the construction of the canal. Source Panama Canal. From Colon to Panama. Travaux du canal de Panama, menés par la Compagnie du canal de 1881– 1886. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8451505j/ f91.item.r=canal%20de%20panama

and Chadee 2007). Therefore, empirically, applying architecture on stilts in the transisthmian region should have effectively reduced malaria incidence. At the same time, the elevation of buildings has significant bioclimatic benefits in the tropics. It achieves greater exposure to wind, which contributes to dissipating heat and reducing humidity with air movement in indoor spaces. In the same way, the elevation of buildings avoid the contact of the edification with the ground reducing humidity (Serra 2001). All these factors together contribute to improving the thermal comfort of buildings in the tropics. The same French design was also adopted by the architecture applied by the Americans in the Canal Zone, especially during the first decades of the twentieth century. Later, the buildings of the Canal Zone evolved throughout the twentieth century, influenced by numerous factors, including climatic. And it was due to climate that American architecture also maintained the large roofs with large eaves in the Canal Zone Fig. 6.19). Furthermore, Americans adopted wide windows and French verandas

198

6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

Fig. 6.19 Image from the mid-1930s of the Fort Clayton Officers Club building. Source Research

during the first decades of the twentieth century, with the difference that they were closed with anti-mosquito meshes (see Figs. 6.20 and 6.21). However, eventually, the adaptations to the climate would disappear from the architecture with the arrival of air conditioning (Tejeira-Davis, n.d.). During the American period, form the urban point of view, the objectives and needs were aimed at preserving the safety and health of citizens, primarily focused on avoiding human contact with mosquitoes and preventing mosquito breeding sites. The urban bioclimatic aspects did not have the same concern as the mosquito, nor is it even a criterion used directly in the Building Regulations of the Canal Zone. Although the prevention of contagious diseases also resulted in regulations that promoted the spaciousness of streets and the aperture of open spaces between homes, which facilitate ventilation in urbanized spaces. Nevertheless, ventilation was a sanitary objective, not a comfort goal. The absence of regulations regarding comfort does not mean thermal comfort was unimportant. However, there was no clear, urgent strategy to achieve it in the urban environment, at least not as it did in architecture until air conditioning appeared. Essentially, air movement in urban environments depends on several factors, such as city size, density, urban form, and street geometry. These factors are directly related to the urban microclimate’s behavior (Li et al. 2021) and affect the conditions of thermal comfort, the health of pedestrians, and the buildings’ internal spaces. When the air from the rural environments flows to the urban areas, it naturally adopts the new boundary conditions created by the city structure. Indeed, regarding the influence of urban form, the sprawling development of suburbs, such as Panama Canal Zone towns (see Fig. 6.22), will lead to a better thermal environment when considering the entire urban area. Moreover, the wind speed values in the suburban area are always

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone

199

Fig. 6.20 The screened enclosure of the Fort Amador Officers’ Quarters veranda. Panama Canal Zone. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.cz0005.photos/?sp=13

more significant than those in the urban areas with higher densities (Robaa 2003). Moving toward a more compact city with built-up activity centers would result in a larger heat storage fraction because of changes in the surface characteristics through reduced albedo and less vegetated cover but more so through an increased built-up surface area (Coutts et al. 2007). Panama City tended to have high constructive density, like many of the Panamanian transisthmian villages that grew up during the nineteenth century, where houses were built near each other in narrow streets (Lasso 2019). So, these villages already had a high constructive density when the Americans arrived. At the same time, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Panama City was a compact and dense city of Spanish colonial origin, where the buildings occupied almost the entire plot. So, this complete plot occupation conforms to compact blocks, and the only free space is left in the block’s center, which could reduce wind flow. In Paris, for example, a dense and compact model, the average wind speed in the city center is half that in the outskirts (Higueras 2006). Not only did this model represent everything Americans fought against in the prevention of contagious diseases during the nineteenth century, but this is indeed not a model that works optimally in Panama’s humid tropical climate.

200

6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

Fig. 6.21 Detail of front elevation architectural drawing, showing copper screening and wide eaves. Source Historic American Buildings Survey, C (1933). Quarry Heights, Officers’ Quarters, Parkinson Lane, Balboa, Former Panama Canal Zone, CZ. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.cz0029. photos/?sp=25

In the case of San Felipe, despite being dense and compact, its particular location on a small peninsula surrounded by sea to the North, South, and East mitigates the effect of its urban structure since the proximity to the sea favors the flow of wind. High-built density also has another negative effect in the tropics. The high incidence of solar radiation in the tropics, combined with the excessive presence of pavement, could lead to high solar energy absorption, directly influencing the heat island effect. Consequently, without foreseeing it, the introduction of the North American suburb model of large green areas behaves better in a warm, and humid climate than in a dense, and compact city from the bioclimatic point of view. With this, the circulation of ventilation is maintained, and it contributes to dissipating heat and reducing humidity through air movement, even if the location of buildings isolated in front of each other, as in the Canal Zone, is not an optimal solution. Nevertheless, alternating the rows of dwellings, with more expansive spaces between them, is the most suitable solution for the tropics (Serra 2001). However, the spatial distribution and urban morphology of the villages in the Canal Zone mainly

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone

201

Fig. 6.22 Aerial photograph of the town of Balboa. Source War Department. Army Air Force (1922). Identifier 68147536, NARA. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/68147536

resulted from implementing a North American model; the fact that it was suitable for the humid tropical climate was simply an accident. Indeed, what best characterized the effort to adapt the Canal Zone villages to the tropical climate was the rainwater drainage systems and the abundance of grass-covered surfaces to control mosquito breeding sites. These efforts led to a clear adaptation to copious tropical rainfall, but for health reasons.

