Gustavo Vega | Improving Urban Resiliency Through a Framework of Equitable Development

Improving Urban Resiliency Through a Framework of Equitable Development in “El Caño Martín Peña”

A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in the College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning (DAAP) under the department of the School of Architecture and Interior Design (SAID)

By Gustavo Andrés Vega Ramírez March 2022 Master of Architecture, Candidate Yates Fellow, Graduate School University of Cincinnati, May 2022 Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Certificate of Urban Design University of Pennsylvania, May 2020 Bachelor of Environmental Design School of Architecture University of Puerto Rico, May 2016

Committee Chair: Elizabeth Riorden Committee Member: Michael Mcinturf

the Fideicomiso de la Tierra (The first community land trust in

Abstract

an informal community). The land trust allows for shared land ownership while preserving an individual’s property rights.

The stakeholder’s efforts aim to eliminate poverty, reduce flooding, and restore the delicate mangrove ecosystem while

The unprecedented climate challenges that urban centers in the global south are facing require a rethinking of traditional urban planning methods. It is necessary to explore solutions that consider a new design strategy that adopts successful practices, ranging from community land trusts, participatory housing, bioclimatic infrastructure, social housing, and environmental protections that achieve an improved resiliency for all. Latin America is the most urbanized continent, but climate change and rising inequality have provoked large migration of people towards urban centers. The migrants are looking for self-empowerment and an improved way of life. Those marginalized, who live in poverty, tend to settle on the outskirts, taking residence on undesired land, at the boundary between city and nature. This increase in population has resulted in informal communities encroaching on crucial ecosystems. These settlements have a high chance of a catastrophic event happening, such as heavy flooding.

The communities around Caño Martín Peña in San Juan, PR, have dealt with floods and informality since their founding in the 1920s. Residents have coordinated through grassroots lobbying to form a community organization called the G-8. This nonprofit organization has tackled the challenges of fixing legacy infrastructure problems. Cooperating with the government, the G-8 helped establish sister organizations, ii

the Proyecto ENLACE Caño Martín Peña Organization and

maintaining community cohesion and preventing resident displacement. The planned infrastructure improvements include demolishing and rebuilding homes, which can be disruptive to individuals. The nonprofits aim to relocate every resident within their neighborhood, exchanging a home for a home. This writing explores different topics on developing a housing framework to improve overall resiliency.

The matter considers alternate housing policy through an investigation into the “Red Vienna” labor and housing movement and current Viennas housing department policy, which provides homes for the city’s residents. The text also looks into an alternate housing development model, analyzing participatory housing, considering the success and critique of ELEMENTALS Quinta Monroy and its subsequent evolution.

The paper argues for integrating different programming and an increased building function that considers bioclimatic infrastructure (floodwalls and green spaces) and passive stormwater management infrastructure. Many communities in Latin America are in the same place that the communities of Caño Martín Peña were a century ago, suffering from governmental disinvestment and forced to live in inhumane conditions. Informal Communities in the Global South can use the lessons learned to adopt a new tool for achieving community empowerment because everyone deserves a better, dignified living. iii

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Acknowledgements

Writing this thesis is one of the most challenging tasks I have undertaken. It is also one of the most fulfilling academic experiences I have had. I want to express gratitude to the people whose help has been crucial in reaching this goal.

To Professor Edward Mitchell, his continued guidance and insights in this field have made this an inspiring experience.

With his help and support, my studies at the school were possible. Whose nomination allowed for the economic support of the Albert C. Yates Fellowship program.

I thank Professor Elizabeth Riorden for her valuable guidance and insightful conversations as my studio professor and committee chair.

To my parents, Miguel and Miriam, and my sister, Cristina, they taught me my love for learning and whose wise counsel and sympathetic ears have always provided crucial emotional support. They have helped shape me into the person I am today.

My sincere thanks to Camila, my wife, for her love and constant support, on all the late nights and early mornings and for helping me stay sane. Above all else, for being my best friend. Without her, none of my studies and accomplishments would have been possible.

Te Debo Todo.

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I stand on the shoulder of giants.

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CONTENTS 01 Justicia Comunitaria 02 Sueño y Realidad

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03 New World, New City

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04 A New Housing Policy

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05 Participatory Housing

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06 Bioclimatic Infrastructure

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07 Resiliency Strategies 08 Oportunidades

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Ecumenopolis Anthropocene Green Cities Disaster Capitalism

Weak Empire, Strong Empire From Fort to Factory Muddled and Exploited Enfangados, No Derrotados Progress? Progress!

Aqua Vita Partnerships Channeled Community Master Plan Red Vienna Gemeindebauten Continued Efforts Added Efforts Local Solutions

Storm Solutions Climate Structure

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Building Programming

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FIG 1

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Authors Note

This Document was compiled early during the final semester to fulfill the graduation requirements of the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati, before the completion of the project by the end of the authors terminal semester at the College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning (DAAP) in the School of Architecture and Interior Design (SAID) For the Final Version of the book, which includes all imagery and final text developed during the design process, please visit the links below:

gustavovega.me

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issuu.com/aleatorica

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Figure Index

FIG 19

Soil Fill | Gingerich, Clayton. Crowd in Slum Area. 1940. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/447798923/.

FIG 20

Plank Bridges | Good, Willard. El Fanguito. 1947. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/2529059691/sizes/l/.

FIG 21

Deforested Coast | Periodico El Mundo, Biblioteca UPR. 1966. Memoria Viva: Las Desaparecidas Comunidades Del Caño Martín Peña. https://www.noticel.com/top-stories/memoria-viva/vida/20190319/memoria-viva-las-desaparecidas-comunidades-del-cano-martin-pena/.

Flooded Homes | World Habitat Fund. Child Wading Through Water. 2015. Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust. https:// world-habitat.org/world-habitat-awards/winners-and-finalists/cano-martin-pena-community-land-trust/.

FIG 22 FIG 1

El Caño Burns | Periodico El Mundo, Biblioteca UPR. 1940 Villa Pesquera De La Barriada La Hoare. March 19, 2019.

Memoria Viva: Las Desaparecidas Comunidades Del Caño Martín Peña. https://www.noticel.com/top-stories/memoria-viva/ vida/20190319/memoria-viva-las-desaparecidas-comunidades-del-cano-martin-pena/.

Canoeing through el Caño | Archivo , Projecto ENLACE. Three People Sit in a Small Boat. April 13, 2013. Domicilio Urbano. https://odvalentin.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/564/.

FIG 23

The Building of Brasilia | Gautherot, Marcel, and Moreira Salles Instituto. Esplanade between the Ministries under Construction, Brasília. March 5, 2017. Modern Tropical Decor. https://www.stylepark.com/en/news/marcel-gautherot-photographie-brasilia-modern.

Urban Mexico City | Lopez Luz, Pablo. Vista Aérea De La Ciudad De México, XIII. 2006. MOMA Accessions Committee Fund Purchase. https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/2011.177/.

FIG 25 FIG 26

Collected Trash | Noriega, Veronica. Sufre De Una Alta Contaminación En Sus Cuerpos De Agua Desde 1930. November 13, 2017. Caras Con Causa: Una Nueva Cara a La Participación Ciudadana. https://medium.com/@vernicanoriega/caras-concausa-una-nueva-cara-de-la-participaci%C3%B3n-ciudadana-5078edbc6306.

Storm Surge Risk Map | Image by Author

Amazonian Rainforest | Price, Larry C, and Georgina Gustin. Rancher Jaim Teixeira Surveys the Landscape He Burned, Clearing the Amazon for His Cattle. December 20, 2021. The Amazon, a Counterweight to Global Warming, Is Under Assault. https://undark.org/2021/12/20/ecocide-amazon/.

Value of Education | Price, Larry C, and Georgina Gustin. Children Attend the Sawré Muybu School, Housed in a RustyRoofed Shack. Pro-Indigenous Graffiti Decorates the Walls. December 12, 2020. The Amazon, a Counterweight to Global Warming, Is Under Assault. https://undark.org/2021/12/20/ecocide-amazon/.

Cities That Threaten Biodiversity Hotspots | Image by Author

FIG 27

100 Year Storm Floods | Image by Author

FIG 28

Poverty Map | Image by Author

FIG 29

Community Land Trust | Image by Author

Freshkill Dump | Staten Island Advance and Staten Island Institute Archives. Birds Fly over the Piles of Garbage at the Fresh Kills Landfill in 1993. August 1, 2019. Fresh Kills Landfill Closed In 2001, But Large Landfills Still Loom. https://freshkillspark. org/blog/fresh-kills-landfill-closed-in-2001-but-large-landfills-still-loom.

Dump to Park | Doskow, Jade, and Robert Sullivan. Looking Northeast toward Main Creek and the Greenbelt, Autumn.

2018. How the World’s Largest Garbage Dump Evolved Into a Green Oasis. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/nyregion/ freshkills-garbage-dump-nyc.html.

Hurricane Aftermath | ARDUENGO, RICARDO. A Man Rides His Bicycle through a Damaged Road in Toa Alta, West of San Juan, Puerto Rico. March 19, 2018. COMBO-PUERTORICO-HURRICANE. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ this-combo-of-photos-made-on-march-19-2018-shows-a-man-news-photo/934621168?adppopup=true.

Infrastructure Failures | Scovell, Mark. A CH-47 Chinook Helicopter from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Emplaces a Large Sand Bag in the Spillway of the Guajataca Dam on Oct. 9, 2017.October 9, 2017. Pennsylvania National Guard. https:// www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalguard/37587475852/.

Old San Juan Harbor | Meurs, Jacob Van. The City of Puerto Rico Was Never Entirely in the Hands of the Dutch West India Company. They Only Held the Fort of Canuela for a Few Months in 1625. 1671. View of Puerto Rico. https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AMH-6724-KB_View_of_Puerto_Rico.jpg.

San Juan City and Harbor | New York Public Library. Panorama De San Juan De Puerto-Rico. 1860. Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-7dc4-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.

FIG 30

Caño Martin Peña Neighborhoods | Image by Author

FIG 31 FIG 32

Aerial View of the Caño Martin Peña | Aerial Photograph Caño Martín Peña 1930s. March 7, 2014. Agua Mala (Bad Water), USACE, in Conjunction with ENLACE, Work to Improve Quality of Life. https://www.army.mil/article/121061/agua_ mala_bad_water_usace_in_conjunction_with_enlace_work_to_improve_quality_of_life.

Satelite View of the Caño Martin Peña

FIG 33

Flood Infrastructure | Image by Author

FIG 34

Karl Marx Hof Housing | Official Opening of the Karl-Marx-Hof - One of Vienna’s Largest Public Housing Estates . February 13, 2013. 1930: Real Vienna Revisited. http://evaandmark-strangers.blogspot.com/2013/02/1930-real-vienna-revisited.html.

FIG 35

Illegal Settlements in Vienna | Rosenhügel, Siedlung. By 1921, More than 30,000 Families Lived in Illegal Settlements Outside Vienna. Photograph. April 2016. Vienna’s ‘Wild Settlers’ Kickstart a Social Housing Revolution. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/08/story-cities-18-vienna-austria-cooperative-self-build-settlers-social-housing-revolution.

FIG 14

Rural Shack | Mennonite Church. Rural Workers Home. 1959. Mountain House. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/42642850970/in/album-72157709751179747/.

FIG 36

FIG 15

San Juan Harbor | Frantz, Caleb. San Juan Bay. 1949. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/2368044821/in/photostream/.

FIG 37

Shared Labor | Rosenhügel, Siedlung. Vienna’s DIY Communities Were ‘the Most Widespread Example of Physical SelfHelp in Housing in the 20th Century’ . April 2016. Vienna’s ‘Wild Settlers’ Kickstart a Social Housing Revolution. https:// www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/08/story-cities-18-vienna-austria-cooperative-self-build-settlers-social-housing-revolution.

Aerial View of the Karl Marx Hof Housing Complex | Aerial Image of Karl Marx Hof. Red Vienna (I): Karl Marx Hof. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://hiddenarchitecture.net/red-vienna-i-karl-marx-hof/.

FIG 16

Caño Martin Peña | Lauver, Melvin. El Fanguito. 1946. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/5957043757/sizes/l/.

FIG 38

Red Fortress | Front View of Karl Marx Hof. VIENNA – RED VIENNA. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.artchitectours. com/tour/red-vienna/.

FIG 17

Houses on Mud | Leatherman, Paul. El Fanguito Street. 1945. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/464417469/in/album-72157709751179747/.

FIG 39

Aspern Steedstadt Neighborhood | Aerial View of Aspern Seestadt. Welcome to Seestadt! Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.aspern-seestadt.at/en.

FIG 18

Boy going into House | Leatherman, Paul. El Fanguito, Boy Going into House. 1945. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/5819812366.

FIG 40

High-Quality Architecture | Housing Building. Lake-City Aspern (Aspern Seestadt). Accessed March 19, 2022. https:// vienna-solutions.com/portfolio/lake-city-aspern/.

FIG 2 FIG 3 FIG 4 FIG 5 FIG 6 FIG 7 FIG 8 FIG 9 FIG 10 FIG 11 FIG 12 FIG 13

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FIG 24

Flood Protections | Ibarra Vazquez, Genesis. Flooded Community. February 7, 2022. El Servicio Nacional De Meteorología Anticipa El Desarrollo De Más Aguaceros En La Región. https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/el-tiempo/notas/el-servicio-nacional-de-meteorologia-anticipa-el-desarrollo-de-mas-aguaceros-en-la-region/.

Rebuilding and Rehoming | Karlo Pagan, Jose. House Sits amidst a Flood. 2017. Atento El Caño Martín Peña a La Promesa Del Dragado. https://dialogo.upr.edu/dialogo-verde-2017/page/2/.

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FIG 41

Walkable Neighborhoods | Neigborhood Building. Lake-City Aspern (Aspern Seestadt). Accessed March 19, 2022. https:// vienna-solutions.com/portfolio/lake-city-aspern/.

FIG 42

Public Amenities | LakeSide Shore. Lake-City Aspern (Aspern Seestadt). Accessed March 19, 2022. https://vienna-solutions.com/portfolio/lake-city-aspern/.

FIG 43

Villa Verde | Participatory Housing. Pritzker Prize 2016. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://arquitecturaviva.com/articles/ pritzker-prize-2016.

FIG 44

Quinta Monroy Visualized | Building against Blue Sky. Quinta Monroy. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.archdaily. com/10775/quinta-monroy-elemental.

FIG 45

Quinta Monroy Now | Kids Play in Front of Their Homes. Revisit: Quinta Monroy by Elemental. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.architectural-review.com/buildings/housing/revisit-quinta-monroy-by-elemental.

FIG 46

PREVI Visualized | Freshly Built Homes. PREVI Low Cost Housing (I). Accessed March 19, 2022. https://hiddenarchitecture. net/previ-low-cost-housing-i/.

FIG 47

PREVI Now | Colorfull Previ Architecture. PREVI Lima 1969 Experimental Housing Project Revisited. Accessed March 19, 2022. http://www.transfer-arch.com/reference/previ-lima-1969/.

FIG 48

Green Infrastructure | Lopez, Nashtali. Tree against Sky. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.flickr.com/photos/126978813@N08/15311989300/.

FIG 49

Atlantic City | Charitan, Alexandra. Dune Boardwalk. A Year into the Pandemic, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Is Still Hanging on by a Thread. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/atlantic-city-boardwalk/.

FIG 50

Mantoloking Sea Wall | Poppick, Laura. A Relic Seawall. July 2019. Long-Forgotten Seawall Saved NJ Town from Sandy’s Worst. https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/long-forgotten-seawall-saved-nj-town-sandys-worst-6c10687363.

FIG 51

Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera | Lush Green Park. Parque Luis Munos Marin. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147320-d12387156-Reviews-Parque_Luis_Munoz_Marin-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html.

FIG 52

Jardin Botanico de Caguas | Bridge Spans Over Vegetation. February 2015. Jardin Botánico De Caguas. https://www.flickr. com/photos/kmsteelev/26237790476/.

FIG 53

Het Bosch | Lewis Marshall, John. Building Stands atop Stilts. February 3, 2013. Het Bosch / JagerJanssen Architecten + Dreissen Architecten. https://www.archdaily.com/329783/het-bosch-dreissen-architecten-jagerjanssen-architecten.

FIG 54

Flood Protection Strategies | Image by Author

FIG 55

Fascade View | Image by Author

FIG 56

Demographic Diversity | Image by Author

FIG 57

Buena Vista Site | Image by Author

FIG 58

Site Strategies | Image by Author

FIG 59

Massing Studies A | Image by Author

FIG 60

Massing Studies B | Image by Author

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01 Justicia Comunitaria

The efforts of the Caño Martín Peña communities are commendable. Their story has involved a constant struggle, from the creation of their settlements to the present; their What is Water?

battle has been one between water and land. They have faced

Water is sound, from roaring waterfalls, to the calmness of a pond.

the same problems that many communities around Latin

Water is culture, tales of Gilgamesh to tales of Noah

America are seeing, and they have fought tooth and nail for

Water is scale, the immensity of oceans to the smallness of a puddle

their right to a home. Their great-grandparents moved from

Water is place, wetness of Delhi to the dryness of Atacama

rural Puerto Rico to San Juan, looking for a better life. The

Water is disaster, from hurricanes to floods

work they did, allowed for the progress of an entire nation.

