Street and city
Curb and gutter
city street residential neighborhood city center new development
It is the concrete edge that separates the sidewalk from the roadway together with the low channel that runs at its foot. In Costa Rica the edge is called cordón and the gutter caño.
What it solves
It guides rain from the street toward the storm drains and protects the sidewalk from water and cars. In tropical downpours it keeps the street from overflowing onto pedestrians.
Today
Design the gutter with a continuous slope toward frequent drains and lower the curb at every crossing for wheelchairs and strollers.
Common mistake
Filling in or covering the gutter with driveway ramps that block the flow of water and dam it.
Tomorrow
The curb can be opened in sections so water enters rain gardens and green strips before reaching the pipe. Cleaning storm drains before the rainy season, with shifts shared by neighbors and the municipality, prevents flooding.
Fact The visible face of the curb is usually 10 to 20 cm. Above 15 cm it can prevent car doors from opening fully.
Where it comes from
- 1Roman city Pompeii, Italy, 1st century
Its streets already had stone curbs that separated the sidewalks from the roadway. - 2London urban reform London, United Kingdom, 1766
An act allowed raised sidewalks separated from the street by a curb to be built, which in London replaced timber posts. - 3Costa Rican municipal works Santa Ana, Costa Rica, 2023
Municipalities build curbs and gutters together with storm drains, manholes and storm pipes, as in the town center of Santa Ana.
See also
Also in Street and city
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.