6.4.2 Canal Zone Towns Adaptation to Tropical Insects and Its Chemical Contamination Impact The development of human habitat, according to the cultural and public health standards of Americans in the Canal Zone, was a process that began from the first moment with the construction of the Canal in 1904. As seen in Chap. 3, this process was marked by health and disease prevention, particularly concerning malaria and yellow fever, transmitted by Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes. In those first decades, mosquito control strategies were based on environmental management and using physical barriers such as window nets and cleaning the growth of vegetation

202

6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

around villages and buildings. These measures essentially continued to be carried out throughout the twentieth century. However, in the 1940s, a new tool was introduced to achieve the same objectives: chemical control, in particular use of pesticides. The coexistence between the villages of the Canal Zone and the tropics and the jungle’s proximity triggered the exposition to numerous insects and other animals considered pests, such as ants, bats, broad-leaved weeds, bed bugs, birds, brush, culicoides, dry wood termites, filth flies, fleas, food pests, mice, mites, mosquitoes, rats, scorpions, spiders, and subterranean termites (US Army Environmental Hygiene Agency 1976). The intense use of pesticides to control these animals was a common practice justified and considered as “the necessity for pesticide use as a component of pest management programs that was generally well established and recognized in a tropical area such as the Canal Zone” (US Army Environmental Hygiene Agency 1976). One of the most common pesticide controls were the Canal Zone’s fog machines that sprayed a DDT solution in diesel oil twice a week through local communities to control Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes, and sandflies. Because rising air currents during the day prevented the fog from keeping in touch with the ground for long enough to be effective, the spray truck was only used in the evening (see Fig. 6.23) (The Panama Canal Review 1954).

Fig. 6.23 Fog of DDT when truck sprayed Panama Canal Zone villages. Source The Panama Canal Review (1954). Florida State University

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone

203

After mosquitoes, termites were probably the most concerning insects in the Canal Zone and the primary menace to Canal Zone housing, largely due to the cost of maintaining buildings demanded by these insects. According to official records, the probable annual share of Gold roll quarters maintenance in the Balboa-Ancon District linked to termite action was estimated to be $21,500 in 1938 (The Panama Canal Review 1953a). One method used to control termites by the Canal authorities was poisoning the ground around houses. Specifications for all housing built under the 1954 fiscal year program called for ground poisoning under concrete floor slabs and around the perimeter of all quarters. DDT was applied around the buildings, and sodium arsenite was put under the flooring. The grounds’ maintenance teams dug a v-shaped trench one foot wide at the top and one foot deep. This trench’s bottom was filled with diesel oil and a DDT mixture. Then, a third of the DDT solution was poured on top of the freshly replaced half of the dirt (The Panama Canal Review 1953b). Also, all vegetation and vines were moved as the Ground Maintenance Division teams worked with a termite-proof distance from the house as termites were thought to be able to easily cross plants growing through houses to get to their underground dwellings. However, this measure did not work effectively. The number of pesticides utilized in the villages of the Canal Zone is likely to be very high based on the Army report, which evaluates pesticide residues based on soil samples collected between 1973 and 1975. This report details the data on pesticide use in the 1975 calendar year in Corozal and Fort Davis (see Table 6.3). Fourteen sediment samples were submitted from 1973 to 1975, and only five contained any reportable pesticides. One sample containing 62.33 ppm of pesticide Table 6.3 Data on pesticide use in Corozal and Fort Davis (Canal Zone), the calendar year 1975

Corozal

Ft Davis

Surface

155,056 acres (62,748 hectares)

68,308 acres (27,643 hectares)

Total volume of pesticide (1)

237,778 gallons (900,087.6 L)

168,688 gallons (638,553.5 L)

Total volume of chlordane

39,844 gallons (150,825.9 L)

31,542 gallons (119,399.4 L)

Total volume of DDT(2)

942 gallons (3565.86 L)

754 gallons (2854.2 L)

Total volume of insecticides

65,800 gallons (249,080 L)

19,800 gallons (74,951.1 L)

Source US Army Environmental Hygiene Agency (1976). Defense Technical Information Center. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ AD0661083

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6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

came from Far fan,2 a notorious area for pests from the family Diptera, genus Culicoides, known vectors of parasites and diseases (US Army Environmental Hygiene Agency 1976). The continuous and intensive use of pesticides in the populated areas of the Canal Zone indicates the cost of the difficulties of “adaptation” to the tropical environment, especially the relative proximity to the jungle. In addition, it signals persistent contamination in the soils of military reserves such as Corozal and Fort Clayton even at the end of the 1990s. Studies in both sites were carried out at the request of the Government of Panama before the reversal of the territories of the former Canal Zone. The pesticide sampling and analysis report in the Corozal East and West area indicated that 5 of 15 soil samples taken around buildings, and two playgrounds, presented residue values above the US EPA Preliminary Remediation Goals in the soil around housings (see Table 6.4). Moreover, in the environmental characterization of Clayton and Corozal in 1999, high concentrations of pesticides were detected in the soil around housing and building paint (Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica 2000) (see Table 6.4). Also, at Fort Clayton, organochlorine pesticides were analyzed on the soil of 29 homes and 11 parks (Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica 2000). The results revealed the presence of 4,4’-DDE; 4,4’-DDD; 4.4’-DDT; chlordane, and lindane. Only a sample from a playground revealed no detectable residue. DDT and its metabolites (DDE and DDD) occurred in all houses except three of the 29 analyzed and three playgrounds. Total DDT levels in soil were 3.31 ug/kg to 50,160 ug/kg, exceeding by up to 10 times the preliminary remediation target value of 5800 ug/kg. On the other hand, chlordane was present in all the places studied except in three parks. Total chlordane levels were 19.7 ug/kg to 213,000 ug/kg. The highest values mainly appeared in homes, with surplus levels up to 35 to 100 times the preliminary remediation target value of 2020 ug/kg. Furthermore, 23% of the samples of the 40 taken at Fort Clayton revealed values of DDT and chlordane residues above the target value for preliminary remediation (Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica 2000: 5). DDE is a compound resulting from the degradation of DDT, so its presence in soil samples implies that DDT was applied several years before tests were conducted in the late 1990s. Please note that DDT and DDE adhere firmly in the soil, microorganisms degrade DDT slowly, and it can take 2 to 15 years to degrade half of DDT (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry). Thus, over the years of continuous fumigation, high amounts of DDT and DDE must have accumulated, as determined in soil studies. The desire to control mosquitoes chemically also meant a high exposure to DDT, which, together with the rest of the pesticides, implied a risk to human health. The exposure to chemicals experienced by those who worked and lived in the Canal Zone must have been more significant than the ones in the cities of Panama and Colón outside the Canal Zone. The proximity of the canal towns to the jungle was enough 2

Far Fan was a beach located in the west side of the Panama Canal on the way to the village of Cocoli.