Water is boundary, lonely Islands to rivers

Through sweat and tears, hurricanes, and floods, they slowly

Water is resource, plastic bottles and rigid dams

built their homes wherever they could. Fanguito, Tokio, Las

Water is health, diseases to well-being

Monjas, Israel y Bitumul, Barrio Obrero, Buena Vista, Parada

Water is recreation, fishing and swimming

27, Llorens, Tras Talleres and so on….

Water is frontier, hot marshes and arctic coldness

FIG 2 - Canoeing through el Caño

When the tide went into the mudflats, people moved between their stilt homes and dry land with canoes or small boats. The boats were often tied with a rope to shore and the house, so people on both sides could pull the vessel back and forth.

They went wherever they could. To many, their efforts

Water is inequality, toilets to pools

remain unseen. But to those that still live there, they continue

Water is Life

to remember, and they fight for a better life. They organize, they protest, they fight. They still live between water and

-Gustavo Vega

land, yet they remain. Why here? There is no other place they love more. Surrounded by family and friends, why should they leave? Government policy has failed them, yet; They organize, they protest, they fight. A strength that has persisted for generations and will continue to do so. They organize, they protest, and they fight.

When envisioned, the creation of a Community Land Trust in an informal community was a novel idea. The

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FIG 2

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stakeholders took the trust of the community and leveraged

to be effective, he/she/they must firstly have a breadth of

it. They have systematically developed a plan to fix the issues.

understanding of the whole problem. Each project that a

For more than 20 years, Proyecto ENLACE Caño Martín Peña

designer works on is but a small puzzle piece of a solution to

has taken head-on what many saw as an insurmountable

a larger global problem. I look at this document as a personal

problem and patiently worked to fix it. Their efforts include

exploration of different strategies employed in the design of

building critical infrastructure, actively working with the

a building. I look at housing policy, green infrastructure, and

community, after-school programs, adult alphabetization

flood protection solutions.

programs, ecosystem restoration programs, community

Our modern civilization has enjoyed the fruits of its

gardens, public health programs, political lobbying, home

Faustian pact with fossil fuels, but now the devil has come

restorations, disaster planning, public health programs, and

to claim its debt. The impending climate crisis looms over

many more.

all coastal cities, waiting to wreak chaos unto those who

The one thing that has proven to be a continuous

inhabit them. While some cities can afford to ignore this

challenge is building the canalization of the Caño Martín

reality, most located in the global south will suffer the most.

Peña, and the funding for the canal was just approved.

The necessary infrastructure to provide a resilient urban

Their development plan has been very successful. The only

framework is lacking in most places, an afterthought by

thing they need is land. Space to build roads, space to build

most. The problems that this crisis will bring on are poorly

homes, space to build parks. The writing of this thesis is an

understood. There will be increased temperatures, droughts,

exploration of how to solve urban infrastructure problems in

diseases, weather extremes, and famine. Our infrastructure

Latin America and improve upon the resiliency of buildings

will be tested to its breaking point.

in those places. I have chosen El Caño Martín Peña as the

Rearing its ugly head, climate change will strain the

place to understand some of those problems. It is a place

foundations of our society, pushing inequality and natural

close to my heart, being from Puerto Rico and having worked

systems to the brink. If this is an inevitable fate, what will

with the community in the past. I have tried to make it right by

people do? Where will people live? Can cities even be

them. It is my belief that the community deserves more. They

developed equitably? This thesis will focus on solutions that

deserve high-quality homes with good green infrastructure,

can be implemented to fight against these rising problems.

to not live with the fear of their homes flooding, to not wonder

Solutions that will enable cities to be more inclusive, diverse,

whenever it rains if they would lose something.

sustainable, and safe.

To understand how to solve the problems of a small community on a small island in the Caribbean, you must understand the global problem, the regional problem, 18

and then the local problem. It is my belief for a designer

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02 Sueño y Realidad

Cities are at the center of human life: each represent the specific character and culture of the people that live in them. They are the physical realm supporting human health, education, culture, and productivity throughout history.

The most successful cities are human-centered, resilient, inclusive, diverse, sustainable, and safe. These qualities are constantly evolving goals that all cities must strive to achieve, but the reality is that they do not universally apply to all metropolitan centers. The development of cities for the

FIG 3 - The Building of Brasilia

Lucio Costas Brasilia was built in the Brazilian desert in just four years. The city is now the country’s capital. Even though its car-centric planning has been criticized by many, its popularity has increased in the last few years.

1. Gold, John R. “Athens Charter (CIAM), 1933.”

The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies, 2019, 1–3. https://doi. org/10.1002/9781118568446.eurs0013.

2. Waldek, Stefanie. “60 Years Ago, the Modernist City of Brasília Was Built from Scratch.” Architectural Digest. Architectural Digest, August 21, 2020. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/60years-ago-modernist-city-brasilia-built.

3. Sánchez Rueda, Guillermo. “Origen y Desarrollo De La Supermanzana y Del Multifamiliar En La Ciudad De México.” Ciudades, no. 12 (2017): 143–70. https://doi.org/10.24197/ ciudades.12.2009.143-170.

past century has been overwhelmingly car-oriented, which has brought forward a series of problems that designers try to address. Solutions are often looked at with rose-tinted glasses. Urban planners have a mismatched notion of what they want a city to be and actual results.

For most of the 20th-century, architects and urban planners have had a carte blanche on the design of urban spaces: cities became the playground of modernist manifestos, these ideologies (such as the Athens Charter), clashed together, fighting an ongoing ideological battle.1 There is no better place to witness this battleground than in Latin America. The ideals of Modernism took hold without a second thought; it may have produced great case studies, such as Brasilia2 or the “Centro Urbana Antonio Nariño.”3 The big problem with most of these projects was that at the time, the architects and planners only considered the utilitarian 20

FIG 3

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FIG 4 - Urban Mexico City

The largest urban center in Latin America, Mexico City suffers from unending sprawl. The size of the city is a physical monument to the continent’s rapid urbanization.

4. Cadena, Andres, Jaana Remes, James Manyika, Richard Dobbs, Charles Roxburgh, Peter Elstrodt Heinz, Alberto Chaia, and Alejandra Restrepo.

Building Globally Competitive Cities: The Key to Latin American Growth. Mckinsey Global Institute., 2011.

5. Hoffman, Kelly, and Miguel Angel Centeno.

“The Lopsided Continent: Inequality in Latin America.” Annual Review of Sociology 29, no. 1 (2003): 363–90. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev. soc.29.010202.100141.

aspects when designing such large-scale projects. These massive infrastructure projects worked as large functional machines, where designers seemingly misunderstood their social responsibilities in creating environments inhabited by humans.

Ecumenopolis As a result, most Latin American cities do not suffer from a general lack of infrastructure but instead suffer from a lack of quality space. The urbanization of Latin America was impacted by the impressive speed with which these cities developed. Today this rapid urbanization is considered by many to be a success story. This urbanization raised the standard of living for the urban/rural poor. Urbanization was so effective, that presently more than 80% of Latin Americans live in cities.4 The continent is more urbanized than any other region in the developing world. With a nonstop shift in population, rapid urbanization continues. There is a constant movement of people from rural to urban space, with an estimated half a million residents moving into cities each month.

They face a lack of qualitative spaces and unjust economic practices; these economic processes have marginalized large portions of the population, slowing down social mobility and spurring inequality. The Latin American continent has the most unbalanced distribution of resources globally, with a lopsided allocation of goods and basic opportunities, described by Kelly Hoffman as an inverse pyramid.5 This inequality can be seen through gender, racial, and class lines with a significant stratification between these

22

groups. Presently, some 200 Latin American cities host 260

FIG 4

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6. Schwarz, Benjamin. “A Vision in Concrete.”

The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, July 1, 2008. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ archive/2008/07/a-vision-in-concrete/306846/.

million people, contributing 60% of the continent’s GDP. For

transportation systems suffering from gridlock, a continued

many, migrating into a city symbolizes the potential for self-

increase of informal settlements, outdated energy grids,

improvement and the possibility of achieving social mobility,

housing shortages, and a visible lack of public amenities—

an incentive far too good for people in undeveloped regions.

these problems apport into a general decrease of the

This population shift is contributing to an increase in the size

resiliency of urban systems.

7. Kimbrough, Liz. “As the Amazon Burns, What Happens to Its Biodiversity?” Mongabay Environmental News, June 10, 2021. https://news. mongabay.com/2020/09/when-the-amazon-burnswhat-happens-to-its-biodiversity/.

of cities; by the middle of this century, more than 500 million Latin Americans will live in cities.

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Anthropocene

Historically, the growth of urban regions in Latin

Although the countries of Latin America have proven

America started in the 1960s. This in large part attributable

capable of surmounting similar infrastructure challenges in

to state and private banking investments. As mentioned

the past, the world is steaming ahead towards an uncertain

before, most of these cities did not suffer from a lack of

future. The current production and consumption patterns

infrastructure in their urban centers, but they did suffer from

have resulted in biodiversity loss and an increase in global

a lack of qualitative space. Lucio Costa’s Brasilia appalls

temperatures. Fires are not naturally occurring phenomena

and enchants architects and urban planners. The city is

in the Amazon rainforest; the constant rain does not allow for

considered by some a wrong turn in modernist governance,

potential ignition sources. At the beginning of 2020, a large

significant and inhuman in its scheme. The urban plan has

portion of the Amazon rainforest was on fire. The fire was

vast spans of unwalkable roads, dotted with buildings that

caused by human intervention.7 The forest became the victim

form “towers in the park” in-between. All the city functions

of resource extraction and government indifference. Brazilian

were separated, only connected through road. This master

farmers and cattle ranchers require cheap land to allow for

plan, in turn, resulted in a city that cut off any possibility of

animal grazing and planting of monoculture fields. They have

street life.

an economic incentive to destroy the Amazon Forest, reduce

Today, the city primarily functions as the center of

biodiversity, and feed the resource-consuming machine of

Brazilian governance, and most of the people live in satellite

unfettered capitalist growth. If the government is complicit

cities with more traditional urban schemes.6 Larger cities

and ignores imposing environmental regulations on such

were planned with economic performance in mind but

acts, these processes will continue happening.

most lacked insights into improving the quality of life of their

The lack of international cooperation policies, in

citizens. Today, the rapid growth of the 60s, now only serves

global resource management will result in habitat loss and a

towards diseconomies of scale. Governmental resources are

temperature increase. This continued urban growth requires

locked into maintaining the existing infrastructure, unable to

an increase in housing, food production, and energy use, all

deal with areas of more significant need. The disinvested

of which put an unsustainable strain on the planet’s natural

regions in cities are suffering from growing pains, with

resources. The inequality in the developing world exacerbates

25

this strain, specifically, when women lack frequent access to economic opportunities and education. Fertility rates have fallen in developed countries when education attainment rises; these trends are constant.

8

“Increasing levels of education for children, and increasing returns to education: parents want fewer children with higher human capital investment (education and health investments) rather than more children with minimal capital investment” - Elina Pradhan If

governments

invest

in

equitable

FIG 5 - Amazonian Rainforest

Ranchers burn the Amazonian rainforest to clear the land for cattle grazing. Such practices have accelerated deforestation to alarming proportions.

FIG 6 - Value of Education

Education can help reduce pressure on natural systems by teaching future generations the importance of preservation. Children from the Sawré Muybu tribe attend class.

8. Pradhan, E. L. I. N. A. “Link between Education and Fertility in low and middle-income countries.”

Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health (2016

education

systems, increased education levels will increase human capital investments, reducing overall child mortality and thus birth rates. Empowering women will reduce population FIG 5

growth and subsequently reduce environmental impact.

Until now, the world governments have turned a blind eye to the negative externalities of unchecked pollution and resource over-extraction. These cities were not modeled with economic systems that can deal with the climate crisis.

There is a conflict between sprawl, resource extraction and biodiversity. There is a big question mark if there is space in a capitalistic society to allow for “green growth” that allows prosperity to rise and emissions to fall; carbon decoupling may be seen as a pipe dream.

Some governments can grow their economies and cut carbon emissions, such as Britain between 2000 and 2004, which was able to grow 27 percent and cut 20 percent of its greenhouse gas outputs. The reality is that these countries are just offshoring their heavy industry to other

FIG 6

26

places, such as China. One solution that the world can look towards is Costa Rica. The country is the leading carbon-

27

9. Nafría, Ismael. “Carlos Alvarado: ‘Nos Estamos Quedando Sin Tiempo Para Actuar.’” www. nationalgeographic.com.es. National Geographic, February 22, 2021. https://www.nationalgeographic. com.es/mundo-ng/nos-estamos-quedando-sintiempo-para-actuar_16259.

10. Teske, S., Morris, T., Nagrath, K (2020) 100% Renewable Energy for Costa Rica. Report prepared

by ISF for the World Future Council/Germany and the One Earth Foundation, USA, February 2020

neutral country, running around 300 days a year entirely

collision course with these hotspots; cities such as Sao

on renewable energy. Costa Rica is roughly 95% powered

Paulo, Brazil, or Bogota, Colombia host what Dr. Richard

by renewable hydropower. The country’s land is over 25%

Wellers calls “crisis landscapes” where informal settlements

protected, and almost half is forested. The developing country

sprawl toward endangered habitats.

has the goal to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With the promise of modernizing the country through “Green Growth,” with national efforts supporting sustainable growth and low emissions energy systems. The country’s

“It’s the end of the world where we thought nature was an infinite resource and we could exploit it without consequence,”-Richard Weller

11. Cincotta, Richard P., Jennifer Wisnewski, and Robert Engelman. “Human Population in the Biodiversity Hotspots.” Nature 404, no. 6781 (2000): 990–92. https://doi.org/10.1038/35010105.

12. Fisher, Brendan, and Treg Christopher. “Poverty and Biodiversity: Measuring the Overlap of Human Poverty and the Biodiversity Hotspots.” Ecological Economics 62, no. 1 (2007): 93–101. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.05.020.

13. Hopper, Stephen D., Fernando A. Silveira, and Peggy L. Fiedler. “Biodiversity Hotspots and Ocbil Theory.” Plant and Soil 403, no. 1-2 (2015): 167– 216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2764-2.

president has said: “Nos estamos quedando sin tiempo para actuar”. “We are running out of time to act.” He addressed political comprises in meeting the challenges of the future.9

This biodiversity is being fragmented and lost through attrition sparked by endless sprawl in these expanding cities.

Unplanned urban growth is encroaching on the surrounding

“Yes. In my inauguration speech, I said it as it is: it is the greatest challenge of our generation.

There are many things to do. We have to fight poverty. We have to expand inclusion of all kinds.

We have to reduce gender gaps and fight against any kind of discrimination. We have to do all that, but that we manage to solve the climate crisis is what allows humanity to continue, that we continue in the fight. The climate crisis has the condition that, if not resolved, it can become the end of the game.”

ecosystems. The degraded habitats are even more strained with global temperature on the rise. Climate change poses a threat to ecosystems and cities, spurring a need to integrate both systems. If not dealt with, the currents trends will have negative effects on human health and development.11

Ecologist Norman Myers coined the term

“biodiversity hotspots.12 He used it to distinguish ecoregions that should be designated for conservation. Biodiversity hotspots are areas abundant with species, rare species, and threatened species. These hotspots are also threatened by human activities such as unchecked logging, rapid

28

Costa Rica is a crucial example, as it holds around

urban expansion, and resource extraction. He designated

6% of the global biodiversity.10 Latin American cities are

45 terrestrial regions as crucial to endemic species under

particularly important globally, as they are closest to the

habitat threat. These 45 regions covered some 16% of the

world’s most prominent biodiverse hotspots. The continent

Earth’s surface. Now, more than 85% of the habitat has been

hosts over 50% of the world’s biodiversity. In Latin America,

destroyed, with 2.3% of the Earth’s land surface remaining.13

there is a direct conflict between sprawl and remnant

As most of the hotspots are in areas of widespread poverty,

habitats and endangered species at the peri-urban edges.

informal communities are being forced into critical habitats.

The fastest-growing cities in Latin America are in a natural

The continued growth of cities puts pressure on the health

29

FIG 7 - Cities That Threaten Biodiversity Hotspots

Ecosystems around the world are under threat from unfettered urban growth.

Biodiversity Hotspots

180°

160°

140°

120°

100°

80°

60°

40°

20°

0°

20°

40°

60°

80°

100°

120°

140°

160°

180°

80° Prime Meridian

60°

40°

20°

Equator

0°

20°

40°

37,000,000 60°

300,000 80°

Population of Cities in Hotspots

30

31

and stability of these ecosystems. Urban migration has been correlated with a rise in informal communities. Without governmental support, these informal communities threaten the healthy functioning of ecoregions. This challenges how informal community can responsibly grow without negatively impacting the ecoregion’s biology.

Even though the future may sound bleak, some case studies deal with these problems, such as Field Operations Fresh Kills Park, which restored New York City’s old landfill into a pristine park.14 SCAPEs Gowanus Canal Restoration, a landscape architecture project, deals with the ecological restoration of an industrial canal in Red Hook, Brooklyn.15,16 These

projects

provide

novel

solutions

to

specific

environmental problems.

FIG 8

Green Cities This playbook notes that Latin American cities can start envisioning specific solutions that apply to their

FIG 8 - Freshkill Dump

For many decades most of New York City’s trash was dumped in the Staten Island municipal dump.

