Infrastructure Economy of Puerto Rico

1 infrastructure

1.1 education
1.2 healthcare
1.3 postal service , shipping
1.4 security
1.5 telecommunications
1.6 transportation

infrastructure

puerto rico has modern infrastructure , institutional framework guided regulations of u.s. federal agencies, of have active , continued presence in island. intents , purposes puerto rico treated if state of united states, albeit not being one. virtually federal laws apply on island, save few exceptions, including strong , robust protection intellectual property , contracts.

education

preschool education, care, , services (including head start , head start) free low income families private daycares being common , within walking distance in urban areas. primary , secondary education compulsory , free regardless of income through more 1,400 public schools. ten public schools considered prestigious locally, of them being magnet schools, graduate highest scores on island of college board s peau (latin america s equivalent of sat). 2 examples of these cimatec , croem focus on science, technology, , mathematics. there more 700 private schools on island, of them catholic. constitutionally illegal deny entrance or take action against students profess difference faith school attend or intend attend. students differing denominations legally freed attending religious activities on schools attend. prominent private schools include academia del perpetuo socorro, academia maria reina, academia san jorge, colegio marista guaynabo, colegio san ignacio de loyola, , colegio san josé maintain high rate of students being accepted prominent universities in united states.

there plethora of junior colleges on island, prominent being huertas college, icpr junior college, instituto de banca y comercio, , national university college (nuc). there 1 state-run system, puerto rico technological institute, possesses several prestigious programs @ local level , costs below market prices. abundance of junior colleges—and presence of other institutions of higher education— percentage of puerto ricans bachelor s degrees, @ 18.3% according 2000 census, comparable lower tier of american states.

not single college , university in puerto rico ranks in top 700 global rankings, state university, university of puerto rico (upr), appearing on ranks. several schools , programs appear on different rankings not single 1 of these considered prestigious ranking system neither nationally nor internationally. 3 major university systems on island university of puerto rico 11 campuses, ana g. méndez university system (suagm) 3 major campuses , satellites, , interamerican university of puerto rico (inter) 9 campuses , 2 specialized schools.

the prestige , eliteness of university of puerto rico within caribbean , puerto rico unparalleled:

the system, however, highly politicized board of trustees, chancellor, rectors, deans, , program directors changing whenever political party gains power (about every 4 or 8 years) university government-owned corporation. flagship campus prone student strikes, averaging 1 strike every 3 years halts whole campus, system whole averaging 1 strike every 5 years halts whole system. strikes derive extremely cheap costs per credit institution offers: $55 usd per undergraduate credit , $117 per graduate credit. highly unlikely student graduates college debt full pell grant covers costs low income students, , don t receive full pell grant or pell grant @ can cover tuition costs. economic accessibility comes @ price residents of puerto rico however: 9.6% of general budget of government of puerto rico automatically assigned university law. economy shrunk did university s endowment, suffocating highly indebted university incapable of generating enough revenue maintain itself. because of this, board of trustees increased tuition costs, led strikes. other strikes caused mere mention of lowering aforementioned percentage automatically assigned university though no bill has ever been filed such purpose.

in terms of specialized schools , programs, not single school , program in puerto rico ranked in prestigious system. university of puerto rico possesses largest academic offer 472 academic programs of 32 lead doctorate. upr system business school, engineering school, law school, nursing school, school of architecture, , school of medicine. schools , programs rank first on island although competition has increased in last decades private universities gaining track @ fast pace. ana g. méndez system, interamerican university, , university of sacred heart possess business school university of sacred heart leading in non-profit management , social enterprise, in communications. polytechnic university of puerto rico , turabo university both have engineering schools polytechnic university leading in computer security , offering master s degree in computer science on island. ranking regarding law schools subjective university of puerto rico school of law, interamerican university of puerto rico school of law, , eugenio maría de hostos school of law considered best although upr still leads in constitutional law. in terms of medicine university of puerto rico school of medicine , university of puerto rico school of dental medicine unmatched, interamerican university school of optometry being school of optometry on island. carlos albizu university leads in psychology while metropolitan university leads in environmental management although upr leads far in environmental science. in terms of arts, atlantic university college leads in digital arts far, while conservatory of music of puerto rico , escuela de artes plásticas y diseño de puerto rico considered prestigious in music , arts respectively; both far. school of international relations created in november 2013 under name of morales carrión diplomatic , foreign relations school, ascribed department of state of puerto rico , still in development. there no veterinary schools on island veterinarians studying abroad @ universidad autónoma de santo domingo in dominican republic.

almost junior colleges, colleges, universities, , schools accredited middle states association of colleges , schools. specific programs tend possess respective accreditation (such abet, aacsb, lcme, , on) although not uncommon programs not possess expected accreditation—for example, 2 business schools accredited aacsb.