From 1948 to 1988, 3360 µg/kg chlordane was used in the United States as a pesticide on crops, lawns, gardens, and homes EPA banned all uses of chlordane in 1983 except for termite control due to concerns about harm to the environment and human health. In 1988, EPA banned all its uses (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry https://www. atsdr.cdc.gov/es/toxfaqs/ es_tfacts31.html)

Chlordane

150 mg/kg

10.4 mg/kg

2180 µg/ kg–4150 µg/kg

It is a pesticide banned in 1972 because of the damage it causes to wildlife

DDT

Values in soil samples in Fort Clayton and Corozal Oeste1999) (2)

Values in soil samples in Corozal (1999) (1)

Pesticide detail

Pesticide

680–150,000 µg/kg

800–10,550 µg/kg

Values found in paint at Fort Clayton and Corozal Oeste (2)

Values in soil samples from Albrook Field (1997) (4)

19.7 µg/ kg-213,000 µg/kg

(continued)

330 mg/kg (Alpha-chlordane); 220 mg/kg (gamma-chlordane)

3.31 µg/kg–50,160 µg/ 1.2–1900 mg/kg kg

Soil sample values of Fort Clayton (around buildings and parks (1999) (3)

Table 6.4 Summary of indicators of contamination found in some soil samples in different military reserves of the Canal Zone

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone 205

A compound used to 160.0 µg/kg control termites, has not been used since 1990 (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registryhttps://www. atsdr.cdc.gov/es/toxfaqs/ es_tfacts1.html)

It is a chemical like DDT 2739 µg/kg that can be formed when DDT is degraded

Heptachlor is a – manufactured chemical used to kill insects in the home, in buildings, and in food crops. Since 1988 it has not been used for these purposes (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry https://www. atsdr.cdc.gov/es/phs/es_ phs12.html)

Dieldrin

DDE

Heptachlor

Values in soil samples in Corozal (1999) (1)

Pesticide detail

Pesticide

Table 6.4 (continued)

–

4.2 mg/kg

Values in soil samples in Fort Clayton and Corozal Oeste1999) (2)

16–160 µg/kg

16–160 µg/kg

Values found in paint at Fort Clayton and Corozal Oeste (2)

Soil sample values of Fort Clayton (around buildings and parks (1999) (3)

120 mg/kg

(continued)

3.6–92 mg/kg

–

Values in soil samples from Albrook Field (1997) (4)

206 6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

Toxaphene was one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was mainly used to control insects on cotton crops and other crops in the southern United States. All uses of toxaphene were banned in 1990 (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry https://www. atsdr.cdc.gov/es/phs/es_ phs94.html)

Toxaphene

–

Values in soil samples in Corozal (1999) (1)

–

Values in soil samples in Fort Clayton and Corozal Oeste1999) (2) 14,000 µg/kg

Values found in paint at Fort Clayton and Corozal Oeste (2)

Soil sample values of Fort Clayton (around buildings and parks (1999) (3) –

Values in soil samples from Albrook Field (1997) (4)

(1) The analyses were performed by the laboratory Environmetrics, INC. Saint Louis, Missouri, with approval from USEPA, YEAR 1998. From Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (2000). Courtesy of Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (2) Study carried out by the Ministry of Environment of the Junta de Andalucía (Spain), EGMASA, OMICRON, S.A. Taken from Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (2000). Courtesy of Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (3) Study carried out by PROXIMA. From Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (2000). Courtesy of Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos (4) Report by the US Air Force based on analyses conducted by Armstrong Laboratory, Broons; AFB, Texas USA; and Clayton Environmental Consultants. From Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (2000). Courtesy of Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos Source This study is based on data from Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (2000). Courtesy of Unidad Administrativa de Bienes Revertidos

Pesticide detail

Pesticide

Table 6.4 (continued)

6.4 Climate Adaptation and Urban Health Environment in the Canal Zone 207

208

6 Are Canal Zone Towns Adapted to Tropical Environments?

to receive the visit of numerous insects constantly. In contrast, Panama and Colon were much further from the jungle. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, living near contaminated soils could expose people to DDT and its compounds. Even children should avoid playing on land near sites with these chemicals, posing a risk to the inhabitants of the Canal Zone. All these pesticides have also been used in the United States. However, the levels of contamination that caused their application in Panama infer that the population of the Canal Zone was probably more exposed to pesticides than the population of the United States. More intense pesticide use may be due to the higher insect prevalence in a tropical climate and even more so in areas close to humid tropical forests, such as the villages of the Canal Zone. The intense presence of insects also indicates that the forest-free margin cleared around the villages was not enough to avoid, for example, the dreaded termites in the buildings. Due to their toxicity, these pesticides were also discontinued between the 1980s and 1990s. Therefore, the risks to which the Canal Zone’s population was exposed were likely unknown. Exposition reflects a contradiction since the health purposes that were pursued when spraying DDT and other pesticides also posed a risk to the health of the Zonian population.

References Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Tox Faqs for Aldrin and Dieldrin. United States. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=80&toxid=20. Accessed 10 Nov 2021 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Tox Faqs for DDT, DDE and DDD. United States. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=80& toxid=20. Accessed 10 Nov 2021 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Tox Faqs for Chlordane. United States. https:/ /wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=80&toxid=20. Accessed 10 Nov 2021 Aintabian N, Walpita P, Sawyer M (1998) Detection of Bordetella pertussis and respiratory syncytial virus in air samples from hospital rooms. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 19(12):918–923 Arosemena G (2012) Urban agriculture. Spaces of cultivation for a sustainable city. Gustavo Gili, Barcelona Arosemena G et al (2021) Caracterización del modelo de implantación urbana y ocupación del territorio de la antigua Zona del Canal. Caso de estudio Fuerte Clayton. APANAC:212–220 Artenstein M et al (1967) Large-volume air sampling of human respiratory disease pathogens. Am J Epidemiol 85(3):497–485 Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (2000) Síntesis de Información Ambiental de Áreas y Bienes Revertidos. Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica. Dirección de Planificación. Departamento de Gestión Ambiental. Panama Ávila I, Martinez Y, Baques R, Rodriguez A (2016) Apuntes sobre estrés térmico, salud y confort laboral. Instituto Nacional de Salud de los Trabajadores, La Habana Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety (1997–2022) Humidex rating and work. https:/ /www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/humidex.html. Accessed 5 Feb 2022 Castro G (2005) Pro Mundi Beneficio. Elementos para una historia ambiental de Panamá. Revista Tareas. Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana 120:81–112

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Charlwood J, Pinto J, Ferrara P et al (2003) Raised houses reduce mosquito bites. Malaria J 2. BioMed Central Congress of the United States (2021) H.R5026—Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act of 2021. 117th Congress (2021–2022), 13 de August. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/housebill/5026. Accessed 3 Mar 2022 Corcoran C (1999) Rehabilitation of former US military lands bordering the Panama Canal. In: Ashton M, O’Hara J, Hauff R (eds) Protecting watershed areas: case of Panama Canal. Taylor and Francis, Abingdon Coutts, et al (2007) Impact of increasing Urban density on local climate: spatial and temporal variations in the surface energy balance in Melbourne, Australia. J Appl Meteorol Climatol 46:477–493 Dillon K, Sweezy S, Trancik R (2012) Garden cities of the Panama Canal. Cornell AAP, Ithaca, New York Fisher HC (1924) Report of the health department of the Panama Canal for the calendar year 1923. Balboa heights, Canal Zone Fishman R (1992) The American Garden City: still relevant? In: Ward S (ed) The Garden City: past, present and future. Spon Press. Taylor & Francis Group. Gandásegui M (2000) La contaminación química de las Bases Militares. Revista de la Sociedad Española de Estudios de la Comunicación Iberoamericana 6:40–49 Gired L (1884) Programme d’hygiène des Européens dans l’Isthme de Panama. Paris. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Gallica. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k115837z. Accessed 10 June 2021 Governor of the Panama Canal (1917) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1917. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. University of Florida Governor of the Panama Canal (1937) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1937. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. University of Florida Hall P (1996) The cities of tomorrow. An intellectual history of urban planning and design since 1880, 4th edn. Wiley Blackwell Harari Y (2015) Sapiens. A brief history of humankind. HarperCollins Publishers, New York Hays S (1980) Conservation and the gospel of efficiency: the progressive conservation movement, 1890–1920. Atheneum, New York Health Department of the Panama Canal (1925) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar year 1924. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, Canal Zone. University of Florida Health Department of the Panama Canal (1931) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar Year 1930. The Panama Canal Press, Balboa Heights, Canal Zone. University of Florida Health Department of the Panama Canal (1947) Report of the Health Department of the Panama Canal for the Calendar year 1947. The Panama Canal Press, Mount Hope, Canal Zone. University of Florida Heckadon Moreno S (1985) La urbanización y la basura en la ciudad de Panamá (1905–1985). In: Agonía de la Naturaleza, de Stanley Heckadon Moreno y Jaime Espinosa, 327. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias de Panamá; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, pp 299–317 Higueras E (2006) Urbanismo bioclimático. Gustavo Gili, Barcelona Howell P, Chadee D (2007) The influence of house construction on the indoor abundance of mosquitoes. Vector Ecol 32(1):69–74 Isthmian Canal Commission, U.S.D.O.L. (1911) Property map of the Canal Zone showing property belonging to the United States of America, Panama R. R. Co., and lands claimed by private persons. Isthmian Canal Commission, Ancon, Canal Zone, Dept. of Law. [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/82690127/. Accessed 20 Jan 2019