The city stopped trash dumping on the island in 2001.

FIG 9 - Dump to Park

The dump is undergoing a slow process of ecological restoration. The landscape architecture firm of field operations has proposed a novel ecosystem that allows new plants to grow in the piles of trash. The park now hosts rolling landscapes covered with meadows and grasses.

14. Sullivan, Robert. “Can Landscape Architect James Corner Turn Fresh Kills Landfill into a CityChanging Park? .” New York Magazine. New York Magazine, November 21, 2008. https://nymag.com/ news/features/52452/.

15. Madrigal, Irene, Gabriel Neves, and Michelle Young. “Gowanus Lowlands Visionary Plan Released to Transform Neighborhood into Thriving Ecosystem and Community Space.” Untapped New York. Untapped New York, June 20, 2017. https://untappedcities.com/2017/06/20/gowanuslowlands-visionary-plan-released-to-transformneighborhood-into-thriving-ecosystem-andcommunity-space/.

16. Klinenberg, Eric. “The Seas Are Rising. Could Oysters Protect Us?” The New Yorker, July 30, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/09/ the-seas-are-rising-could-oysters-protect-us.

17. “Parque Bicentenario De Quito.” Wikipedia.

Wikimedia Foundation, April 17, 2021. https:// es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parque_Bicentenario_de_ Quito.

18. Armijo, Patricia. “En El Parque Bicentenario De Quito Los Visitantes Podrán Conocer La Ruta Del Árbol.” Ecuador | Noticias | El Universo. El Universo, June 30, 2021. https://www.eluniverso. com/noticias/ecuador/quito-domingo-3-de-julioactividades-parque-bicentenario-ruta-del-arbolnota/.

geography. The city of Quito, Ecuador, has done just that by repurposing an old airport located inside the city limits. The large expansive public park, known as “Parque Bicentenario de Quito,” with over 125 hectares of land, serves as a qualitative piece of infrastructure desperately needed in the city.17 The Park has improved the surrounding air quality, functions as a transportation node, hosts commercial space to help low-income business owners, provides a place for cultural education, and is adaptive towards the city’s future needs.

The Park showcases some of the country’s diverse FIG 9

32

flora by including a sampling of rare tree species inside its grounds.18 Efforts such as these help in contributing towards

33

19 Pilat, Monica Ann, Amy McFarland, Amy Snelgrove, Kevin Collins, Tina Marie Waliczek, and Jayne Zajicek. “The effect of tree cover and vegetation on incidence of childhood asthma in metropolitan statistical areas of Texas.”

HortTechnology 22, no. 5 (2012): 631-637.

biodiversity, enabling cities with the capacity to adapt to

Europe due to the Syrian civil war was initially stirred by

changing environmental conditions. Cities get free amenities

increased drought and resource scarcity, which spurred

that are provided by nature, understood as ecosystem

political issues. This displacement has been studied by

services. The ecosystems’ biophysical structure and function

the U.S. military as a model for the types of instability that

provide free services linked to human processes, which

is caused by anthropogenic climate change.20 In 2020, an

inevitably result in a positive economic value. These services

estimated 600,000 Central Americans migrated due to

offer significant dividends with a small initial investment.

landfall by Hurricane Eta and Iota within a two-week period in

Although ecologists have an extensive body of research that

the same region. These storms were unexpected Category

supports the benefits of building thriving urban ecosystems

Four hurricanes. They caused food and housing shortages

inside cities, most of these findings are ignored by urban

in the effected Central American countries.21 This disaster

planners. Having rich urban biodiversity helps in delivering

also harmed food production, with 80% of agricultural lands

essential health benefits to its citizens. For example, studies

decimated by the hurricanes. The damage spurred the

show that an increase in tree density aids in reducing the

overly politized caravans of migrants heading into the United

prevalence of childhood asthma.19 Its time these cities start

States.

20. Selby, Jan, Omar S. Dahi, Christiane Fröhlich, and Mike Hulme. “Climate Change and the Syrian Civil War Revisited.” Political Geography 60 (2017): 232–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. polgeo.2017.05.007.

21. Rigaud,Kanta K.; Sherbinin, Alex de; Jones,Bryan R; Bergmann,Jonas Sebastian; Clement,Viviane Wei Chen; Ober,Kayly Jennifer; Schewe, Jacob; Adamo, Susana; McCusker, Brent; Heuser,Silke; Midgley,Amelia.

Groundswell : preparing for internal climate migration (Vol. 2) : Main report (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank. org/curated/en/846391522306665751/Main-report 22. Klein, Naomi. The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books, 2018.

23. Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. London, U.K: Penguin, 2014.

24. Staff, Reuters. “Explainer: Chile’s Chicago Boys,’ A Model for Brazil Now?” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, January 4, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/ article/us-brazil-politics-chicagoboys-explaineridUKKCN1OY1OU. 25. Davies, Richard. “Why Is Inequality Booming in Chile? Blame the Chicago Boys.” The Guardian.

Guardian News and Media, November 13, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/ nov/13/why-is-inequality-booming-in-chileblame-the-chicago-boys.

recognizing their roles in the global climate crisis. Where they can adapt and integrate solutions that help them deal

34

Disaster Capitalism

with climate change. These solutions must be seen as an

Naomi Klein, in her book “The Battle for Paradise,”

opportunity, not a hindrance, to improve its citizens’ quality of

discusses the ongoing conflict between late-stage capitalists

life. Strategic investments can help reduce societal inequality

and the inequality it fosters.22 This economic model is an

as well as deal with environmental issues.

offshoot of the “shock doctrine,” which prays on indebted

The conglomeration of all these challenges poses an

governments.23 Milton Friedman’s “neo-liberal, free market

increased danger to a large percentage of the population

capitalism” models have taken hold in many Latin American

of Latin America. Governments lack appropriate analysis

countries, starting in Chile with their implementation

to deal with the inevitable natural disaster risks and have

by Dictator Pinochet, helped by Milton’s own “Chicago

not invested in making their cities resilient. The dangers of

Boys.” Those policies took hold and spread through the

climate change looms like a dark cloud. As planet earth

continent, being applied indiscriminately, using a giant

continues to warm up, natural disasters will become more

playground. The effects of the policies applied in the 1970s

extreme, increasing the prevalence of wildfires, water

by Friedman’s students has increased societal inequality in

shortages, heat waves, and floods. Climate change will drive

Brazil and Chile.24,25 A similar situation happened in 2017

refugee migration. It has already occurred in other places.

in the Caribbean. With the aftermath of Hurricane Maria an

The massive migration of Syrian refugees in 2015 into

estimated 10% of the population or some 150,000 Puerto

35

Ricans were displaced due to the natural disaster. The storm had more impact than the immediate humanitarian crisis.

It also caused the arrival of disaster capitalism, where the rich and powerful systematically exploited Puerto Ricans’ desperation, driving a rise in inequality.26 The country still struggles to recover with an economic model that has not adapted to the realities of this future. The effects of Hurricane Maria can be seen as a small sample of the consequences countries will face if there is no action taken.

In Puerto Rico, most of these problems after the hurricane are seen as the tragic results of a random act of

FIG 10 - Hurricane Aftermath

A man rides his bicycle through a damaged road in Toa Alta, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 24, 2017, following the passage of Hurricane Maria.

FIG 11 - Infrastructure Failures

A helicopter from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard drops large sandbags on the spillway of the Guajataca Dam on Oct. 9, 2017. The Soldiers worked to stabilize the dam’s spillway in response to the effects of Hurricane Maria 26. Klein, Naomi. “There’s Nothing Natural about Puerto Rico’s Disaster.” The Intercept, September 21, 2018. https://theintercept.com/2018/09/21/ puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-disaster-capitalism/.

27. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

“2021 Infrastructure Report Card.” Puerto Rico USA: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2021.

28. Pierog, Karen. “Puerto Rico Gets near-Failing Grade on Infrastructure Report Card.” Reuters.

Thomson Reuters, November 12, 2019. https:// www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico/puertorico-gets-near-failing-grade-on-infrastructurereport-card-idUSKBN1XM2V0.

God. But by digging deeper, the issues stem from the lack of mitigation policies that strongly depends on old, antiquated infrastructure which was not envisioned to deal with climate FIG 10

change when designed. Puerto Rico was already on the path to a humanitarian crisis. The American Society of Civil Engineers published a study grading the island’s infrastructure as “poor condition.”27 The study showed that the islands’ public works showed significant deterioration and required large investments to bring its infrastructure up to date. The power company, AEE, was nearing insolvency, relying too heavily on antiquated technology and its aging infrastructure dating back to the 1960s.28 Climate

change

will

intensify

environmental

degradation and create natural hazards in many regions in Latin America. By 2050, the continent will see up to 10.6 million climate migrants. This population shift will cause geopolitical issues that can end in war, blurring borders and instability for decades. Climate refugees will be an inevitable FIG 11

36

reality. It is not all negative. This crisis can be minimized with concerted actions by governments, mitigation policies,

37

29. Staff, West 8. “Blue Dunes: The Future of Coastal Protection.” West 8, January 31, 2022. https://www.west8.com/projects/blue_dunes_the_ future_of_coastal_protection/.

and correct planning. To stem these problems, city and

individual agents can stage quick urban interventions and

state governments can employ different risk management

observe how they operate before coordinating investments

strategies. At first, they must identify potential hazards and

and expending economic and political resources. Essential

the probability for them to occur to identify high-risk areas.

qualities of this movement are a deliberate phased approach

The city must consider the probability of a climate hazard

to generating change, local solutions for local challenges,

impact. When the mapped hazards coincide with building

temporary interventions, realistic expectations, and low-

infrastructure, those are considered potential vulnerability

risk investment. The goals establish high reward. The

points. These points are the places where a city’s infrastructure

development of social capital through organization between

needs to be shored up to resist any adverse side effects of a

public and private actors.

climate event. A bioclimatic infrastructure will help improve the overall resiliency of an urban region. Currently, some of these public works may seem like novel “petit projets”; they lie in their infancy for a sustainable future. Projects such as the “Blue Dunes” by west8, restore the ecology of barrier islands dunes along the coast of New York and New Jersey.

This infrastructure will protect the inner coast from storm surges.29 Localized solutions as these will help deal with problems such as sea level rise, water shortages, heat waves, fires, floods, food shortages and novel diseases.

Physical solutions need to be coupled with new economic practices like a carbon tax and pollution credits. With a carbon tax, the government sets a price on emissions, and private business pay for their emissions, in the long run, disincentivizing “dirty industries”. When city governments lack the necessary resources, residents can take charge, and implement tactical urbanism techniques. Through active self-organizing and the use of tactical urbanism, citizens can improve the livability of their cities through community work and smart interventions, coordinating with the slower 38

moving bureaucracy of government. Through this approach,

39

03 New World, New City

The capital city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is no exception to informal urbanism. It has a long history of people moving to the town, looking for a better outcome for their life, and trying their luck on a risky expedition. This pursuit is

FIG 12 - Old San Juan Harbor

A ship flying the Dutch flag lies in the harbour. The city of Puerto Rico was never entirely in the hands of the Dutch West India Company. They only held the fort of Canuela for a few months in 1625.

30. Calderón, Ana Gabriela. “Real Cédula de Gracias de 1815: inmigración y progreso, un acercamiento historiográfico.” Revista Umbral (2016): 9-33.

echoed through centuries of people moving to San Juan and settling in harsh, wet environments. These mass migrations of peoples have different causes, but share a common themes of people looking for a dignified way of life. The first wave of mass migration started when the Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of Graces. It granted the privilege of settlement and free land to Spaniards and Europeans of non-Spanish origin, with the condition of assimilating and populating the colony. This mass migration created pressure on the existing infrastructure on the island.30 The infrastructure suffered from mass disinvestment and poor planning. People were forced to build their settlements outside the walled city in hazardous and diseased-filled wetlands. At its inception, the old town of San Juan was not a comfortable place, surrounded by mangroves and mosquitoes. People had to endure waterborne illnesses such as dysentery and malaria.

The island has other spaces with better environmental conditions for a settlement, but they lack an essential element, which did not inform the Crown’s commercial agenda.

Founded in 1521, San Juan is the third oldest settlement in the Americas and was of utmost strategic importance 40

FIG 12

41

31. Scarano, Francisco A. Puerto Rico: Cinco Siglos De Historia. San Juan, PR: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

to the Spanish Crown. The city was a military outpost

of the fortified walls to encourage the city’s growth to

assigned to protect resource trade from Latin America to

encompass the entirety of its Islet. By the end of the 19th

Spain throughout most of its history. Its geography is unique,

century, the Spanish empire was a vestige of its previous

composed of small islets encircling a series of interconnected

self when forced to enter a war against the United States.

lagoons, the largest known as the San Juan Bay Estuary and

The U.S. started the Spanish-American war under false

the San Jose Lagoon. The outpost provided a safe harbor

pretenses when they accused Spain of causing an explosion

from hurricanes and pirates for the gold-laden fleets. Since its

within the battleship U.S.S Maine. The explosion sunk the

founding, the walled city has maintained a close relationship

ship in Havana, Cuba harbor.32 After the war, Americans

with water. It said that its legendary founder Juan Ponce

took the island of Puerto Rico as a territorial bounty. The U.S.

de Leon (who later died in a foolish attempt to look for the

Navy saw the San Juan Harbor as an important military asset

infamous Fountain of Youth), chose the Islet of Puerto Rico,

and invested in modernizing the military fortifications around

which later became the name for the entire island, thanks to

the bay.

the presence of a freshwater spring. Its access to freshwater

When WWII came about, the island played a crucial

proved to be good military judgment, as it allowed the city

role in defending the south Atlantic from German U boats.33 At

to resist long sieges from the English (1695) and the Dutch

one of the lowest points during the war, the War Department

(1625).31

drafted and implemented contingency plans to fortify San

32. Miller, Bonnie M. From Liberation to Conquest: The Visual and Popular Cultures of the SpanishAmerican War of 1898. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2011.

33. Bolívar José L. The Caribbean Front in World War II: The Untold Story of u-Boats, Spies, and Economic Warfare. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2021.

Juan Harbor, by enlisting the help of the local population Weak Empire, Strong Empire

42

to build pillboxes, deepwater ports, artillery firing positions,

The fortified enclave protected access to the San

barracks, and bunkers. The war department’s concern

Juan Bay through several building campaigns, the biggest

was that Europe would fall against German expansion,

being the construction of San Felipe del Morro, which towers

necessitating a base of operation for the British government

over the mouth of the bay. From this site enemy ships were

and the remainder of its navy to continue their war efforts.

barraged with cannon fire from multiple shooting locations.

Fortunately, this scenario did not occur, but it did affect

Thanks to the constant vigilance of the Spanish soldiers who

Puerto Rican society. There was a shift and subsequent

safeguarded the vessels from privateers and pirates, the

abandonment of traditional building techniques. Puerto

city became renowned as a safe harbor to drop anchor and

Ricans learned to work with concrete and saw the strength

stockpile food and water. This importance slowly waned as

and versatility of the material. Concrete became the most

more and more Spanish colonies declared independence

affordable and readily available alternative to build homes.

and military technology improved. By the late 1880s, the

Unfortunately, an extensive knowledge base of traditional

walls were more of a hindrance to the city’s expansion. The

masonry and wood building techniques was forgotten.

Spanish government decided to demolish large portions

43

FIG 13 - San Juan City and Harbor

View of the walled city of San Juan, PR, atop fort San Geronimo. Lithograph ca. 1860s

44

45

From Fort to Factory San Juan has always been the center of the island’s commercial activity. The island’s gold resources were depleted within the first century of Spanish colonization; the Crown changed focus from extracting the precious metal and focusing on what some have called “white gold.” Products such as sugar

FIG 14 - Rural Shack

Most of the rural workers did not own the land for their homes. Campesinos worked the land for large Sugar Plantations. When the plantations closed down, most of them were forced to leave to find work in San Juan, PR.

FIG 15 - San Juan Harbor

San Juan bay became a vital harbor for the island’s exports. Sugar and manufactured goods were mainly shipped to the mainland U.S. 34. Ayala, César J. “The decline of the plantation economy and the Puerto Rican migration of the 1950s.” Latino Studies Journal 7, no. 1 (1996)

and tobacco allowed the island to become an agricultural powerhouse. The island’s tropical climate proved perfect for the cultivation of sweet sugarcane. Farmers focused on cultivating crops that could endure the long sail across the Atlantic. These products flowed to the island’s capital, where traders sold to merchant ships some of the bounties of the new world. The extensive fortifications of the walled city provided triple value, protecting merchant activity, securing FIG 14

South American gold for the Spanish Crown before it was shipped across the Atlantic, and projected military power in the region.

The island was the last port of call for ships to resupply before undertaking the perilous journey to Europe. After the island territory changed hands from Spain to the United States, the island resources started to be valued differently.

Not needing a last port of call to Europe, the United States valued the island more as a manufacturing center than a military base. Puerto Rico provided cheap labor and a favorable manufacturing climate, which started a significant economic shift. The island underwent a transition from an agricultural economy towards a manufacturing economy.

