Santa Lucía is the fifth district of the Barva canton, in the Heredia province of Costa Rica.
Toponymy
The name alludes to Saint Lucia of Syracuse.
History
1998 Tornado
On September 22, 1998 at 13:30, the district and its surroundings were impacted for 10 minutes by the most damaging tornado recorded in the country, with 179 damaged houses, affecting 600 people. The (National Weather Institute) still catalogued the event as weak.
Geography Santa Lucía has an area of km2 and an elevation of metres.
It is located in the Greater Metropolitan Area, in the central valley of the country, its borders are to the north with the Barva and San Pablo districts of the Barva canton, to the east the Ángeles district of San Rafael canton, to the south the San Josecito district of San Rafael canton, and to the west the Mercedes district of the Heredia canton.
Three (creeks, small rivers) cross the district from east to west: Seca creek, Burío creek and Palmar creek, the last two converge as tributaries that form the Burío river in the southern limit of the district.
Residential areas
There are several residential area completed projects: Urbanización Jardines de Santa Lucía, Urbanización Antiesquivo, Residencial Jardines del Beneficio, Residencial Malinche Real, Urbanización Villa Esmeralda, Residencial La Ronda, Urbanización Don Álvaro, Urbanización Doña Iris, Urbanización El Tajo.
Demographics
For the 2011 census, Santa Lucía had a population of 7,413 inhabitants.
Economy
The district is mostly a residential area, with small businesses to attend the necessities of its inhabitants. There is an still operating coffee receiving and processing plant, the , and small coffee orchards.
Education
Public education
There is one (daycare center) named (Cotton Dreams), and also one public primary school named .
There are offsite research facilities of the (Agrarian Sciences School) of National University of Costa Rica (UNA), called the (Santa Lucía Experimental Farm). Also the of UNA is located in the district.
Private education There is a private preschool and daycare center, .
There are two private education centers, , that teaches preschool, primary school, and high school, and
Culture
Museum
The (Popular Culture Museum) is located in the district.
Cultural center
There are plans to build the (Musical bands cultural center) in the district, however there are allegations of corruption in the contracting procedures.
Leisure
There is a (community center), several urban parks and a public soccer pitch.
The (leisure center) of the workers union of the National University of Costa Rica is also located in the district.
Religion
In 2002 the Catholic church of the district, which was a filial church of the in the Barva district, became the , a parish with its own filial church of in the neighboring Barrio Peralta of San Josecito district, in the San Rafael canton.
Health Care
There is one (Ebais) which provides basic first line health care, managed by the Costa Rican Social Security Fund.
Also a for the rehabilitation and treatment of young persons with addiction issues.
Transportation Road transportation The district is covered by the following road routes: National Route 126 National Route 502
There are no railroad access and public transportation relies in bus lines and taxicabs.
Public utilities
The (Heredia Public Utilities Company), ESPH, is the main provider of electricity and potable water in the district. There are two water wells to extract water for their users in this and other districts, the and , and two water tanks of their network, and .
There are plans by ESPH for a sewage treatment plant for this and neighboring districts, as the community relies on residential septic tanks, which is common in the country.
Telecommunications include fiber optic to the home (Provided by ICE Kölbi), cable television and full cellular telephony coverage by ICE Kölbi, Claro and Movistar.
References