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Lasso M (2019) Erased: the untold story of the Panama Canal. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Li F, Zhou T, Lan F (2021) Relationships between urban form and air quality at different spatial scales: a case study from northern China. Ecol Indic 121:1–10 Lindsay-Popland J (1998) La República de Probeta: Pruebas de Armas Químicas en Panamá y la Responsabilidad de Estados Unidos. Fellowship of Reconciliation. Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos “Justo Arosemena”. Grupo de Trabajo de Armas Químicas. Fondo de Defensa Legal Earth Justice. Greenpeace. Centro de Estudios y Acción Social Panameño (CEASPA), Panama Lindsay-Poland J (2003) Emperors in the jungle. The hidden history of the U.S in Panama. Duke University Press, Durham Masterton JM, Richardson FA (1979) Humidex: a method of quantifying human discomfort due to excessive heat and humidity. CLI 1-79. Environment. Canada, Downside, Ontario, pp 1–45 Mastorides S et al (1999) The detection of airborne Mycobacterium tuberculosis using micropore membrane air sampling and polymerase chain reaction. Chest 115(1):19–25 Meyers A (1998) Invisible cities: Lewis Mumford, Thomas Adams, and the innovation of the regional city, 1923–1929. Business and Economic History 27, Papers presented at the Fortyfourth annual meeting of the Business History Conference (2):292–306 Naciones Unidas (n.d.) Paz, dignidad e igualdad en un planeta sano. https://www.un.org/es/globalissues/water. Accessed 17 Jan 2022 Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (2021, March) Humidex-based Heat Stress Calculator. https://www.ohcow.on.ca/edit/files/general_handouts/heat-stress-calculator. html. Accessed 6 Dec 2021 Olgyay V (2019) Arquitectura y Clima. Manual de Diseño Bioclimático para Arquitectos y Urbanistas. Editorial Gustavo Gili, Barcelona Panama Canal Company (1958) Canal Zone Government Annual Report, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1958. Panama Canal Company, Balboa Height, CZ Panama Canal Company (1968) Canal Zone Government Annual Report. Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1968. Panama Canal Company, Balboa Height, C.Z. University of Florida Potter WE (1957). Building Regulations for the Canal Zone. Canal Zone Government Robaa S (2003) Urban-suburban/rural differences over Greater Cairo, Egypt. Atmósfera 16(3):157– 171 Roost F, Jeckerl E (2021) Post-fordist production and urban industrial land use patterns. Urban Plann 6(3):321–333 Rueda S (1995) Ecología Urbana, Barcelona i la seva regió metropolitana com referents. Ediciones Beta, Bilbao Rueda S (1998) La ciutat sostenible. Centre de Cultura Contemporanea de Barcelona, Barcelona Serra R (2001) Arquitectura y energía natural. Edicions UPC, Barcelona, Barcelona Stine J (2008) America’s Forested Wetlands. From Wastelands to valued resources. The Forest History Society. Issues Series Tejeira-Davis E (n.d.) La Arquitectura del Canal de Panamá. Colonialismo, Sincretismo y Adaptación al Trópico. Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical. Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical, San José, CR. http://www.arquitecturatropical.org/EDITORIAL/documents/LA%20ARQUITE CTURA%20DEL%20CANAL%20DE%20PANAMA%20ETD.pdf. Accessed 5 Nov 2018 The Panama Canal Record (1916) The Panama Canal Record published weekly under the authority and supervision of the Panama Canal. August 25, 1915, to August 16, 1916. University of Florida The Panama Canal Review (1953a) New offensive undertaken in long war against Canal Zone’s Hungry Termites. Panama Canal Rev 3(10):4 The Panama Canal Review (1953b, August 7) Good community housekeeping can reduce fly population. Panama Canal Rev 4(1):9 The Panama Canal Review (1954, July 2) CZ communities are in a fog when spray truck makes rounds. Panama Canal Rev 4(12):13

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The Panama Canal Review (1956) Canal Zone’s Barro Colorado Island is unique natural wildlife preserve. Panama Canal Rev 6(8):8–9 United Nations (2019) Cities: a ‘cause of and solution to’ climate change. UN News. Global perspective Human stories. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046662. Accessed Apr 10, 2021 US Army Environmental Center, Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (1998) Unexploded ordnance site investigation of U.S military ranges in Panama: Empire (Emperador), Balboa West and Piña Ranges. Panama Canal Treaty Implementation Plan Agency, Washington, DC. Defense Technical Information Center. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA 467000. Accessed 14 Nov 2021 US Army Environmental Hygiene Agency (1976) Pesticide Monitoring Special Study No. 44-010277. Environmental Sampling in the Panama Canal Zone. Department of the Army, Maryland. Defense Technical Information Center. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA034765.pdf. Accessed 16 Nov 2021 US Army Tropic Test Center (1967, April) Environmental data base for regional studies in the humid tropics. US Army. Fort Clayton, Canal Zone. Defense Technical Information Center. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0661083. Accessed 10 Oct 2018 US Army Tropic Test Center (1979) Material testing in the tropics. Aberdeen Proving Ground: US Army Tropic Test Center Staff. US Army Test and Evaluation Command. Defense Technical Information Center. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA072434. Accessed 20 Nov 2021 US Department of Veteran Affairs (2015) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Waco, Texas. Citation Nr: 1819326. https://www.va.gov/vetapp18/Files3/ 1819326.txt. Accessed Jan 15, 2022

Chapter 7

Epilogue

Abstract Several factors defined the evolution of the former Canal Zone forests, but they did not include the concept of the green rings that restricted the growth of canal settlements. The history of these forests was mainly determined by their exploitation and the responses by the Americans to the sanitary needs of the villages. This chapter thoroughly reviews the factors that defined forest management in the Canal Zone, including its relationship with town development. Keywords Tropical Forest · Urban planning · Military tests · Ecology · Landscape · Heritage

7.1 Taking Stock of Canal Zone Forest Management: Exploitation and Sanitation Taking advantage of Canal Zone forests was, in turn, characterized by two clear objectives: forest exploitation and sanitation (see Fig. 7.1). Forest exploitation had to do with conservation and, at the same time, with military uses. The conservation of forests, which began in 1911 when some patches of forests defined as preservation areas of some watersheds to guarantee the Canal’s operation (Isthmian Canal Commission 1911), ended up having the least weight in the Canal Zone. What became evident is a purely utilitarian interest in forests, not in the value of biodiversity by itself. On the other hand, the Zonian authorities would create other protected areas for nature conservation, and scientific research, namely Barro Colorado as a biological reserve in 1923 and Madden Forest Preserve in 1931. Different kinds of military strategies determined the utilitarian intervention on forests. During the first decades of the twentieth century, the military considered the forest a risk element in defense of the Canal since it could obstruct visibility and hide enemies that could attack the Canal by land. Thus, under this premise, deforestation was applied as a military tactic. At the same time, this strategy coincided with the need for food self-sufficiency in the Canal Zone as a consequence of the austerity measures taken in the United States during World War I and post-war, which led to numerous cattle ranches in the Canal Zone. Through the creation of livestock ranches, © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8_7

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Type of management

Interventions

Military purposes

Exploitation and land use

Forest management in the Canal Zone

Health (malaria control)

Environmental effects

Deforestation and livestock development during the first decades of the twentieth century Forest contamination as a military testing laboratory second half of the twentieth century