After the war, San Juan benefited from this shift when the city transformed into a modern city. The migration of unemployed

FIG 15

46

rural workers fueled urban expansion.34 The large haciendas shuttered their sugar production and left a significant slump

47

35. Picó, Rafael. “Puerto Rico: Its Problems and its Programme.” The Town Planning Review 24, no. 2 (1953): 85.

in the workforce. The “Campesino” moved to look for the

the city’s outskirts, and there was no allotted space to host

promise of a job in one of San Juan’s factories.

the large number of workers moving into the city every day.

The new factory workers suffered from significant inequality;

Muddled and Exploited

36. Roosevelt, Eleanor. The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York, NY: Harper Perennial, 2014.

37. Foster, William Z. The Crime of El Fanguito: an Open Letter to President Truman on Puerto Rico.

New York: New Century Publishers, 1948.

they did not have a place to live and their daily wages were

Thanks to the unique colonial status, the industries

not enough to afford rent in the existing city. In a visit to the

produced a wide variety of cheap goods directed towards

island in 1934 with her husband, President Franklin Delano

American consumers. These factories settled in San Juan,

Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote down some of the

taking advantage of the cheap labor and a weird geopolitical

appalling conditions factory workers were living under. In a

loophole the island provided, where manufactured goods

diary entry dated March 1934, she said:

wouldn’t have to pay import duty to mainland U.S. In 1952, a new constitution for Puerto Rico was drafted to respond to the pressure from the newly formed UN to end worldwide colonial possessions. The U.S. opted to turn colonial Puerto Rico into a territory instead of assimilating the island or allowing for its independence. The new constitution established the island as a “freely associated state,” which allowed for free democratic elections under the watchful eye of the U.S. The islands new government could self-govern under the watchful eye of the U.S. (The federal government

“I remember going down a street, looking into the houses of factory workers. Most of them consisted of two rooms; the back room had no light, and practically the only light in the front room came through the doorway.

There were no screens and, of course, no plumbing or other modern conveniences.

Many of the women cooked out of doors on little stoves….”36

has oversight over the islands decision). The island’s status

48

reclassification and the subsequent political change helped

The conditions Mrs. Roosevelt saw were so awful

fuel the rapid industrialization of Puerto Rico’s urban centers

that she begged her husband to send labor specialist

and allowed manufacturing outsourcing from mainland US

and industrialists to fix the situation. Recognizing that the

without corporations suffering the penalty of import duty on

island’s poverty was a complex problem the United States

goods. Industrialization provided new hope to the humble

government was far from having solved it satisfactorily.37 This

rural worker who moved into the city, expecting to provide

inequality set the stage for the creation of multiple informal

for his family.35 Unbeknownst to him, the city’s recent growth

communities. The first rural workers to migrate to the city

was largely unplanned, and there was no development to

lived inside their factory grounds or took it upon themselves

house these workers. The wealthy elite of the island mainly

to build their housing on the outskirts of San Juan city.

inhabited the old town of San Juan and the surrounding

They chose to squat wherever there was higher ground.

urban neighborhoods. The new factories were located on

The resulting small wooden huts they built were relatively

49

safe from tidal flooding and allowed them to survive. As the promise of better-paying jobs spread across Puerto Rico’s rural areas, more and more people decided to move into the capital city. The mass migration resulted in a series of slums, which became one of the western hemisphere’s poorest regions. From “Tras Talleres” to “Barrio Obrero,” the arrabales were mostly built atop reclaimed wetlands with whatever discarded materials they could scrounge up.

Most preferred to use corrugated metal sheeting as roofing, and the wood offcuts from manufacturing waste products.

Workers were content with having a small room and a roof to raise their families and protect them from elements.

FIG 16 - Caño Martin Peña

Fanguito and Tokio flooded daily; tidal movements rushed water into the community. The community was at continuous risk; storm surges washed stilt homes constantly, forcing members to rebuild their homes.

FIG 17 - Houses on Mud

The settlements had different types of stilt houses, some were built by individual people, with materials they could find, and local factories made others house workers. The quality of life was low, forcing some residents to wade through the mud and be exposed to constant flooding.

FIG 18 - Boy going into house

Villagers built their homes from waste materials.

Most of the wood was leftovers from the same factories that attracted the residents to the cities.

FIG 19 - Soil Fill

Marshland slowly got filled by the community with soil and trash. The fill elevated the base soil level and reduced tidal flooding in the community.

FIG 20 - Plank Bridges

Calles ‘los puentes’ (the bridges), the residents built a series of plank walkways that allowed for walking between sheds without touching the tidal mudflats.

The resulting shack city sprawled over the mangrove marshes surrounding the “Caño Martín Peña.” The channel FIG 16

is a crucial natural waterway that connects the San Juan Bay Lagoon to the San Jose Lagoon. The settlements first started with a couple of hundred squatter homes but soon ballooned to include tens of thousands of stilt shacks. Its growth pushed people to cut down the mangroves and fill in the shores of the channel, slowly choking the waterway and slowing down water flow. The informal stilt city grew to an estimated population size of approximately 75,000 to 100,000. Its population size was about half of San Juan City’s population and significantly shaped the island’s culture. One of the most memorable of these stilt neighborhoods, which most people in Puerto Rico know about, is a community called “El Fanguito,” The name is an ironic description of its appearance, surrounded by mud lands. It became the victim of economic progress and is one of the first gentrified

FIG 17

50

neighborhoods in Puerto Rico.

51

FIG 19

FIG 18 FIG 20

52

53

38. Meléndez Edwin, and Meléndez Edgardo.

Colonial Dilemma: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Puerto Rico. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1993.

Enfangados, No Derrotados

failed in its efforts. The protests had an impact on changing

The living conditions in most of these informal

governmental policy. The state used rapid industrialization to

communities were considered inhumane. The stilt homes

help implement a new urban renewal strategy with the stated

sprawled

were

goal to improve the quality of life of the poorest. The strategy,

interconnected by elevated planks, a makeshift solution in

named “Operation Bootstrap,” used funds from the federal

dealing with the daily tides. The houses were not connected

housing program to build a series of public housing projects,

to any sewers, which did not matter because homes did not

known in Puerto Rico as ‘caserios,’ to move those living in

host outhouses or toilets. Preferring to ignore this growing

arrabales. This program came with significant resistance

problem, the government did not provide trash collection.

by the community groups leaders; even though the housing

It resulted in trash-ridden marshlands filled with disease-

projects would improve their living conditions, they knew that

infected waters, effectively turned into open-air sewers.

they would be displaced from their homes, barring them from

The community lacked the necessary resources to access

homeownership and making them permanent tenants of the

electricity and could not afford kerosene for cooking or lighting.

government.

over

mosquito-infested

wetland

and

This extreme poverty and poor living conditions persisted and kept growing due to increased internal migration to the urban areas, spurring the growth of the arrabales.

54

Progress? Progress!

“El Fanguito” and its sister neighborhood “Tokio” do

To add insult to injury, the state, in a misinformed

not exist today. During the push for progress, the residents

bid to stop the proliferation of these arrabales, forbade

living in these two communities were broken up, displaced,

any repairs to any structures within these communities.38

and relocated into the government-run housing projects.

The government also organized a vigilante body to force

Many of them did see these new homes as an improvement

squatters into obeying the unjust law. These measures

from the impoverished shack settlements they used to

were not enough to sway settlement, and squatting

live in, while others did not. Some preferred the familiar

increased through accretion into the vital wetland habitat.

kinship they had with members of their community. They

The community self-organized against all odds and created

moved to nearby neighborhoods, specifically around “El

committees to protest the poor living conditions. They had

Caño Martín Peña.” Many of those who continued living

a tight-knit community with an overall sense of fraternal

in the low-lying communities felt that the government and

responsibility. Their protests demanded that the state

the political elite were pushing for housing reforms to gain

provide essential services and invest in urban infrastructure

control of the land where they lived. They knew that the

to help formalize the communities. (This same protest culture

elite saw them as a hindrance to implementing the plans for

has perdured in “El Caño Martín Peña”) Even though the

the island’s development. Instead of letting nature reclaim

government had a policy of eliminating the settlements, it

the marshland, the government used its resources to fill

55

the wetlands and develop the surrounding land. Instead of resettling the people within their community, the government opted to break them up, selling the land to the highest bidder.

Presently that land hosts what’s known as the “Golden Mile,”

En el Fondo del Caño hay un Negrito Dos mujeres, de las afortunadas que vivían en tierra firme, sobre el fango endurecido de las márgenes del caño, comentaban: -Hay que velo. Si me lo bieran contao, biera dicho que era embuste.

-La necesidá, doña. A mí misma, quién me lo biera dicho, que yo diba llegar aquí. Yo que tenía hasta mi tierrita.

-Pues nosotros juimos de los primeros. Casi no bía gente y uno cogía la parte más sequecita, ¿ve? Pero los que llegan ahora, fíjese, tienen que tirarse al agua, como quien dice. Pero, bueno y esa gente, ¿de ónde diantre haberán salío?

-A mí me dijieron que por ai por Isla Verde tan orbanisando y han sacao un montón de negros arrimaos.

A lo mejor son desos.

-¡Bendito!… ¿Y usté se ha fijao en el negrito qué mono?

La mujer vino ayer a ver si yo tenía unas hojitas de algo pa hacele un guarapillo, y yo le di unas poquitas de guanábana que me quedaban.

-¡Ay, Virgen, bendito…!

where all the major banking institutions of the island have their headquarters. The land is some of the most valuable real estate in Puerto Rico.39 The “Golden Mile” is surrounded by these squatter communities that have slowly formalized, building up their wooden stilt houses into concrete homes.

They built roads and connected their homes to sewers and

FIG 21 - Deforested Coast

Workers built their setetlemetns wherever there was available land. The informal communities defforested the Caños edge, removing crucial mangroves. Mangroves provide coastal protection from storm surges. They also supply key ecosystem functions, providing crucial habitats for a multitude of species.

39. Huertas, Evelyn. “Making a Visible Difference in the Communities of Martin Peña Channel.”

Caribbean Environmental Protection Division Multimedia Permits and Compliance Branch. n.d.

40. Davis, Diane E., and José Carlos Fernández.

“Collective Property Rights and Social Citizenship: Recent Trends in Urban Latin America.” Social Policy and Society 19, no. 2 (2019): 319–30. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474746419000459.

41. Alberty, Carlos R., Vivian Auffant, Cardona Sofía, Susana Matos, and Sotomayor Aurea María.

Antología De Textos Literarios. Río Piedras, PR: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2006.

electricity, doing for themselves what the government would not. The pulled themselves by their bootstraps, despite the ironically named “Operation bootstrap.” The grandchildren and the great-grandchildren of those who self-organized during the 1940s still maintain a kinship and the protest spirit. They continue to self-organize for better treatment and social and environmental justice for the community.40 Aqua Vita The Caño Martín Peña is a 3.75-mile-long channel that extends from the San Jose Lagoon towards San Juan Bay. The channel provides a critical function for tidal exchange between the bay and the lagoon. After almost a century of informal settlements, illegal wetland filling, and garbage disposal, the waterway has been severely constricted. It

41

went from a wide navigable waterbody to barely a trickle of water, losing its unique role in providing tidal flushing to the lagoons. This has resulted in an overall degradation of the marine and wetland ecosystems. The water quality has degraded even further thanks to a series of CSOs (combined

56

FIG 21

sewer outfalls) that discharge untreated wastewater. This low

57

42. Projecto ENLACE Caño Martin Peña.

“Comprehensive Development and Land Use Plan for the Caño Martin Peña Special Planning District.”

San Juan: Puerto Rico 43. Jacksonville District, and Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña. Final feasibility report & environmental impact statement for the Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project. US Army Corps of Engineers (2016).

function of the channels’ natural processes has affected the

immediate needs, foof, and paying their bills. The lack of

surrounding eight neighborhoods; there is frequent flooding

formal education exacerbates these problems; nearly half of

into the surrounding low-lying areas. As it presently stands,

the residents that are 25 and older do not have a high school

the channel does not have a healthy watershed capacity. In

degree (47.7%).44

the 1930s, the channel had an average width of 100 meters; currently, it has narrowed in some places to 1 meter.42 This

58

Partnerships

land accretion has choked the waterway, causing standing

The condition has improved thanks to the codifying

water issues. Whenever there is a significant rain event, the

of Law Num. 489 in 2004, which approved the plan for the

community’s homes can expect around 1 foot of disease-

integral development of the special district of El Caño Martín

ridden floodwater. The residents, recognizing the issue, have

Peña.45 The law recognizes that restoring the wetlands to

successfully coordinated in creating a series of non-profits

their pre-urban state without displacing the residents would

that work in dealing with the area’s problems. Their battle has

be impossible. The law moved to approve the grant of private

been very successful, proving an example to be replicated.

deeds to the residents of the communities, provide for the

They have dealt with multiple issues, from assigning long-

modernization of the infrastructure, support alternatives to

term squatters title deeds to providing shelter during rain

the involuntary displacement of families and improvement

events. Their strategies have proven to be an effective model

of the natural ecosystem. In partnership with the U.S. Army

to deal with global housing displacement.43

Corps of Engineers, the solution to flooding is to dredge and

The community has approximately 23,000 inhabitants,

canalize the channel. The law allowed for the creation of novel

representing 5% of the San Juan population. It is also one

land classification; through the “Fideicomiso de la Tierra del

of the central quarters in the island where immigrants from

Caño Martín Peña,” the world’s first community land trust

the Dominican Republic live, representing about 19% of

created shared land ownership for an informal community.

the total population. The Caño communities serve a crucial

The primary purpose of the land trust is to protect the

function in housing the island’s most vulnerable people. One

residents from economic exploitation and protect them from

of the main barriers to progress that the community has

gentrification and eventual displacement. It is the primary

faced is the household income of its residents. More than

tool enabled by a series of essential partnerships. The land

half of the households (53%) have a yearly income lower

trust came thanks to the efforts of grassroots organizing.

the $10,000. Most of the families in El Caño live under the

Multiple community organizations merged and formed the

poverty line (76%). This percentage is worrying when you

G8, which directed their voice to enact political change. The

compare it to San Juan’s higher than average of 37%. This

G8 works very closely with the Proyecto ENLACE del Caño

high concentration of poverty has proven to be a challenge

Martín Peña, is an independent governmental entity funded

when organizing. People are more concerned with their

by government grants. The three organizations work together

FIG 22 - Flooded Homes

Currently, the community still floods whenever there is a significant rain event combined with high tide. Residents have to wade through muddy, sewage-filled water.

FIG 23 - Flood Protections

Many of the homes in the G-8 neighborhoods have been built with CMU blocks, making the homes resistant to wind and being washed away. Residents, through trial and error, have elevated their homes in an effort to increase their individual resiliency.

FIG 24 - Rebuilding and Rehoming

Some people still live in wooden stilt houses, and ENLACE is actively working to improve the living conditions and rehoming many of the residents.

FIG 25 - Collected Trash

Flood water carries trash left on the street, accumulating into chokepoints. The trash creates a public health issue and degrades the health of the ecosystem.

44. “Environmental Justice Study Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project.” San Juan: Estudios Tecnicos Inc, 2002.

45. Ley para el Desarrollo Integral del Distrito de Planificación Especial del Caño Martín Peña, L. No. 489 (24 de septiembre de 2004), Puerto Rico. https://www.lexjuris.com/lexlex/leyes2004/ lexl2004489.htm

59

60

FIG 22

FIG 24

FIG 23

FIG 25

61

FIG 26 - Storm Surge Risk Map High Flood Risk Areas in San Juan, PR Modelled Flood Height

< 1’-00” < 2’-00” < 3’-00” < 4’-00”

62

63

FIG 27 - 100 Year Storm Floods High Risk Flood Areas in San Juan, PR

High Risk Flood Zones Caño Martin Peña Community

64

65

FIG 28 - Poverty Map

High Poverty Areas in San Juan, PR

Medium Poverty <15% High Poverty <20% Extreme Poverty <50%

66

67

to improve the urban infrastructure of the Caño Martín Peña communities.

FIG 29 - Community Land Trust

Collaboration between the Caño Martin Peña stakeholders allow for a distribution of Surface and Structural rights to the communities residents.

46. “El Caño Martín Peña.” El Caño 3.7. Accessed March 1, 2022. http://cano3punto7.org/.

Enlace Proyecto Enlace Caño Martín Peña Corporation is an independent government entity that helps coordinate and implement public policy related to the dredging and channeling of the waterbody. They also ensure the permanence of the

Community Voice Grassroots Organizing

Planning Legal Support Funding

residents in the communities coordinating and implementing their requests. Socioeconomic improvement is also an important stated goal; through the development of the eight surrounding communities, it’s essential that they allow active participation of its residents and their community-based organizations, including a large group of allies, universities, corporations, and multiple government agencies.46

Community Landtrust

Fideicomiso de Tierra The Community Land Trust protects the communities of Caño Martín Peña. The mechanism allows the residents to overcome poverty by managing the public lands formalizing

Subsurface Rights The Community Land Trust holds the subsurface rights of the land in perpetuity

Surface and Structural Rights Residents have the right to their surface property and structure

the settlements. The trust provided residents title deeds to their homes, which allowed them to sell, rent or mortgage legally. The collective ownership of the land is the solution to the historical problem of informality and lack of legal access to their land—this process allowed for private investment into the neighborhoods to improve land value. The community land trust is a visionary mechanism to protect residents from eventual gentrification and potential displacement.

