Gentrification threatens Costa Rican coastal communities and environment

In Playa Pelada, Costa Rica, life appears idyllic. Children build sandcastles with their parents, while foreign families, primarily from North America, stroll along the beach. "We come to Nosara regularly to escape the winter," says Emily, a visitor from Vermont. "It's so healthy here – the food, the sun, the walks by the sea – and the people are so kind."

Thirty-five years ago, Playa Pelada was a quiet area with only a few fishing homes and some vacation houses owned by people from the capital, San José. "Young vacationers from the country would pitch their tents in the sand afterward," recalls Roy, a local vendor.

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We come to Nosara regularly to escape the winter. It's so healthy here – the food, the sun, the walks by the sea – and the people are so kind.

However, the landscape is rapidly changing. Since the pandemic, dozens of luxury residences have emerged along the Pacific coast. This development is leading to a sense of dispossession among many Costa Ricans, who feel their villages are being lost to unprecedented gentrification. The popular northern beach resort of Nosara exemplifies this trend, where the influx of foreign wealth is altering the local environment and the daily lives of its inhabitants.

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Young vacationers from the country would pitch their tents in the sand afterward.