Declaration of protected natural areas

Biological and forest conservation

Environmental control of Anopheles mosquito breeding sites around villages

Deforestation, pruning of vegetation along rivers, streams and edges of villages

Fig. 7.1 Management of the forests of the Canal Zone and the effects of different interventions

two problems were solved at once: keeping the forests confined and contributing to solving the need for food self-sufficiency in the Canal Zone. Contrary to the general belief, the story of natural forest regeneration occurring immediately after with the Canal Zone political consolidation in 1912 and the displacement of the population previously living there (Lasso 2019) did not happen as such. The fight against the idea of visibility obstruction conditioned land use during the first decades of the twentieth century. The real story was about a struggle against the jungle and a constant clearing of the territories bordering the Canal, which delayed forest regeneration until the mid-twentieth century after the gradual abandonment of livestock activity. This abandonment coincided with using the territory as a laboratory for military tests. Consequently, from the late 1930s onward, military land use increased throughout the century. By the 1960s, it occupied 70% of all the non-flooded territory in the Canal Zone. This territory was constituted by the lands associated with the forts and military bases, called “military reservation,” and other territories used as weapons deposits and/or test areas turning the forests into a military laboratory. Thus, during the second half of the twentieth century (see Fig. 7.2), land use was conditioned by military equipment testing in the jungle, such as weapons, communication, and transportation equipment. The increase in this kind of use was mainly motivated by the wars waged by the United States in Southeast Asia during World War II and, later, in Vietnam. These conflicts were staged primarily in environments with climate and tropical vegetation similar to those in the Canal region. This factor possibly influenced the abandonment of livestock activity and allowed the natural regeneration of the forest (see Fig. 7.2). However, the latter is a topic that should be investigated in greater detail in the future. In any case, the military land use not only

7.1 Taking Stock of Canal Zone Forest Management: Exploitation …

215

70000.0 60000.0 50000.0 40000.0 30000.0 20000.0 10000.0 0.0 1937

1943

1958

1968

Air Force, Army and Navy reservations Canal Zone towns Nature Preserve (Barro Colorado y Madden Forest Preserve) Cattle pastures Remaining land (mountain or jungles)

Fig. 7.2 Evolution of land uses (hectares) in the Canal Zone throughout the twentieth century without considering the territory covered by the artificial lakes of the Canal. Source Governor of the Panama Canal (1937, 1943), Panama Canal Company Canal Zone Government (1958), and Panama Canal Company (1968). University of Florida

dominated the Canal Zone but also, in many cases, meant forest contaminated with unexploded ammunition and, allegedly, chemical weapons. Thus, that said, a harmonic use of forests can hardly be conceived given the United States’ land use and occupation policies in the Canal Zone. Finally, sanitation was also a factor that influenced forest management. Before going into detail, it is essential to note that creating a healthy environment in the Canal Zone was complex due to contagious and transmissible diseases. In the case of mosquito-transmitted diseases, multiple factors come into play, ranging from geoclimatic issues, urban models, housing types, and urban environment as well as a territory’s environmental and epidemiological history. All of these factors were under the influence of the imperial goals of building, defending, and managing the Panama Canal. To that end, instruments such as environment control, urban planning, and building regulations influenced by sanitarians, were conceived, and implemented in the Canal Zone. Along with aesthetical and cultural recreation needs for a healthy urban space according to the American perspective, these instruments contributed to building a uniform tropical sanitized urban landscape in the Canal Zone towns and forts. The health of the villages in the Zone required a series of interventions aimed at controlling mosquito breeding sites in their surroundings, especially the Anopheles mosquito, a malaria vector. Control strategies were aggressive because it breeds almost anywhere where water is stagnated, even on plant leaves in the jungle. Therefore, forest patches, gallery forests, and natural water bodies were intervened through

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various procedures, including deforestation, clearing vegetation from the edges of streams and rivers, filling marshes, dredging, and channeling streams. These practices were applied not only as remediation before a village construction but also as continuous intervention throughout much of the twentieth century. Through this sanitary ecological footprint, the health of the villages signified the destruction of rustic and natural territories. This problematic relationship is considered far from harmonious since the forest was kept at bay to protect villages from becoming breeding grounds for Anopheles mosquitoes. This destruction was what sanitation truly meant regarding malaria. This powerful and constant environmental impact resulted from interventions associated with the “survey before the plan” concept, but not as conceived by regional planner Patrick Geddes, whose theories sought a balance between urban spaces and nature. What was applied in the Canal Zone was the survey concept developed by sanitarians of the nineteenth century and then adopted by urban planners. Planners gained the knowledge about site selection and city layout through their meticulous research of measures to prevent unhealthy environmental situations (Peterson 1979). This wellknown “sanitary survey plan” became an important planning tool. Frederick Law Olmsted Senior followed these concepts and applied environmental control to avoid adverse effects on the health of the urban population, which was exactly how the Canal Zone villages were developed. Controlling malaria and yellow fever meant Canal Zone sanitarians changed the preexisting environment. Their goal was protecting the dwellers, and they did not even consider protecting rural or natural habitats. Thus, channeling and filling ponds and swamps became a mandatory practice before planning, even if it resulted in wetland ecosystem destruction in the name of health, as happened in the United States. Although Canal Zone entomologists developed these sanitary measures to control mosquitoes, in most cases, they reached the exact same urban sanitarian solutions implemented in the United States during the nineteenth century. Even though the health measures and infrastructure introduced to control mosquitoes were based on the scientific evidence studied by Canal Zone entomologists, they were neither new nor intended exclusively for the tropics. Despite prejudices about the tropics, most of the urban measures and the infrastructure applied were not different from those used in the United States since the nineteenth century. The tropical climate was not one of the factors that changed the Canal Zone’s health strategies. As “tropical” architecture turned out to be quite European,1 sanitation in the tropical environment became quite North American and as destructive for the environment as it was in the United States. Again, a balance with nature was not present. Moreover, the understanding that mosquitoes and not bad odors caused malaria and yellow fever led to new sanitary measures, which influenced landscaping as in the Clayton case study. Some of these innovative measures applied to deter mosquitoes’ access to the population included the predominance of urban land covered by grass 1

Tejeira describes the topic of architecture in his paper “La arquitectura del Canal de Panamá. Colonialismo, sincretismo y adaptación al trópico.”