Residents individually own their homes but collectively own the land under the district the G-8 neighborhoods, as

68

FIG 29

established in Law Num 489. Its long-term vision removes

69

47. “Grupo De Las Ocho Comunidades Aledañas Al Caño Martín Peña.” Grupo de las Ocho Comunidades. Accessed March 1, 2022. http:// g8pr.org/.

real-estate speculation, guaranteeing the permanence of

Las Monjas

the community by preventing unfettered market forces from

Located in Hato Rey, close to the banking area, one

displacing the neighbors. Private development is allowed if

of Caño Martín Peña first settlements in the community

the community deems that the proposal positively impacts

date back to 1714. The development was poorly organized.

its members. The lack of property deeds prevented residents

Over the years, the community densified and grew inward,

from accessing loans and construction permits necessary to

limited at its edge by the vigorous growth of the banking

improve their homes. The community land trust allows for

area of Hato Rey. Interior alleys emerged that connected the

self-improvement and a path to dignified housing. Thanks

surrounding houses, and more homes were built in between.

to the collective ownership, if the community deems an

It formed a medieval-style urban fabric. These alleys created

investment as damaging to cohesion, it won’t be allowed.

an alternative layout, which resists documentation, making it very difficult to grant property titles to the occupants of the dwellings and making it very hard to provide essential

G-8

public services. Las Monjas lies next to the Golden Mile and The G-8 is a group comprised of the Eight communities

surrounding the Caño Martín Peña. The group was

is bordered by two main roads, Ponce de Leon Avenue and Quisqueya avenue.

established in 2002 later recognized by Law Num 489 as the entity in charge of all the community-based organizations.

Israel y Bitumul

The G-8 serves as an umbrella organization comprised of

Israel y Bitumul has a unique name; it comes about from

twelve different community non-profits. It enables these

the combination of two things, dubbed Israel thanks to the

organizations to participate actively and effectively in the

Mita Religious community and Bitumul due to the bituminous

decision-making process of the rehabilitation and revitalization

asphalt plant previously there. The neighborhoods lie in the

of the Caño Martín Peña Special Planning District. Its stated

easternmost part of Historic San Juan. It is the largest G8

goal is to assure the physical, socioeconomic, and cultural

community, with the second largest population in the district.

development of the communities that comprise it—promoting effective participation of the residents in implementing the

Barrio Obrero Marina

comprehensive development plan and land use of the special

The neighborhood of Barrio Obrero Marina is found in

Planning district of Caño Martín Peña. The G-8’s role is

a large meander of the Caño Channel, jutting out like a small

crucial in decision-making, actively sharing the community’s

peninsula. This neighbor is named after the nearby US Navy

needs.47

base, the place where the workers of the Navy base moved and lived in—is an offshoot of the nearby Barrio Obrero.

70

Rexach Avenue surrounds the community in the north and

71

the Martín Peña channel towards the south. Its easternmost limit is Street No.15, and its westernmost limit is Ponce de

FIG 30 - Caño Martin Peña Neighborhoods The G-8 communities are composed of 8 distinct neighborhoods that sorround the waterway.

Leon Avenue.

Buena Vista Hato Rey Buena Vista is to the south of the Martín Peña Channel.

Its southern limits are Quisqueya Avenue, its eastern limits are Barbosa Avenue, and the western limits are Pachin Marin Street. Historical records of aerial photographs from 1936 show some early settlements around the water banks, but by 1950 the community had already been developed.

Parada 27 Parada 27 is the oldest community of the G8. Many residents obtained land deeds through the now-defunct CRUV (Comite de Renovacion Urbana y Vivienda). Urban renewal was accompanied new infrastructure including roads and sewers. The community is bounded to the north and east by the Martín Peña Channel, to the south by Prudencio Rivera Martínez Street, and to the west by Ponce de Leon Avenue. (At the Ponce de Leon Avenue intersection and the historic Martín Peña Bridge.) The neighborhood is one of the most interconnected neighborhoods to the Banking District, public transportation, and cultural centers. Existing residents have been able to continue living in their homes, thanks to the protections afforded by the Community Land Trust.

Barrio Obrero – San Ciprián Despite being considered part of Barrio Obrero, Barrio Obrero-San Ciprián has a different origin; it arose 72

FIG 30

from the parceling out of private farms and the squatting of

73

families displaced by the San Ciprián hurricane of 1932. The

the residents to extract stones.

easternmost part of the community was developed through a more formal plan, and is better connected to the rest of the

Channeled

urban infrastructure systems. The community is bounded

The Enlace Caño Martín Peña Project has successfully

to the North by Borinquen Avenue, to its south by Rexach

achieved most of its stated goals.48 For the past 20 years,

Avenue, to the east by the same Borinquen Avenue, and to

the residents have improved critical infrastructure all over

the west by Cortijo Street.

the G-8 neighborhoods. By sticking to the comprehensive

48. Jose, Bernagros, Evelyn Huertas, Kara Pennino, Amelia Funk, Lyvia Rodriguez, Estrella Santiago Perez, Carlos Clausell, Carlos Muñiz Perez, and Fabiola Robles, Smart Growth Implementation Assistance for Caño Martín Peña § (2018).

49. Bernagros, J., W. Michaels, AND C. Muñiz Pérez. Developing Green Infrastructure Typologies: Community Planning for a Resilient Caño Martin Peña (San Juan, Puerto Rico). WEFTEC 2018, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 02, 2018

development and land use plan, they have used creative Buena Vista Santurce

interventions to leverage their community improvements.

The Buena Vista Santurce neighborhood developed

Most of these significant interventions are often overlooked but

through squatting settlements by hundreds of families

serve a crucial function. One of the most impactful changes

that emigrated from the countryside. They were searching

was relocating essential transportation infrastructure by

for better living conditions, occupying the marshlands

rebuilding the Barbosa Bridge, improving its road access.

surrounded by mangroves. The community is bounded to

Some other of the organization’s projects include rehabilitation

the north by Rexach Avenue, to the south by the Caño Martín

of the San Jose sewer trunk that connects to San Juan;

Peña, to the east by Calle Num.16, and to the west by Avenida

rebuilding water transmission lines, the construction of new

Barbosa. The neighborhood lacks urban infrastructure such

high voltage power transmission lines; and improving the

as a functioning sewer system.

road infrastructure. The latter also integrates stormwater infrastructure to reduce urban flooding.49

Cantera

74

The road improvements are connected to pump

Cantera, before being settled, at the beginning

stations, rain gardens, and stormwater culverts. ENLACE

of the 20th century, the Cantera Peninsula was known as

has implemented these improvements with the consent and

Seboruco Farm. Its lands were dotted with mogotes and

participation of the G-8 neighborhoods. Most of the challenges

were surrounded by Los Corozos Lagoon, San Jose Lagoon,

have come from allocating space for the construction of these

and the Caño Martín Peña. The economic transformation

projects. The organization has carefully coordinated the

that marked the beginning of the century produced a large

relocation of the families within their communities, through

population displacement from rural areas to San Juan. The

a complex ballet of rehabilitating the existing stock of homes

first people arriving at the peninsula were attracted by the

or building new homes—all the while clearing space for the

jobs offered by the nearby “Las Casas” Military Camp, used

new infrastructure. The comprehensive development plan

throughout the First World War. Its namesake comes from

also recognizes that there is not enough space to maintain

the quarry operated by the Rexach Family, who employed

single-family housing in some areas, and thus most of the

75

new construction implements higher density. The rehousing of the people doesn’t always go as smoothly as expected.

The residents have deep ties to their self-built homes. Many have lived in their homes for decades, or the homes have been in the family for multiple generations. Relocation causes some friction for the residents to move into a denser neighborhood. ENLACE reduces this by having active community education, teaching the benefits of an improved community and improved canal health.

The stakeholder’s primary fight has been for the canalization of the Caño Martín Peña. If the channel were canalized, it would restore the waterbody’s natural tidal exchange. It would also reduce flooding incidence in

FIG 31 - Aerial View of the Caño Martin Peña

The aerial photo was taken sometime during the 1930s; it shows some development in the north and southwest of the waterway. The Caño Martin Peña is still navigable and hasn’t been encroached by the settlements.

FIG 32 - Satelite View of the Caño Martin Peña

The aerial photo shows the current development around the waterway. The mangrove ecosystem has severely deteriorated—the natural tidal flow between the San Juan Bay and the San Jose Lagoon.

50. METRO Staff. “Aprueban Más De 150 Millones De Dólares Para Dragado Del Caño Martín Peña.”

Metro Puerto Rico, January 20, 2022. https://www. metro.pr/pr/noticias/2022/01/19/aprueban-masde-150-millones-de-dolares-para-dragado-delcano-martin-pena.html.

51. Battelle Memorial Institute. “Final Independent External Peer Review Report Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2013. https://www. saj.usace.army.mil/Portals/44/docs/Planning/ PeerReviewReports/CanoMartinPena12Dec2013. pdf.

the surrounding communities, with the added benefit of FIG 31

providing space for ecosystems. ENLACE has lobbied the federal government for canal funding, applying through Section 5157 of the Water Resource Development Act. Their request was approved in 2007. Congress authorized $150 million. The grant was subject to the approval of a feasibility study that considered the ecosystem impact.50 As with all bureaucratic processes, cutting through red tape took almost ten years. By 2016 the feasibility study concluded that the canalization would have a positive impact on the health of the canal and would eliminate flooding. The ENLACE Caño Martín Peña Project obtained final approval from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.51 Later that year, ENLACE reached a design agreement, and the engineering stage began. An allocated $4.7 million allowed for an expedited design process. On January 20, 2022, President Biden

FIG 32

76

approved the release of the funds. This pioneering project is recognized as a successful community led organization

77

to produce physical results. The dredging would displace some of the residents that still live within the proposed path

2. San Antonio Asis Plaza

of the new dredged canal. The organization is facing the

The site is currently dedicated to single-family

challenge of rehousing the existing residents that are going

housing. The plan proposes creating a plaza that

to be displaced by the large public works.

provides public space and stormwater management infrastructure. The site is on a low point in the

Community Master Plan The community master plan developed by ENLACE has received assistance from the U.S Environmental

community, providing the opportunity of building water pumps and rain gardens. It also would allow for a gathering space for the community.

Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA funded a design team that collaborated with ENLACE, Fideicomiso, and the G-8.

3. Residencial Urban Plaza Buena Vista Santurce

They produced a conceptual design for six different sites

and Buena Vista Santurce Wáter Plaza

around the G-8 communities, with each site having different

The community has expressed the desire to

types of open spaces. The design includes parks, plazas,

move a basketball court to the two sites. The public

trails, and docks integrated into green infrastructure.

space would provide the opportunity for stormwater

The flood infrastructure is integrated with nature, helping

runoff collection and water quality improvement. Its

design elements that mimic nature by slowing and filtering

proximity to the water body would allow community

stormwater before reaching the conventional storm drainage

access to the Caño Martín Peña.

system or a body of water. The seven different project sites have different focuses, and they are:

4. Paseo del Caño Norte The current street has an undefined geometry,

1. Albert Einstein High School and Haydee Rexach

no pedestrian sidewalks, and gets narrower to the

Elementary School

end. The plan proposes a new road parallel to the

The school contains ample amounts space

Caño Martín Peña to connect the ends of a series

in the dense community. Its size allows for a natural

of roads. The road would also become a hard edge,

water catchment area, and thus some of the proposed

controlling community growth, and protecting the

improvements include improving the catchment. The

mangroves from encroachment.

plan proposes pump stations, sidewalks, canals, infiltration areas, and courtyards. The courtyard will

78

5. Israel-Bitumul Gateway Water Plaza

have multiple functions; the children can use the

The site is located on the northern edge of

courtyard as a basketball court or a gathering space.

the Israel-Bitumul neighborhood. The proposed plaza

79

FIG 33 Flood Infrastructure

The community development plan provides for the construction of different stormwater infrastructure and bioclimatic infrastructure.

would include stormwater, sanitary infrastructure, and a new road named “Paseo del Caño Sur” The Gateway water plaza would also serve as a connection point

Rain Water

to the banks of the Caño Martín Peña. The project would require the demolishing of existing structures and relocation of the families. The plaza is envisioned

Flood Event

Flood Event

as a stopping point along the San Juan Bay estuary and the San Jose Lagoon.

6. Mangrove Restoration / Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project Area Specific information for the site is hard to come by. ENLACE and the community have expressed the

Green Flood Infrastructure They are built to manage stormwater and protect urban areas. The infrastructure elements can be woven into the healthy functioning of a community—providing cleaner air and water and flood protection, diverse habitat, and green spaces.

Multi-Use Public Space Community desired amenities can allow for flood protection tailored to respond to disaster events and provide the space for alternate uses.

Public spaces can host different programs such as parks, theaters, or sports courts—all the while serving as a stormwater infrastructure.

Rain Gardens A landscape depression collects rainwater and allows for absorption into the ground. It is used to reduce water runoff and provide a healthy ecosystem. The gardens are planted with water-resistant grasses and flowers.

intention of designating the land for an ecosystem restoration project, which would allow for a green edge of mangroves to grow. Some of the other suggestions discuss building a large baseball field. The field would serve as a catchment basin for floodwater.

Rain Water

PhytoRemediation The phytoremediation process is used clean water and soil. Plants extract and remove pollutants by lowering the bioavailability of contaminants in the ground. They remove the pollutants through their roots system. The plant is later harvested and discarded.

80

FIG 33

Rain Water

Stormwater Retention Pond Captures and retains stormwater runoff. The retention ponds control the quantity and quality of rainwater, removing pollutants and providing a space for natural vegetation to grow. It passively processes water, controlling discharge into surrounding water bodies.

Rain Water

Bioclimatic Infrastructure It provides an alternative to designing public infrastructure, focusing on improving thermal comfort and improving public green spaces.

Combining uses can create healthy public spaces that remove pollutants, increase biodiversity, and efficiently use energy.

81

04 A New Housing Policy

Imagine if the world’s cities could provide all its citizens with high quality and affordable housing. The housing crisis

FIG 34 - Karl Marx Hof Housing

Opening day (1930s) for the Karl Marx Hof Housing Complex in Vienna, Austria. One of vienna largest public housing estates.

is a crucial component that many cities must address; it is difficult to solve without the added pressure that climate change will bring forth. City governments will have to deal with planning infrastructure that deals with the effects of climate change, from major storms to flooding and an increase in wildfires while shoring up social infrastructure to provide equitable access to health providers, food security, and education for all. Even with the projected growth rate in today’s urban megaregions, most cities do not have plans and contingencies for a surge of populations from refugees.

The cause of large refugee populations includes food scarcity, war, or extreme weather events. Refugees could be from other countries on the other side of the world or come from within their state. This displacement has happened and continues to happen; the world saw this in 2004 when human-built infrastructure failed in New Orleans or 2011 with the Syrian refugee crisis. These problems are not a local issue but a global issue, and any actions to deal with them cannot be half measures but must be met with solutions proportional to the scale of the challenge.

How can the G-8 communities around the Caño Martín Peña find a different solution to their housing challenge? Most of the properties are single-family homes with low floor level 82

FIG 34

83

52. Sheridan, Erin. “Puerto Rico Is Slowly Eliminating Public Housing.” People Live Here, September 13, 2020. https://peoplelivehere. press/2019/10/07/las-gladiolas-vive/.

density. They need to build homes to house their relocated

(SDAPÖ) started implementing these reforms to improve

residents. This could be an unpopular policy that, if not

the proletariat’s working and living conditions, successfully

implemented correctly, will become even more unpopular.

standardizing the eight-hour workday, paid vacations, labor

The community has a negative view of public housing

chambers, and rent control. This process was not an easy

projects based on the proximity of a Pruit-Igoe type housing

one, facing resistance inside and outside of the country.

project. Las Gladiolas was a housing tower complex that had

In apparent defiance of right-wing forces inside of

low maintenance and a high crime rate. The physical towers

Austria, the Viennese city council was able to pay for its

were demolished in 2011, but their legacy still exists.52 The

social reform through a wealth redistribution program. The

G-8 communities can explore alternate solutions. These

broad tax-based program, named the Breitner Tax, enabled

same solutions can be used in the global south to improve

the city to excise luxury goods such as cars (which at the

density and create a path for individual homeownership. The

time was a luxury), luxury consumer goods, horse racing,

standard solutions employed in the Americas have not always

and servants. The Viennese also approached their financial

worked, and thus exploring alternatives and seeing what

shortfalls through a progressive housing tax, on high priced

works and what doesn’t is important. The G-8 communities

villas, mansions, and private homes.53 The tax mostly ignored

have proved that a community land trust model has been a

worker housing in the city. The other frontier-breaking

good solution in preserving the community and protecting the

reform they established was a broad stimulus program to

residents from market forces. If adapted, solutions in other

improve private investment in the city’s infrastructure and

parts of the globe can work effectively in local communities.

job sector. The “unit family” also majorly benefited from

53. Wagenaar, Hendrik, and Florian Wenninger.

“Deliberative policy analysis, interconnectedness, and institutional design: lessons from “Red Vienna”.” Policy Studies 41, no. 4 (2020): 411-437.

