The growth of San Juan does not match the models developed for
colonial cities, Latin American cities, or North American cities precisely
because it is a mixture of all three. The unnucleated structure of the city
has historical roots in defensibility and health problems associated with
swampy terrain. To fully understand why San Juan looks like it does today
(and why it looked like it did in 1600), please follow the link above to
the Growth Map presentation.
| YEAR |
POPULATION |
| 1800 |
8,000 |
| 1900 |
30,000 |
| 1950 |
225,000 |
1970 |
820,000 |
| 1990 |
1.2 million |
San Juan followed what is called an 'unnuclear' development pattern.
This means that the currently urban area is a conglomeration of formerly
autonomous communities. In the case of San Juan, this was caused by the
physical boundaries to growth from the original settlement and the need
for the old city to remain easily defendable. |