7.2 Relationship Between Villages and Forests

217

to prevent mosquito breeding sites, pruning grass at 1 foot high, and maintaining 600 hundred feet of shrub-free areas around buildings and villages.

7.2 Relationship Between Villages and Forests First, it is essential to emphasize that private property did not exist in the Canal Zone and that the needs of the population that inhabited it were controlled and defined exclusively by the Canal management and defense requirements. Consequently, the villages did not grow spontaneously, and forests never functioned as green rings to contain urban growth. Indeed, Fort Clayton’s widening occurred whenever necessary, and there was no limitation to its development. This book studies the territorial model of the urban print of the Canal Zone villages from planning criteria that would allow biodiversity conservation. The existence of biological connectivity and the control of territorial fragmentation are conditions that successfully achieve a real ecological integration between urban fabric and nature. The book shows that the dispersed territory occupation model of the Canal Zone does not fully meet these criteria since the model fragments and segregates the territory. This holds in Clayton and the rest of the civilian and military settlements of the Zone. The Canal Zone towns hindered the forest’s ecological connections, and their streets and highways curbed ecological continuity and complicated the passage of terrestrial fauna through the urban fabric. Nonetheless, this same dispersed model opens an urban green structure that establishes some vital connections that partially guarantee the viability of flora and fauna. The landscaping study evidenced the widespread use of fruit trees, which, although initially introduced through a food security strategy, were always present in the villages of the Canal Zone. As a result, many urban open spaces, combined with a rich and diverse arborization, effectively attracted fauna. These conditions explain the assiduous visits of coatimundis, iguanas, sloths, and numerous birds to the Canal villages, making them an essential part of the urban landscape. However, this effect was fortuitous because the Canal Zone’s landscaping had much more to do with aesthetic, cultural, and food security criteria and a lot less with preserving nature as a goal. On the other hand, the large green areas covered by perfectly pruned grass, which dominate the image of the villages of the Canal Zone, created impoverished spaces from an ecological point of view. These spaces did not generate a habitat for biodiversity and required intensive and fossil-fuel-dependent maintenance. At the same time, this landscaping clearly evidenced the links between the Canal Zone’s villages and the relationship between beauty and health as belonging to the American culture. The system of man-environment interaction and expectations in the Canal Zone relating to states of health or “aesthetic” satisfaction depended on the essential value system of North American urban culture. Those aesthetic expectations led to the application of some sanitary measures that were not entirely based on medical criteria but on the

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North American cultural way of constructing a healthy place, where the perfectly manicured grass was a key piece.

7.3 The Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Villages and Forests of the Canal Zone This study evidenced the lack of linkage between villages and forests, demystifying the idyllic vision that Canal Zone’s forests and villages had before. Although the theory developed in the 1990s on the history of the relationship between the villages of the Canal and the tropical forests turned out not to be as harmonious as previously thought, the resulting landscape has significant heritage value. The Canal towns and the natural spaces have a long and complex history. They have a value associated with their cultural legacy and the natural and social values linked to how they are perceived and used by the population today. It is important to emphasize that despite the sense of shock revealed by the history hidden in the forests of the Zone; it cannot be denied how essential they are, not only for the Canal’s functioning but also for the biodiversity richness. This conclusion was surprising even for the authors. Moreover, the forest’s capacity to provide ecosystem services, including those needed for the functioning of the Canal, depends on maintaining the plants, soils, and flora that sustain the equilibrium of the natural cycles. At the same time, the villages and forests are an inseparable part of the history and operation of the Panama Canal and constitute a single cultural landscape; a heritage that must be protected. This complex of towns and forests has also become an icon of great historical importance, fixed in the memory of Zonians and numerous generations of Panamanians, and it deserves to be preserved. Certainly, the Canal Zone’s legacy is not free of ambivalence in Panamanian society. The memory of racial segregation and the interference of the United States in the territory of Panama is still a sensitive issue today. However, the conservation of the cultural legacy of the Canal Zone is even more relevant precisely because it contributes to understanding those keen memories. Although, the Canal Zone’s cultural landscape was witness to segregation, but at the same time, it is an important national icon for Panamanian people. In the end, the history of the Canal Zone is also Panamanian, and its influence on Panamanian architecture and urban planning cannot be denied. Canal Zone architecture inspired on buildings such as Hospital Santo Tomás, and the American suburban model that arrived in the Canal Zone became popular in Panama City (Tejeira-Davis, n.d.). Maybe, it is time to assume what historian Yuval Noah Harari (2015) argues: “All human cultures are at least in part the legacy of empires and imperial civilizations, and no academic or political surgery can cut out the imperial legacies without killing the patient.” Finally, this work contributes to the comprehensive understanding of the management of the North American enclave and how it can explain many urban, social,

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and political phenomena of the Republic of Panama. Furthermore, all experiences in architecture, the urban development, and environmental management faced by Americans in the Panamanian tropics are invaluable lessons to both, mistakes and the positive results, to consider in the discussion regarding the best sustainable urban model suitable to the tropics.