54. Lafleur, Ingrun. “Adelheid Popp and WorkingClass Feminism in Austria.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies (1975).

these stimulus programs. The feminist movement (after Red Vienna

84

gaining the right to vote) transitioned their efforts into

Red Vienna is the name of the labor movement that

requalifying homemaking as actual work. The women raised

occurred in the 1920s that changed the face of the Austrian

awareness of the larger burden of work they underwent,

metropolis. It is a reference point for progressive urban renewal,

describing it as a triple burden.54 Women were tasked with

urban planning, and state administration of any publicly run

wage labor, housekeeping, and child rearing. The efforts

housing program. The movement implemented sweeping

reached the city council. They designated nursing, medical

social changes that included health care, education, culture,

care, education, and child-rearing as “care-work”, built the

housing, and labor reforms—coming about to respond to

necessary infrastructure, and allocated significant resources

post-war Europe’s struggles and the collapse of the Austro-

to this sector. The city also pushed extensive pedagogical

Hungarian empire. The new democracy extended the vote to

reforms and increased opportunities for higher learning. The

all, men, and women, following the significant strides of the

built housing had an extensive educational programming

suffragette movement. The Social Democratic Workers Party

component that provided access to libraries and schooling.

85

Urban renewal did not stop at infrastructure and education; the movement also built a substantial network of cultural landmarks that can still be seen today throughout the city.

These achievements are impressive, even more so as the movement lasted until 1934 (16 years). Its most prominent achievement was the fast development of highquality social housing. At the time Vienna was the fifth largest global city and was growing rapidly in large part thanks to its large industrial sector. The great demand for workers made the city attractive to migrants who came to Vienna to improve their livelihood from different parts of Europe. At the beginning of the 1920s, the growth strained the existing

FIG 35 - Illegal Settlements in Vienna

By 1921, more than 30,000 families lived in illegal settlements outside the City. Most of the Viennese settlers were going through the same socioeconomic displacements at the same time that the rural Campesinos in San Juan were migrating to the outskirts of San Juan, PR.

FIG 36 - Shared Labor

The Viennese labor movement worked in the fields and factories while coordinating the construction of housing for the illegal settlers. The city officials help subsidize the construction of large housing projects, called red fortresses, reducing the number of illegal settlements.

55. Maderthaner, Wolfgang, and Lutz Musner.

“Outcast Vienna 1900: the politics of transgression.”

International Labor and Working-Class History 64 (2003).

56. Thompson, Longstreth. “Housing and Land Settlement In Vienna: Illustrated.” The Town Planning Review 9, no. 4 (1922).

57. Sudaş, İlknur. “An inquiry on bourgeois conception of social housing program for workingclass: Karl Marx Hof in Vienna.” Master’s thesis, Middle East Technical University, 2011.

housing stock, comprised of large tenement blocks.55 These aging tenements were described as overcrowded and FIG 35

disease-filled; some workers could only afford to rent a bed in the same factory they worked at. The city council pushed to decommodify the housing stock. Faced with what seemed an insurmountable problem, the city started to organize its power, establishing emergency housing by expropriating vacant buildings, opposing real estate speculation, and buying all available land and property. From 1918 to 1924, the city government grew into the largest property owner inside its boundaries. At the beginning of the decade, it owned 17% of the total urban area. At the end of the 1920s, the city doubled its land holdings to 34%.56 In a single year, the city built more than sixty thousand new high-quality apartments.

The same housing program served as a jobs program, where they hired out-of-work veterans and “destitute” individuals to build the buildings on the land.57 The same program allowed

FIG 36

86

for the workers to make other people’s homes as well as their own.

87

58. Colloti, Francesco, and Enzo Colloti. “Collective Housing and the Socialist City, the Key-Case of the Karl-Marx-Hof in Vienna.” Firenze Architettura, January 2016, 62–67.

59. Sieder, Reinhard. “Housing Policy, Social Welfare, and Family Life in ‘Red Vienna’, 1919-34.”

Oral History 13, no. 2 (1985): 35–48. http://www. jstor.org/stable/40178867.

60. Vienna Direct. “The Karl Marx-Hof.” The Karl Marx-Hof, Vienna. Accessed January 11, 2022. https://www.viennadirect.com/sights/marx.php.

88

Gemeindebauten

today’s standard. Generally, they had only one bedroom,

The most iconic building of the Red Vienna movement

running water, a toilet, and a closet. Some of them had a

was the “Karl-Marx-Hof’ apartment complex or the

kitchen, while other buildings sported a more collective

“Gemeindebauten.” One of the most striking aspects of the

approach to cooking. The community divided its cooking

building is its size, measuring at 1,100 meters; its largeness

among its homemakers, and meals were a communal activity.

requires four tram stops. It currently is one of the largest

The women would also partake in schooling and the running

residential buildings in the world. Its designer was Karl Ehn,

of cooperatives. The architects that designed them (such as

a student of the renowned Otto Wagner. The building hosts

Karl Ehn) tried to integrate the community’s needs.61

1300 apartments, laundries, kindergartens, pools, stores,

With the subsidies provided by the local government,

a health clinic, pharmacies, a post office, and a large park

families could afford better welfare and improve their quality

in its center. The elite criticized its construction, as it was

of life. The newly constructed housing stock provided an

built in an affluent area of Vienna. It gained the nickname of

ever-larger relief in rent. The average worker had to pay only

the “Ring Road of the Proletariat.” The building was greatly

3-4% of their income. The lowering of total income spent

critiqued; rumors circulated that it was structurally unsound

on rent was achieved because the city’s construction costs

or contained arms depots for the communists.58 In reality, the

were seen as a systematic deficiency and only charged the

largeness of the “Karl-Marx-Hof” and others was in response

tenant the maintenance and operation cost. In addition, if

to the need to quickly provide dignified housing to more

the worker fell ill and could not work, the rent payments were

than 250,000 workers. The size garnered them the name

stopped so tenants would not get evicted.

of “red fortresses.”59 The Viennese were one of the first to

The political movement serves today as a physical

implement mixed-use building typologies successfully. The

monument to what is achievable when the labor and

massive, monumental buildings were a quick stopgap for the

housing movement coalesce into forming a strong political

housing crisis. They were cheap and fast to build and at the

force; it opens a window that allows for the combating of

same time provided a dignified home to the residents.60

gentrification and lack of affordable housing. This far-

The city council and its planners were clever; they

reaching and transformative idea materialized into a physical

densified their core urban spaces, allowing for apartments

reality. Its lessons can be applied today when planning urban

in needed districts. The “Red Fortresses” provide high-

renewal. How would a contemporary “Red Vienna” be done

quality inner courtyards, bringing a necessary green respite

in one of the globe’s rapidly growing but disaster-prone

to the polluted industrial city. These courtyards served as

cities? Can something similar be implemented today without

gathering spaces for the communities that lived in them. The

solid political backing and substantial financing? One of the

housing complexes tested new design ideas. The individual

critical lessons of the movement that is applicable today was

apartments would be considered undersized for a family by

that the workers organized and built their housing. It was

61. Karl Marx-Hof & Red Vienna. Vimeo, 2012. https://vimeo.com/35278999.

89

a community-driven effort that also considered the design needs of the community.

The burgeoning country was able to develop, thanks to large loans provided by the economic council of the League of Nations. The League gave the loans with strict stipulations, which later proved to be a payment hardship to the Austrian government.62 The League sent financial representatives to implement a restructuring program to dismantle the new social welfare policies, targeting the social infrastructure, public jobs and eliminating workers’ rights. At

FIG 37 - Aerial View of the Karl Marx Hof Housing Complex

The Karl Marx Hof housing project was the city’s most prominent “red fortress.” The speed with which the building was built is impressive, considering the use of shared labor. The builders constructed their housing and others in the community.

FIG 38 - Red Fortress

Currently, the complex is popular. Even though the apartments are dated, the residents still appreciate the access to public transportation, schools, and libraries.

62. Flores, Juan-Huitzi, and Yann Decorzant. Public borrowing in harsh times: The League of Nations loans revisited. No. wp12-07. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola, 2012.

63. Duma, Veronika, Hanna Lichtenberger, Michael Hudson, Jeremy Corbyn, Meagan Day, Michael Stipe, Vivek Chibber, et al. “Remembering Red Vienna.” Jacobin, October 2, 2017. https://www. jacobinmag.com/2017/02/red-vienna-austriahousing-urban-planning/.

the time, the labor movement was coerced into providing economic justifications for their reforms. The conservative central government and the right-wing media made very similar arguments to the conservative press today.63 FIG 37

“The crisis! Businesspeople demand tax breaks, factory owners call for eliminating “social burdens.”. . . But is not the crisis felt . . . first and foremost by those about whom no one speaks — by the workers, employees, and civil servants? Now more than ever!

Because it is their wages they want to cut, their welfare costs, it is they who are to pay more taxes, so that direct taxation can be done away with . . . In times of crisis, everyone is supposedly protected, only working people, and particularly women and the youth, are still forced to pay.”

FIG 38

90

The Red Vienna movement was not looked at positively by the larger Austrian federal government. The

91

64. Lewis, Jill. “Conservatives and fascists in Austria, 1918-34.” In Fascists &amp; Conservatives Europ, pp. 104-123. Routledge, 2012.

65. Kurnik, Gloria, Leila Hussain, and Neville Gillet. “Vienna’s Radical Idea? Affordable Housing For All.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, September 17, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/ videos/2021-09-17/vienna - s -radical-idea affordable-housing-for-all-video.

conservative government took a contrarian view of the

for innovation in economic practices, cultural landmarks,

Keynesian economic policies that the municipality of Vienna

and diversity.66 The development accommodates different

was implementing; the city council also started losing its

lifestyles. The multiphase development is providing jobs and

power when the city was federalized. The program’s success

homes for more than 50,000 new citizens. Aspern Steestadt

was short-lived, but not because of its lack of popularity

is designed to be significantly integrated into the city’s overall

by the citizens of Vienna. The program ended because of

transit network, of metro lines, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian

budgets cuts implemented through the conjoined efforts

paths. Over 70% of the apartments built will be dedicated

of the Austrian government and League of Nations. The Austrofascist government removed the cities administration and appointed commissions to reform the progressive tax system. The government also coordinated military attacks towards the city’s labor movement. The death knell to the labor reforms culminated with an invasion by the German army in 1938.64 Continued Efforts After the Second World War, the social reforms’ success was not forgotten, specifically the city’s strategies to deal with housing shortfalls. The city government continued to direct funds towards providing quality affordable housing.

Today, the Austrian capital continually tops the charts as one of the most affordable places to live. It is one of the urban regions with better quality of life for its citizens. The government has improved on what it has learned throughout the decades since its communist urban renewal movement.

Vienna has continued to grow and has created significant incentives for builders. Aspern Steestadt, one of Europe’s largest urban projects and a core urban center for Vienna, is one of these developments.65 Its success has been attributed to its design. Conceptualized, designed, and built as a smart city, looking towards the future. Its core 92

values are focused on high-quality architecture, a push

66. Rainer, Clemens, and Ina Homeier. “Smart City Guidelines for Urban Quarters - Case Study Seestadt aspern Vienna.” In REAL CORP 2016 - SMART ME UP! How to become and how to stay a Smart City, and does this improve quality of life? Proceedings of 21st International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society , pp.

959-963. CORP - Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning, 2016.

67. Kalugina, Anastasia. “Affordable housing policies: An overview.” (2016).

exclusively towards of affordable housing.67 The apartments were developed in conjunction with community participation; the city’s stated goal is to have a relatable streetscape for pedestrians by employing the same scale relationship of buildings present in the old town.

The movement of community participation in the development of housing or “self-developed multi-family housing” has roots in the squatter movements of the 1970s (which were triggered by housing shortages). The squatter manifestations occurred in major European cities, like Berlin, where the district of Kreuzberg saw squatters create a microgovernment that established programs from people’s kitchens to print publications. The squatter movement selforganized protests the police efforts to evict squatters from living in abandoned buildings. At the same time, London had Tolmers Square in Somers, where hundreds of settlers moved into towers square to protest the demolition of the abandoned terraced housing complex.

The squatter movements that advocated for tenants’ rights have deep roots in Vienna, contributing to the building design process in Vienna. The city housing department has cooperative housing. They design tailor-made apartments for the tenants, considering the size of the family, age, activities, and the type of work. They even think of the potential of having extended family living in the building. (The building

93

programming is also influenced by the reality of extended family living in the apartment, considering the individual’s lifestyle.)68 Most impressive of all is the city government subsidizes the entire process. The intent is to provide housing to all, no matter the family size or the income. The facilities even include communal kitchens, coworking spaces, and schools. The robust social program has positively created and improved community relations, breathing life into the new neighborhoods.

The city’s population is still growing, while not at the same rate as during the 1920s. New housing is continuously built throughout its districts. The city adds 7000 units of affordable housing units to the housing stock each year.

Such proactive measures have resulted in over 60% of FIG 39

FIG 39 - Aspern Neighborhood

Steedstadt

The Viennese housing department redeveloped an old airport into the new Aspern Steedstadt community with their core housing tenets in mind.

Developers receive low-interest loans from the city and cheap long-term leases on the land. In turn, they provide social housing to the town.

FIG 40 - High-Quality Architecture

Much of Vienna’s social and public housing must be considered high-quality architecture. The buildings host diverse social programming that allows residents to partake in community building. The facilities can host communal kitchens, coworking spaces, libraries, daycare centers, and community gardens.

68. Mara, Verlic. “The Ideal City: between Myth and Reality.” In RC21 2015 . Carlo Bo, IT: Urbino, 2015. http://www.rc21.org/en/conferences/urbino2015/.

69. Blumgart, Jake. “Red Vienna: How Austria’s Capital Earned Its Place in Housing History.” City Monitor, July 29, 2021. https://citymonitor.ai/ housing/residential-construction/red-vienna-howaustrias-capital-earned-its-place-in-housinghistory.

70. Montgomery, Roger. “Pruitt-Igoe: policy failure or societal symptom.” The Metropolitan Midwest: Policy problems and prospects for change (1985): 229-243.

the Viennese population living in government-provided housing.69 The success of the program has been emulated in other countries with varying degrees of success. In the United States, public housing traditionally has been viewed as low-quality homes that carries the social stigma that only poor people or criminals live there. In some large cities in the U.S. such as N.Y.C the affordable housing units must be integrated into all major development through a publicprivate investment strategy. Why has Vienna succeeded, and most other cities have failed?

Many case studies have clarified the reasons for the so-call failure of housing projects through the USA, buildings such as the “Pruit-Igoe apartment projects.70 The government maintained and enforced strict measurements of what type of person could live in the building. At the time, when the projects where built, the St Louis housing department’s established stringent moralistic rules for those living in the

FIG 40 94

complex. They targeted the low-income households, much to

95

73.The Pruitt-Igoe Myth . Directed by Chad Freidrichs. Unicorn Stencil, 2011. Accessed March 18, 2022 74. Brey, Jared. “What Is the Faircloth Amendment?”

Next City, February 9, 2021. https://nextcity.org/ urbanist-news/what-is-the-faircloth-amendment.

75. Blau, Eve. “Re-Visiting Red Vienna: as an Urban Project.” Austrian Embassy, 2017.

96

the detriment of family cohesion. Families living in the towers

profit with construction.76 The program has a three-pronged

could not have an adult male living with his children and wife

strategy. The first one contributes mainly to the economic

(because he supposedly could economically provide for his

success of the corporations; the government assumes most

family). The household also had to have an income under a

of the risk in acquiring land. They do this to lower the barrier

certain poverty level. This would force families to move out or

of entry for developers. Depending on the project, the city

continue living in poverty. These policies have been updated

sells or leases the land to housing nonprofits at a low price.

but the repercussions of breaking social cohesion persist.73

The second strategy includes strong loan subsidies for

The towers had other significant problems. The

housing construction. The subsidies incentivize corporations

building stock was of poor quality. Most of the buildings were

to build social housing instead of market-rate housing. Its

built by the lowest bidders, resulting in cheap, poor-quality

third strategy is to target rent. If a tenant cannot afford the

structures with no heating or insulation, located far from

government’s low rates, individual subsidies are disbursed to

job centers, and suffered from inadequate maintenance.

specific tenants. The program is not limited to a low-income

Suppose municipalities wanted to improve the quality of

basis. It is targeted varying income households. One of the

their affordable housing stock and grow their public offer.69

main benefits is that as individuals age and their income

In that case, The Faircloth amendment caps the number of

increases, the social housing program does not push out the

public housing units owned, assisted, or operated by any

tenants. This keeps communities together, improving social

public housing agency in the United States to the level it was

cohesion.

on October 1, 1999.74 Municipalities need to sell or demolish

Vienna’s robust social housing system has made the

existing buildings to build new ones. Vienna in the 1990s took

city a resilient city. The city has created a strong safety net

the opposite position to what was happening in the states.

for the members of its society. They have improved their

They started to decommodify their housing.75 It refreshed

housing stock by providing layers of “resiliency” to their

the old housing model and provided financial incentives to

own residents. They are improving their quality of life. The

developers. This spurred the creation of new Public and

housing designs that are submitted to their housing authority

Social Housing.

are judged on the economics, affordability, environmental

There is a difference between the two. Social housing

performance, social mix, and architectural quality of the

is adjusted to a percentage of the household’s income,

building proposal. They have pushed for their buildings to

meant for middle-class residents. Public housing is for those

have a good demographic mix of their tenants. Where multiple

living under poverty, where the program covers most of the

generations live and cooperate. The housing program

households rent. Both housing types are highly subsidized

results in improved community cohesion and strong social. It

by the government. The Vienna housing model has been

is a very successful housing model that many countries are

very successful in the private and public sectors. The public

starting to emulate.

gets affordable quality housing, while developers make a

76. Kadi, Justin. “Recommodifying Housing in Formerly ‘Red’ Vienna?” Housing, Theory and Society 32, no. 3 (2015): 247–65. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/14036096.2015.1024885.

