CHANGE OF GEAR



PANAMA CITY, Feb 2020

Panama city is booming with new opportunities and attracting young professionals from all over the country. Due to Panama´s infrastructure, those who work in the city spend four to six hours commuting to and from work each day. Affordable housing outside the city and the conceived status of owning a car keep young people putting up with hours wasted in traffic and transportation. Pollution and time-consuming commuting are only the tip of the iceberg. The true cost of long commutes lies in the deterioration of the work-life-balance of young professionals. We joined four individuals on their way to or from work to gain insights into their lives and wishes for the future.

As the metro is built the hope of a more sustainable and high-quality-city-life grows. Conservatorio S.A. offers affordable housing in Panama City and supports young professionals with their relocation to the city.





Jallene is a young professional working in the city as a data analyst. She lives in the district of San Miguelito, with her two uncles and pets. She shares custody of her son with her ex-husband who lives in the US. Her dream is to find a place downtown where she can live with her son. This way he will be closer to school and she will have more freedom and time to enjoy her favorite neighborhood.





Benito is a young professional working as a project developer in Casco Viejo. He is from Los Santos, but now lives in the city, in the district of Betania. He finishes work at 5:30 p.m., and walks down Avenida Central to take the metro from Plaza 5 de Mayo. On his way home he often stops by cafes or bars in the district of El Cangrejo or enjoy one of the many parks in his neighborhood. He likes to be flexible and enjoys the freedom of not owing a car.





Orizabel is a young professional working as an industrial engineer in Casco Viejo. She lives in Chorrera with her son and her husband, who is a naval engineer and abroad most of the year. She ends work at around 6:00 p.m., which is when she makes her way home. The road is busy and the trip exhausting, it takes two to three hours to reach Chorrera with the heavy daily traffic.





Gregorio is a medical engineer who works in the city. He is from Chorrera and lives there now, but he studied in the city and is moving there soon. In the morning he wakes up at at 3:30 a.m. and hits the road no later than 4:00 a.m. so he makes it on time to work. He sometimes goes to the gym before his shift.