References Governor of the Panama Canal (1937) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1937. United States Government Printing Office. The University of Florida, Washington Governor of the Panama Canal (1943) Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1943. United States Government Printing Office. University of Florida, Washington Harari YN (2015) A brief history of humankind. Harper Perennial Isthmian Canal Commission (1911) Property map of the Canal Zone showing property belonging to the United States of America, Panama R. R. Co., and lands claimed by private persons. U.S. Office of Chief Engineer, and U.S. Department Of Law Isthmian Canal Commission. Canal Zone, Dept. of Law, 1911. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/82690127/ Lasso M (2019) Erased. The untold story of the Panama Canal. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, London, UK Panama Canal Company (1958) Annual Report, Fiscal year ended June 30 Panama Canal Company (1968) Annual Report, Fiscal year ended June 30 Peterson J (1979) The impact of sanitary reform upon American Urban Planning. J Soc Hist 13(1):83–103 Tejeira-Davis E (n.d.) «La Arquitectura del Canal de Panamá: Colonialismo, Sincretismo y adaptación al trópico.» Instituto de Arquitectura Tropical. Costa Rica. http://www.arquitect uratropical.org/EDITORIAL/documents/LA%20ARQUITECTURA%20DEL%20CANAL% 20DE%20PANAMA%20ETD.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct 2018

Index

A Agriculture, 4, 5, 12–14, 31, 32, 100, 187 Architecture, 17, 45, 46, 56–58, 61–63, 85, 99–101, 106–108, 114, 139–142, 144–147, 150, 161, 163, 196–198, 216, 218, 219

B Bioclimatic, 192, 197, 198, 200 Biodiversity, 92, 114, 156, 163, 179, 183, 187, 213, 217, 218 Building regulations, 40, 41, 72, 81, 82, 85, 90, 93, 180, 181, 198, 215

C Canal defense, 25, 31, 32, 177 Cardenas river, 27, 91, 185 Cattle, 7, 28, 31–33, 88, 187, 213 Chagres, 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 18–20, 73 Charcoal, 19, 21 City Beautiful Movement, 39, 100, 104, 106–110, 115, 143, 144, 150 Clayton, 28, 43, 48, 52, 53, 61, 63, 65, 120, 123, 128, 140, 145, 152, 155, 158, 182, 183, 185, 204, 217 Cultural landscape, 139, 140, 152, 154–156, 158, 160, 163, 218

D Diseases, 42, 69–72, 74–76, 78, 80, 83, 84, 86, 92, 111, 171, 178, 189, 196, 199, 201, 204, 206, 208, 215

Drainage, 2, 8, 73–75, 82, 84, 88, 91–93, 185, 201

E Ecological, 4, 69, 83, 92, 100, 170, 179–182, 186, 187, 217 Exosomatic consumption, 8, 9, 19

F Food, 5, 13, 31, 114, 115, 180, 183, 186–188, 190, 202, 213 Food security, 32, 217 Forest, 1, 3–7, 10–13, 20, 21, 26, 28–30, 33, 34, 51, 82, 88, 100, 157, 167, 170, 171, 174, 178, 180, 182, 213–218 Fort Clayton, 1, 3, 11, 18, 21, 25–28, 30, 33, 34, 39, 43–48, 50–57, 59, 61, 63–65, 82, 88, 90–93, 95, 120–124, 126–130, 134–136, 142, 157, 159, 163, 168, 173, 174, 178, 180–182, 184, 185, 193, 204–207, 217 French Canal, 3, 12, 17, 22, 73, 76, 77, 80, 100

G Garden city, 48, 49, 51, 52, 65, 168, 169 Grassland, 5, 26, 178

H Heritage, 139, 150–156, 158–163, 218 Howard, 48, 168, 170, 191

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. Arosemena Díaz et al., Urban Development and the Panama Canal Zone, The Urban Book Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38770-8

221

222 L Landscape, 3, 5, 12, 18, 21, 30, 49, 59, 70, 74, 83, 90, 92, 94, 99–101, 108–111, 113, 115–118, 121, 128, 133, 135, 140, 141, 152–154, 156–158, 163, 169, 191, 215, 218 Landscaping, 17, 93, 99–102, 104, 106, 108–118, 120–122, 125–128, 131, 134, 216, 217 Lawn, 92–94, 100, 205 Livestock, 6, 7, 13, 28, 31–33, 172, 180, 187, 214

M Malaria, 42, 69–71, 73–75, 80, 83, 85, 87, 88, 91, 92, 170, 189, 201, 216 Mangrove, 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 18, 19, 21, 182, 190, 191 Military strategy, 24, 25, 31, 32, 88, 90, 171, 213 Miraflores Dump, 25, 27, 28, 32, 89, 90 Mosquitoes, 28, 69–71, 78, 80, 83–87, 92, 93, 100, 111, 115, 170, 189, 196, 198, 201–204, 215–217

N Natural landscape, 4, 141, 152–154, 161, 163, 164

O Olmsted Jr., 40, 49, 75, 81, 82, 108 Olmsted Sr., 49, 74, 110, 168 Overcrowding, 43, 75, 79, 81

R Railroad, 4, 8, 9, 11, 16, 27, 28, 41, 72, 91, 102 Raw material, 9, 19

Index Regional planning, 167, 168, 173 Río Grande, 2, 3, 6–8, 11, 18, 19, 24, 26–28, 77, 85 Río Grande valley, 1–3, 5, 6, 8, 18, 23

S Sanitary reform, 39, 106 Sanitary survey planning, 169 Sanitary work, 73, 88 Social metabolism, 9 Suburb, 33, 40–43, 45, 48–57, 62, 63, 65, 74, 75, 81, 82, 93, 100, 110, 124, 125, 128–131, 133, 143, 156, 168, 196, 200 Swamp, 1–3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 18, 21, 26–28, 70, 73, 75, 80, 82, 86, 87, 89, 92, 216

T Timber, 21 Trees, 5–9, 20, 21, 27, 28, 32, 63, 87, 100–102, 105, 108, 110–122, 124, 125, 128, 130, 132–135, 143–147, 149, 150, 163, 183, 184, 217 Tropical, 4, 8, 63, 69–71, 89, 100–102, 109, 111, 113, 114, 116, 117, 120, 121, 167, 173, 174, 196, 199, 201, 202, 208, 214–216, 218 Tropic Test Center (TTC), 174, 176

U Urban fabric, 78, 128, 140, 180, 182, 217 Urban planning, 17, 39–41, 43, 45, 48, 49, 55, 65, 74, 75, 82, 108, 169, 215, 218 Urban trees, 108, 115, 117, 128, 130, 183

Y Yellow fever, 69–71, 73, 74, 78, 80, 83–85, 93, 101, 170, 188, 216