97

These frameworks of the Viennese housing program can be translated to the G-8 communities. The large geographic separation between Vienna and San Juan is not an obstacle. They do have different peoples, cultures, geographic conditions, and governments. They also share similar experiences. The efforts of the “Red Vienna” communist movements, fighting for the rights of individuals, can be directly compared with the struggles of the communities in El Caño Martín Peña. They both organized and fought for the

FIG 41 - Walkable Neighborhoods

Aspern Steedstadt integrates an age-old proven strategy of providing good pedestrian paths. The scale of the buildings and the size of the urban blocks incentivize walking. The neighborhoods are also integrated into robust public transportation systems. The width of sidewalks and the urban infrastructure is designed with the pedestrian in mind. Most sidewalks integrate street trees, safe crosswalks, and bike paths. The roads are built to force slower traffic and safe walking.

FIG 42 - Public Amenities

One of the main selling points for the residents is the availability of public amenities. Aspern Steedstadt includes an artificial lake with sandy beaches, where citizens go to sunbathe and swim.

This social infrastructure allows for the improved mental health of Viennese.

rights of everyone in their general society. They both work towards the overall benefit of their society. They both worked towards improving their infrastructure. They both provide affordable housing to their members. They have more similarities than differences. How can ENLACE replicate a similar model? Vienna can build affordable housing thanks to FIG 41

a robust program and an ample city budget that was fueled by growth in industry in the 1920s.

The G-8 does not have a comparable budget, being mostly volunteer-run, but they do have an efficient organization that has proved to be very effective in sourcing federal funds and state funds and leveraging them for their existing programs. The Fideicomiso and ENLACE operate as quasi-governmental organizations; they do the infrastructure planning, they provide housing, and they provide multiple programs that serve as a social safety net. ENLACE can build high-quality, affordable housing that is attractive to members of the community. If they adopt a similar program, it will allow many residents to be lifted out of extreme poverty. The high cost of building and management can be offset if alternate design considerations are used. Such as participatory housing. The Vienna housing program has lessons that should be used. To provide safe living, good social cohesion,

FIG 42 98

and new opportunities to residents.

99

05 Participatory Housing

Building dense, high-quality housing can prove to be a challenge to the communities of El Caño Martín Peña. The constant struggle for ENLACE has been in raising enough

FIG 43 - Villa Verde

Villa Verde is one of over 17 participatory housing projects designed by Elemental. It has proven to be a successful concept for governments in Latin America

funding for the required infrastructure improvements. That has proven a hard step to overcome still; there are alternative models of construction that allow for higher quality housing at a fraction of the total cost. One of the considerable challenges most cities face in responding to the effects of climate change on the availability of housing is not one of ideology but of resources. Housing is a recognized human right; the UN defines it as a basic need and uses it as an indicator to track standards of living. When Vienna was decommodifying its housing stocks, the investment world saw housing as a valuable commodity, a commodity that is but a dream, 48% of the urban population in developing countries. The reality is that most countries worldwide are struggling to direct resources towards housing their lowincome citizens. Especially because of these struggles, Latin America has been able to urbanize rapidly but has lagged in providing affordable housing.

The process has positive effects but produces significant economic inequalities. The housing policies in the continent are failing to address the increasing housing pressures. It is estimated that 20% percent of the population is living in poor quality - informal housing. Most countries 100

FIG 43

101

77. Dedekargınoğlu, Emre. “An Alternative Approach for the Low-Income Housing Projects in Turkey: The Example of Quinta Monroy, Chile.” In ARCH2016.

Hacettepe, TK: Research Gate, 2016.

don’t shy away from the problem, employing innovative and

community has hands-on knowledge working with wood,

experimental urban strategies to use their available resources

and it’s an accessible material to come by. Residents could

efficiently.77

use it to build out their homes. The result is a space where

One of the most memorable proposals that use

residents can express their unique sensibilities. Aravena

participatory community design is “La Quinta Monroy,”

describes this process as “Incremental Housing.”78 The firm

designed by Pritzker-winning Architect Alejandro Aravena

has consequently gone on to design 17 similar affordable

and his firm ELEMENTAL. The innovative solution that

housing complexes around Latin America.

78. Carrasco, Sandra, and David O’Brien. “Beyond the Freedom to Build: Long-Term Outcomes of Elemental’s Incremental Housing in Quinta Monroy.” urbe. Revista Brasileira de Gestão Urbana 13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-3369.013. e20200001. .

79. Lizarralde, Gonzalo. The Invisible Houses: Rethinking and Designing Low-cost Housing in Developing Countries. United States: Taylor & Francis,2014.

80. Segovia, Yessenia Millones. “La otra mitad de la Quinta Monroy.” Revista de Arquitectura 22, no.

32 (2017): ág-67.

was imagined in Boston and implemented in Iquique has garnered worldwide attention. It is described as a codesigned settlement for 93 families, with the promise to

Even with its immense popularity, the Quinta Monroy

eliminate all informality. Intending to upgrade one of the

has not gone without critique. In his book “The Invisible

remaining informal settlements in Iquique, the housing

Houses: Rethinking and Designing Low-Cost Housing in

experiment allowed families to take an active part in the

Developing Countries,” Lizarralde offers a commentary on

evolution of the complex. Aravena was presented with a

the outcomes made of the Quinta Monroy and Aravenas

challenge by the Chilean government; he had to provide

subsequent projects that made use of the “half-a-house”

the bare necessities for a home and keep to a budget of $10,000; this also included acquiring the land. His solution was to create what he called “half a house,” where he made sure to balance low-rise density, reduce overcrowding, and provide growth opportunities. ELEMENTAL’s approach has had many upsides; the firm was able to design a furnished home that included running water, a shower, a toilet, and a bedroom.

The government provided very austere spaces

102

Added Efforts

philosophy.79 Lizarralde describes the implementation of an incremental housing strategy that provides increased control and self-actualization of residents in a positive light. Still, he mentions that residents have taken the liberty of performing modifications that fall outside the original project’s scope.

They have added additional informal structures inside the community courtyards and placed fencing around the complex.80 (Excluding non-resident pedestrian traffic).

with the bare minimum for a dignified home. The firm put

Lizarralde also suggests that the architectural qualities of

its faith on the president’s ability to grow into their homes.

the original proposal have been compromised. The complex

The building’s facades allocated enough space to provide

is now running the risk of transforming into the same type of

space for expansion. Individual families could decide what

space it was built to replace. Boano and Vergara Perucich

was needed. Would the family want a larger bathroom and

have also argued against the actual effectiveness of the

common area, or would they opt for more bedrooms? One

project conceptual beginnings; they have said:

of Iquique’s significant employers is the lumber industry, the

103

“We

witnessed the Pritzker awarding ceremony of Alejandro Aravena, and we were puzzled by the use and the abuse of the buzzconcept of “social architect.” After that, we followed the opening speech of the 2016 Venice Biennale, where the rhetoric of the social turn has been displaced, literally, on top of a metal scale staring to the frontier of the yet to come experimentation of formalist architecture; with a social look.”81

FIG 44 - Quinta Monroy Visualized

The development is considered by many as the poster child of participatory housing. It has proven to be a successful model, with some detriments that can be managed. The housing rarely ends up looking as pristine as the marketing photos.

FIG 45 - Quinta Monroy Now

ELEMENTAL did not provide enough of a framework to allow for coordinated housing growth. Some critics say that the lack of planning created a nicer “arrabal.” The housing complex did enable the residents to grow their homes at their own pace and to their own needs.

81. O’Brien, David, and Sandra Carrasco.

“Contested Incrementalism: Elemental’s Quinta Monroy Settlement Fifteen Years On.” Frontiers of Architectural Research 10, no. 2 (2021): 263–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2020.11.002.

82. Boano, Camillo, and F. Vergara Perucich. “Halfhappy architecture.” Viceversa 4 (2016): 58-81.

This argument continues in their essay “Half Happy Architecture,” putting in question the idea that providing a FIG 44

good half-house is enough to fulfill the needs of the poor.

They state that Quinta Monroy may be seen as an excellent economic strategy for affordable housing. Still, it fails to enrich the quality of life of its residents.

“He became a tool for neoliberalism and its profit-seeking motives to obtain public funding and prepare the field for profitable real estate developments in the surrounding neighborhoods.

He has produced a neoliberal method that creates widely accepted social architecture”82 The idea of providing “half houses” to low-income communities can be viewed as an insulting approach to helping those in most need. Where the working poor still must perform additional work to be worthy of having their FIG 45

104

own home.

105

83. Taştan, Hasan, and Ayşen Ciravoğlu. “The role of user participation on social sustainability: A case study on four residential areas.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 10, no.

1 (2016): 206-214.

106

Local Solutions

in the world’s cities), to Kikutake-Maki-Kurokawa (whose

Even with its detractors, when looking at housing

radical Metabolists philosophy were influencing the building

shortfalls and available resources, Aravena’s contemporary

strategies in Japan). The concept spurred an ideological

idea of building “Half-a-House” through incremental housing

statement against the inefficiencies of the “tower-in-the-

can be a powerful method in solving a cities’ housing shortages.

park” model of modernist urban design.84

The idea itself is not “sui generis” and a new approach.

The design brief required that the housing complex

Participatory Housing projects have been conceptualized

provide some fifteen hundred units built in a selected

before. Aravena himself has talked about the influences

informal community. The Peruvian government wanted to

of projects such as PREVI Lima in the 1960s, Ballesteros

implement alternate land-use strategies that integrated

notes that these antecedents may have helped Elemental

high-density, low-rise housing into its urban fabric with

choreograph a watered-down design strategy. Suppose

high-quality public spaces. PREVI started with the intent of

Quinta and the 17 similar housing complexes designed by

creating a neighborhood that had varied housing typologies.

ELEMENTAL are compared to experimental projects such

The proposals had to accommodate in their designs the

as PREVI (Proyecto Experimental de Vivienda) Experimental

possibility of the inhabitants expanding and modifying their

Housing Project. The contemporaneous projects seem to

homes. The competition had participatory housing as a core

fall short in replicating the success of PREVI.83 The Peruvian

tenet; this was clear when PREVIs informed bet resulted

government established PREVI as an experimental strategy

in radical, high-quality proposals by the different design

to provide low-cost housing in Lima, Peru, starting in 1968.

teams. The design panel judging submissions ended up

The intent was to make the housing complexes

recommending all of them to be constructed. The Peruvian

adaptable to the needs of the community over time. In

government fully funded and made 24 of these exact

partnership with the United Nations, the Peruvian government

designs. They were creating a small neighborhood of some

invited multiple architects to participate in a national and

467 units. The neighborhood was thought out as the first

international design competition; its stated goal was to

of many subsequent phases, which later became the only

develop housing schemes with this overarching experimental

phase.85

ideology. PREVIs focused on targeting the resulting sprawl

The PREVI experiment succeeded in achieving a

of the informal settlements in the South American city of

thriving low-income neighborhood that felt at home with the

Lima. After three years, the government chose 26 different

rest of Lima. It supported a network of public services and

architecture offices, comprising 13 local and 13 international

public spaces that interconnected all the developed plots

firms, to submit their designs for four pilot projects. The

into varying modes of transportation. This interconnection

competition had the likes of avant-garde architects, such

also laid the foundations for the neighborhood to host a

as Aldo V an Eyck (who criticized the effects of modernism

thriving economy that appealed to the free market. The

84. Fabrizi, Mariabruna. “Clusters and Growth: Previ Housing Project by James Stirling (1976).”

SOCKS, January 20, 2019. https://socks-studio. com/2019/01/20/clusters-and-growth-previhousing-project-by-james-stirling-1976/.

85. García-Huidobro, Fernando, Diego Torres Torriti, and Nicolás Tugas. “The Experimental Housing Project (PREVI), Lima: The Making of a Neighbourhood.” Architectural Design 81, no. 3 (2011): 26–31. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.1234.

107

designers had a unique urban approach with three core strategies. Prioritizing pedestrian usage, with good education and sports amenities; a large public park, and good public transportation. There also was a distributed network of small plazas that weaved between the public and private realm.

And lastly, there was traffic separation; roads were laid out to not interfere with the pedestrian network and public spaces.

86

The individual homes were also crucial in the neighborhood’s success. The designs recognized that the

FIG 46 - PREVI Visualized

Being an experimental development, PREVI was conceptualized to allow for the growth of the individual’s homes. The government had no idea of the eventual success of establishing a good framework.

FIG 47 - PREVI Now

Decades after, the neighborhood’s character has been completely transformed, from white modernist buildings into colorful folk architecture. The development succeeded in creating a healthy tightknit community.

86. García-Huidobro, Fernando, Diego Torres Torriti, and Nicolás Tugas. “PREVI Lima y la experiencia del tiempo.” Revista iberoamericana de urbanismo 3 (2010): 10-19.

87. Kahatt, Sharif S. “PREVI-Lima’s Time: Positioning Proyecto Experimental de Vivienda in Peru’s Modern Project.” Architectural Design 81, no.

3 (2011): 22-25.

transformation would depend significantly on the families’ needs and income, the units’ actual location, and the available space. One of the most notable designs was that of Scottish architect James Stirling. He focused on the potential growth patterns of the units, predicting the hierarchical order of the FIG 46

expansion. He employed a strategy to improve construction efficiency, grouping four units. The apartments would share a common wall, electrical and associated plumbing. This apartment group was later used as a building block, where 16 to 20 homes would share in between their plots and a large public park.87 The houses had two rooms on a single floor. If the family grew, they could expand their homes into adjoining parcels or build-up, adding a second story for their home. Some families opted to build a new apartment on their second level and rent it, which provided additional income.

The lot limits are defined by freestanding columns delimiting the buildable area. Stirling’s construction system relied on ease of construction, employing precast concrete walls and lightweight cast-in-place floor slabs. The idea proved successful; the explicit plot limitation allowed for controlled

FIG 47

108

growth where Elementals Quinta Monroy failed. Presently, its inhabitants have transformed the complex. Almost all

109

88. García-Huidobro, Fernando, Diego Torres Torriti, and Nicolás Tugas. “PREVI Lima y la experiencia del tiempo.” Revista iberoamericana de urbanismo 3 (2010): 10-19.

the homes have grown, and the buildings have been wholly

any elevated theoretical design. The community only needed

transformed.

a large planning framework with which to work. ENLACE is

Participatory housing designs consider that most

providing that same framework. The stakeholders of El Caño

governmental entities have limited resources to dedicate

Martín Peña could look towards the future and envision

to building affordable housing projects (a stark contrast

better housing, and they can build it. By providing a housing

to Vienna’s housing programs). Some of the suffering

framework and allowing the community to expand upon that

consequences of such decisions are that the completed

framework. The upfront cost is lowered, and the residents

housing is of low quality. It lacks the adaptability of a standard

can have what they need. This neighborhood cohesion can

market rate home for a family of changing needs. It also does

be improved if the architecture relates better to its natural

not contribute towards family wealth building. Participatory

context. It allows it to perform at a higher level than just a

housing considers that individual stakeholders know their

plain old building, resist flooding, and improve the ecosystem

specific needs; they can transform their homes to fit their

functions.

requirements. This strategy recognizes housing as a dynamic participatory process that impacts the community’s quality of life. If applied correctly, the process efficiently directs public funds to provide needed housing, increase property value, increase neighborhood cohesion, and improve individual living standards. The results allow the family to grow in place or move on to a better home in another community. The system has allowed for the families to take an active role in their housing; Fernando Garcia-Huidobro describes the process as turning families into incidental architects.88 With all its potential setbacks, participatory housing has been a successful model that has been proven in Latin America. In the past with the PREVI program and presently with Aravenas modern rehash. Designers can smartly employ the lessons and try to avoid the pitfalls. From the beginning almost a century ago, residents of El Caño Martín Peña have continually improved upon their homes. They turned what once were mostly stilt houses into a thriving 110

community. They applied for participatory housing without

111

06 Bioclimatic Infrastructure

Rapid urbanization, population growth, climate change, and sea-level rise all place constant pressure on natural systems. Informal urban communities are the most impacted by flooding. They are situated in high-risk zones and are ignored by large planning bodies; unplanned growth always leads to direct conflict with natural systems. This friction alters the fundamentals of how the natural world

FIG 48 - Green Infrastructure

Trees are one of the essential pieces of green infrastructure. Trees provide shade, air filtration, lower temperatures, bird habitats, erosion control, improved mental health, etc. The cost-benefit ratio is overwhelmingly positive.

89. Widera, Barbara. “Bioclimatic architecture.”

Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture Research 2, no. 4 (2015): 567-578.