healthcare

the healthcare system in puerto rico quite robust , advanced regulations of u.s. department of health , human services has jurisdiction on island, , local department of health of puerto rico. medical offices within walking distance common in urban areas walk-in clinics, urgent care, emergency rooms, , hospitals. there specialized hospitals cardiovascular diseases, cancer treatment, children (pediatrics), psychiatric care, , veterans. every medical specialty covered in island different medical schools on island, including university of puerto rico school of medicine, universidad central del caribe school of medicine (uccsom), ponce school of medicine, , san juan bautista school of medicine.

veterinary healthcare provided private veterinarians, clinics, , animal hospitals common , scattered on island.

postal service , shipping

the united states postal service has @ least 1 postal office in each municipality in puerto rico island using zip codes postal code system. dhl, fedex, , ups have established operations on island.

shipping cargo expensive puerto rico restricted on using united states merchant marine when shipping , united states due merchant marine act of 1920 (the jones act). cargo costs can quadruple when shipping or puerto rico due restriction.

security

local security overseen puerto rico commission on safety , public protection , u.s. department of homeland security has jurisdiction on island. law enforcement carried out puerto rico police, local state police force has many stations scattered throughout municipalities. municipal laws enforced each respective puerto rico municipal police. legal system mix of civil law , common law systems. disputes under local jurisdiction carried out system of municipal courts, district courts, , appellate courts highest state court , court of last resort being supreme court of puerto rico.

u.s. federal laws apply in puerto rico island territory of united states. issues trespass federal jurisdiction managed federal bureau of investigations (fbi), drug enforcement administration (dea), bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms , explosives (atf), united states marshals service (usms), u.s. department of justice (doj), , other federal agencies. disputes trespass local jurisdiction managed federal court system united states district court district of puerto rico being first in line.

fire protection, rescue, , protection hazards provided puerto rico firefighters corps has @ least 1 fire station in each municipality on island. separate agency, puerto rico medical emergencies corps, provides emergency medical services puerto rico. island part of 9-1-1 system. local emergencies , disasters managed , overseen puerto rico state agency emergency , disaster management (aemead) works closely , directly federal emergency management agency (fema). puerto rico has local national weather service station provides forecasts , public warnings, local puerto rico seismic network tracks seismic activity , provides public warnings.

the local national guard puerto rico national guard has branch ground forces, puerto rico army national guard, , aerial warfare, puerto rico air national guard. state defense force puerto rico state guard under sole jurisdiction of governor. both puerto rico national guard , puerto rico state guard considered 2 of active , well-prepared local forces in nation. 9 servicemen have been bestowed medal of honor, highest military decoration of united states, puerto ricans having served in every u.s. military conflict since world war i, including war in afghanistan , iraq war.

key posts include puerto rico police superintendent, puerto rico adjutant general, secretary of justice of puerto rico, , chief justice of supreme court of puerto rico.

telecommunications

telecommunications quite robust on island, regulations of federal communications commission (fcc) has jurisdiction on island, , local puerto rico telecommunications regulatory board (jrt in spanish). broadcasts transmitted through radio , television stations, internet. uno radio group , spanish broadcasting system 2 of prominent radio operators on island. telemundo, univision, , wapa america transmit television island through wkaq-tv, wlii-tv, , wapa-tv respectively.

several communications service providers offer triple play (internet + television + telephony) on island claro puerto rico, choice cable tv, , liberty media being prominent. downtime caused power failures in electric grid rather in telecommunications networks outages being rare , fixed within hours. high speed internet access , mobile telephony ubiquitous providers such at&t, open mobile, sprint, , t-mobile being prominent. chains burger king, church s chicken, mcdonald s, , starbucks provide free wifi @ numerous locals.

submarine communications cables landing in puerto rico include arcos-1, americas ii, , antillas i.

transportation


map of puerto rico s interstate highways.

cities , towns in puerto rico interconnected system of roads, freeways, expressways, , highways maintained puerto rico highways , transportation authority (prhta) under jurisdiction of u.s. department of transportation, , patrolled puerto rico police. island s metropolitan area served public bus transit system , rapid transit system. other forms of public transportation include seaborne ferries (that serve puerto rico s archipelago) share taxis.

the island has 3 international airports, luis muñoz marín international airport (sju) in carolina, mercedita airport in ponce, , rafael hernández airport in aguadilla. puerto rico served 27 local airports. luis muñoz marín international airport largest aerial transportation hub in caribbean, , 1 of largest in world in terms of passenger , cargo movement.

puerto rico has 9 ports in different cities across main island. san juan port largest in puerto rico, busiest port in caribbean , 10th busiest in united states in terms of commercial activity , cargo movement, respectively. second largest port port of americas in ponce, under expansion increase cargo capacity 1.5 million twenty-foot containers (teus) per year.