90. Sharafi, Siyamack, Hamid Kamangir, Scott A. King, and Reza Safaierad. “Effects of extreme floods on fluvial changes: the Khorramabad River as case study (western Iran).” Arabian Journal of Geosciences 14, no. 12 (2021): 1-11.

operates. One of the primary victims of this alteration is the hydrologic system. This alteration of the historical pathways of water has had a detrimental effect on ecosystems and human communities. Understanding these flood issues can help designers develop crucial bioclimatic infrastructure that can balance the needs of the natural world and urban systems.89 Human civilization has developed around bodies of water, and most of the world’s major cities are port cities.

These urban regions are now under the looming threat of climate change and sea-level rise. With rising waters and storm surges, the danger of flooding is easily understood through its economic impact. Floods account for 46% of financial losses, including storm damages. When storms are included, the total rises to 71% of all disaster costs.

Worldwide, floods and storms have impacted 3 billion people and are responsible for more than 98% of public building losses.90 Flooding is exacerbated by how cities are currently 112

FIG 48

113

91. Scawthorn, Charles, T. D. O’rourke, and F. T. Blackburn. “The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire—Enduring lessons for fire protection and water supply.” Earthquake Spectra 22, no. 2_suppl (2006): 135-158.

built. They host a high density of impervious surfaces, from

When built, flood infrastructure reduces the effects of

roads to roofs. These hard surfaces prevent rainwater

water and erosion but becomes problematic in other senses.

from infiltrating into the soil. As a result, it is collected

From the construction of seawalls to channeling rivers, most

into storm drains and rushed into nearby low-lying areas.

of the implemented flood defenses consider the direct cost

Impermeability of cities and the high speed of water through

of building and ignore long-term effects on local communities

current stormwater infrastructure overtax the capability of

and the local ecology. It’s mostly a reactionary approach to

natural ecosystems to capture and store rainwater, resulting

a previous cataclysm. There is also considerable tension

in flooding.

when considering the cost of constructing new infrastructure

The significant problem is that informal communities tend to settle in these floodplains. These communities

that presents decision challenges between governance, economics, and communities.

see hydrology as a threat that endangers their homes and livelihoods, pushing for the creation of hard-edge

114

Storm Solutions

infrastructure, exacerbating the problem more. Generally,

During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the public

cities have grown into their surrounding wetlands whenever

asked for economic programs and infrastructure investments

new land is needed. After the 1906 fire, San Francisco

in coastal defenses. As a result, the state of New Jersey

rebuilt and expanded by using its building rubble as fill for

and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed and built a

its wetlands.91 Modern-day Mexico City is built atop the

complex network of breakwaters, jetties, and seawalls along

ruins of Tenochtitlan and Texcoco lake, and Manhattan

with the heavily developed barrier islands, with the intent

Island has grown into the Hudson and East River throughout

to protect the tourist and real-estate economy. The flood

the centuries. There has been a mindset change, and

solutions implemented were not the same. Cost reduction

wetlands are protected by most governments these days,

was imperative, and thus the economical solutions were

but enforcement is lacking, especially when economic

implemented in the most impoverished neighborhoods. In

growth takes precedence, for many living in informality, their

contrast, the most aesthetic and appealing solutions were

immediate need has more priority than wetlands protection.

built to protect the summer homes of New York’s wealthy

Flooding is a problem that formal and informal communities

elite.

deal with constantly. But many of the populations that are in

Even though Atlantic City is a major economic center

danger of being displaced by sea-level rise and floods are

on the barrier islands, its year-round population is the most

from high-risk communities; The typical solutions mainly deal

impoverished in the state. Its famous boardwalk was repaired

with the construction of hard-edge infrastructure. That mostly

at the cost of sightlines’ natural boundaries from the city,

ignores ecology and only seeks to reduce the detrimental

prioritizing hotels views and access. Effectively, the entire

impact of water.

city is surrounded by a large concrete wall interrupted by

115

staircases that lead to the shore. Just across the estuary, the small coastal town of Brigantine, with a well-off retiree community, has a long iconic seawall with natural edges.

Each iteration sits atop the previous one, the historic seawall has been built and rebuilt, making it taller. North of Brigantine, there is a tiny borough with a cluster of luxurious summer homes, all protected by what seems to be the imposing natural dune. Some of the houses are older than the Mantoloking Seawall. The constructed dunes were rebuilt more than a 92

century later and now have multiple uses. It mainly protects

FIG 49 - Atlantic City

After hurricane Sandy, large swaths of the Atlantic City boardwalk were destroyed, along with the remaining dunes. Healthy dune exosystems would have lessened the eventual economic impact of a large storm.

FIG 50 - Mantoloking Sea Wall

The communities sea wall was able to protect the homes, for the most part; when rebuilt, some consideration was made to integrate multi-function to the infrastructure, allowing for a higher performance of the dune ecosystem.

92. Irish, Jennifer L., Patrick J. Lynett, Robert Weiss, Stephanie M. Smallegan, and Wei Cheng.

“Buried relic seawall mitigates Hurricane Sandy’s impacts.” Coastal Engineering 80 (2013): 79-82.

93. Walling, Katlin, Jon K. Miller, Thomas Herrington, and Anthony Eble. “Comparison of Hurricane Sandy impacts in three New Jersey coastal communities.” Coastal Engineering Proceedings 34 (2014): 38-38. .

the town from any future storm surge, but it also hosts an increasingly complex ecosystem of seagrasses and beach life, allowing for recreational opportunities for beachgoers.

Hidden within the sand lies a fabricated steel wall that holds FIG 49

the dune and prevents erosion. All these coastal protections do their job and help increase the overall resiliency of communities, but only one has multiple functions that align with the spirit of bioclimatic infrastructure.

Climate Structures Bioclimatology studies the different relationships between climate and living organisms. Climate has an active impact on the distribution and development of all life, which goes from a global to neighborhood scale.93 More specifically, it tries to understand the state of human comfort inside the microclimates it inhabits. Man has actively shaped his bioclimate, being largely successful, to the point of disrupting the biosphere. The urban environment produces significant quantities of pollution and waste, large amounts

FIG 50

116

of impervious surfaces, noise, and large swings in thermal comfort or “Heat Island.” These issues have a detrimental

117

effect on a population’s health, with a lopsided impact on

high blood pressure. The excess sun radiation is controlled

low-income communities. Designers can help disrupt these

through the planting of mature trees that have mature

issues through a network of bioclimatic infrastructure, or

crowns. When selecting tree species, wide crown trees are

what some people call Green Infrastructure.

preferred. They can filter sunlight and reduce the amount of

Green Infrastructure is an interconnected network of

heat that gets trapped in cities. The shade provided allows

parks, natural areas, and green spaces that help preserve

for the underbrush to take hold. Increasing biodiversity and

ecosystem functions and benefit human populations. It can

biomass effectively helps jumpstart the creation of a localized

create environmental, social, and economic benefits; that

microclimate. The microclimate can mitigate extreme

foster healthy and sustainable communities. A series of small

variations and provide for a constant temperature. It also

tactical interventions can have a consequential impact. The

allows for an increase in humidity. When vegetation is used on

Mantoloking Seawall falls under this category by providing

the roof of a building, it also confers thermal protection from

a human-made wall augmented through the restoration of

the sun. There are positive health benefits in the shade and a

functional ecology. The ecology provides much-needed

microclimate. Thermal comfort helps reduce respiratory and

services by protecting the communities from storm surges

cardiovascular stress.94

94. Boc, V. “The bioclimatic role of urban green infrastructure in health security.” In Central and Eastern European LUMEN Conference, Chisinau.

2015.

95. Wang, Huixia, Hui Shi, and Yangyang Li. “Leaf dust capturing capacity of urban greening plant species in relation to leaf micromorphology.” In 2011 International Symposium on Water Resource and Environmental Protection, vol. 3, pp. 21982201. IEEE, 2011.

96. Boc, Vladimir. “Green infrastructures from the perspective of European institutions.” Scientific Papers-Series B, Horticulture 58 (2014): 297-300.

and floods, improving permeability, reducing the heat island effect, and hosting space for human recreational activities

Wind Protection and Air Flows

(such as birdwatching and hiking). Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure also can reduce the overall

makes communities resilient and has multiple benefits for

negative effects of wind during a severe storm. Mature trees

humans’ health and wellbeing. It generally provides heat and

can reduce the velocity of air. A long row of trees can protect

humidity control, reduces the impact of wind, provides noise

a nearby neighborhood from the direct impacts of wind.95

protection, improves air quality, and provides spaces for

This can be especially important to an informal community

improving mental state. Designers need tactical strategies

whose building materials may not be up to par in dealing

to control the different bioclimatic variables. Consisting of a

with gusts of wind. Wildlife is also benefited; they tend

kit of parts that can be implemented as Green Infrastructure.

to take shelter on the branches of trees during storms.96

And a basic understanding of bioclimatic infrastructure to

The other influence that trees have on airflow is thanks to

help improve the wellbeing of communities.

the microclimate it has created. During the day, the stark difference in air temperature underneath the shade of a

Sunlight and humidity Control

118

tree and the intense sun helps promote an exchange of

Excessive sunlight is the main culprit in the urban heat

air, reducing air stagnation and diminishing the risks of air

island effect. Long exposure to the sun can cause several

pollution. During the night, the trees act as a heatsink, slowly

health problems, such as skin cancer, heart attacks, and

diffusing heat into the air, continuing the cycle.

119

Noise and Air Quality

FIG 51 - Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera

If a community is near a highway or a noisy factory, a designer can employ the use of vegetation to reduce the decibel levels. A dense row of trees and understory can improve noise level by a reduction of around 30 decibels.

A large noise reduction helps increase the quality of life for nearby residents and also helps in increasing the amount of wildlife that takes shelter along the newly created forest. The new ecology also improves the air quality of the surrounding space. Through air exchanges, the branches serve as a filter, capturing airborne pathogens and particles.97

The

vegetation has a positive impact on respiratory illnesses and

The park is a public recreational space located in San Juan, PR. The park has public amenities such as sports courts and dog parks. The trees serve as a lung for the dense urban neighborhood.

FIG 52 - Jardín Botánico de Caguas A large public park located in Caguas, PR. It hosts a wide variety of botanical specimens while being a space for recreation to the surrounding community.

97. Weerakkody, Udeshika, John W. Dover, Paul Mitchell, and Kevin Reiling. “Particulate matter pollution capture by leaves of seventeen living wall species with special reference to rail-traffic at a metropolitan station.” Urban forestry &amp; urban greening 27 (2017): 173-186.

98. Ajrina, H., and I. Kustiwan. “From green open space to green infrastructure: The potential of green open space optimization towards sustainable cities in Bekasi City & Regency, Indonesia.” In IOP conference series: earth and environmental science, vol. 399, no. 1, p. 012130. IOP Publishing, 2019.

99. Dover, John W. Green infrastructure: incorporating plants and enhancing biodiversity in buildings and urban environments. Routledge, 2015.

reduces stress on cardiovascular systems. If there are any airborne pathogens, the risks of getting sick are reduced FIG 51

thanks to the same filtering effect.98 Mental Wellbeing There is an increase in a populaces happiness when provided space for outdoor recreation. Green areas have been demonstrated to have a positive change in a person’s mental state. This goes down to human evolution, where the human eye is doubly more sensitive to green than blue or red. It has an enormous impact on the psyche of people and helps relieve depression and produce a good mood.99 Green infrastructure can improve the resiliency of communities.

This infrastructure helps increase the physical and mental health of its populace. In paired with other strategies, the overall resiliency and inequality of an informal community are improved.

FIG 52

120

121

07 Resiliency Strategies

Flood resilience can be implemented by removing a building out of harm’s way, preventing contact with any floodwaters, or reducing damage from flood impacts. A building can be designed to avoid floodwater entering or

FIG 53 - Het Bosch

Building designed by the architecture firm JagerJanssen, it integrates flood protection strategies by elevating its entire structure on columns.

100. Bowker, Pam. Improving the flood performance of new buildings: Flood resilient construction.

London: RIBA, 2007.

damaging its fabric. These design implementations can allow residents to withstand flooding or allow enough time to move valuables out of harm’s way. Ideally, buildings should be placed outside of a floodplain. Moving entire communities from flood zones is not always feasible. In places such as the community of Caño Martín Peña, the residents are entrenched in their community. To protect communities, designers must explore alternate solutions. By employing flood defense techniques, the community can reduce the flood risk to their homes.

Flood Barriers Flood barriers must be designed to resist variable amounts of water pressure and absorb impact damage from floating debris. When constructing new structures, permanent flood protection systems are always preferable to a temporary measure. They don’t require any action from the building occupants to work. Suppose the building is designed to integrate flood barriers. In that case, the structure will always have a passive flood defense, the maintenance of the system is lowered, and there is no need for storage.100 122

FIG 53

123

101.

Bowker, Pam. “Flood resistance and resilience solutions: an R&amp;D scoping study.”

DEFRA Report, London (2007).

102. Building Science Helpline, and FEMA Staff, Reducing Flood Risk to Residential Buildings That Cannot Be Elevated § (2020).

103. Nofal, Omar M., and John W. van de Lindt.

“High-Resolution Approach to Quantify the Impact of Building-Level Flood Risk Mitigation and Adaptation Measures on Flood Losses at the Community-Level.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 51 (2020): 101903. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101903.

Existing buildings do not have to undergo extensive retrofit.

Wet Flood Proofing

There are temporary deployable building flood defenses

It is a building method that allows temporary flooding

usable with advanced warning of a flood event.101 The main

of the lower parts of a building while limiting potential damage

problem in using these products is that they require active

to systems and equipment. Water-resistant materials are

building occupants to install, store and maintain. Permanent

used to prevent damage to the interiors of a building, such

measures are preferred; a designer must balance cost vs.

as walls, flooring, or furniture. With a variation on using easily

utility. Any building within a floodable zone can be designed

repaired or replaceable materials, the furniture in these

to integrate passive flood barriers such as boundary walls,

lower levels can be made to be floodable, as such, reducing

specialized windows, raised thresholds, and watertight

disturbance and assuring continuous operation. Alternate

doors. These systems prevent water from intruding into a

design strategies can include knock-out panels on lower

building.

level, that fail-safe under water pressure, allowing for water

104. Bowker, Pam. Improving the flood performance of new buildings: Flood resilient construction.

London: RIBA, 2007.

105. De Graaf, R., B. Roeffen, K. M. Czapiewska, B. Dal Bo Zanon, W. Lindemans, M. Escarameia, N. S. R. Walliman, and C. Zevenbergen. “The effectiveness of flood proofing vulnerable hotspots to improve urban flood resilience.” Comprehensive flood risk management (2012): 1351-1358.

to flow unimpeded. Most buildings use wet floodproofing by Dry Flood Proofing Dry Flood Proofing prevents water from entering the building; if the building is encased with waterproof materials

allotting the first-level space for parking, building access, and storage. The application of this technology is generally limited to unoccupied areas of a structure.104

and resistant components, it will keep water out. The building skin operates like a boat’s hull, resisting water pressure and allowing the building to maintain continued operation

A building must ensure its utilities’ operation during

outside. This design decision is vulnerable, with potential

a flood event to continue the successful process. Raising a

issues if the watertight enclosure is punctured during a flood event.102 Another problem can occur if the water level rises above the floodproofing into the interior of the building. The Whitney Museum was built in a low-lying area of Chelsea, Manhattan, near the Hudson River. In the case of a flood event, the building lobby must protect the priceless paintings it houses in its collection. The building has deployable metal wall system that is designed to lock whenever a flood

124

Elevate

building’s lowest floor to a higher level than the base flood elevation. Elevating the lowest level ensures access and continued habitability. Elevating a building on columns above the predicted flood levels would afford a building’s lower level from looking into floodwaters.105 From Miami’s famous Stittsville, stilt houses employ this strategy to the self-built homes in many informal communities. Other variations

event occurs. Cheaper solutions include using deployable

include filling the underside of the building with compacted

water filled balloon barriers, that surround a structure, but

soil. Raising existing buildings is not an easy endeavor.

are not integrated into the building. Dry floodproofing is

The building must be supported from underneath with a

not recommended if its walls will experience a base flood

loadbearing structure. The structure would be the main

elevation higher than three feet.103

loadbearing surface where hydraulic jacks would be attached.

125

The building is slowly raised with careful movements until the

FIG 54 Strategies

Flood

Protection

desired height is reached. A new column system would later support the building, or a grade change would move the

106. Wet and Dry Floodproofing for Business § (n.d.).Vermont, US

base soil level up the new height.106 Floating or Amphibious Structures They allow for the vertical movement of a Dry Floodproofing Moving a building to high ground, above flood level

Floodwalls Building a wall to keep flood water from reaching a building

superstructure based on changing water levels. The structure may be tied down or freely flooring. It works as a supporting system, where a building can be supported and protected from floodwaters. It works as a larger platform for houseboats. The positive aspect of this building technique allows the building to float out of harm’s way any time a tide or flood occurs. The system is not widely employed, as it raises the cost of building, maintenance, and operation.

Elevation Raising a building so that flood waters will go under it

Leevee Building a earthen wall to keep flood water from reaching a building

Grade Changes When a site has enough space, grade changes are used to alter the overall height of a site can be elevated through the accumulation of earth—typically built by piling dirt on a cleared level surface. Raising the grade allows buildings to be protected from flood risks by compacting soil above the expected flood water level. It has an added advantage in that it is a primarily maintenance-free solution. It comes with the added expense of acquiring soil fill. While the filling is brought and compacted to form a new foundation,

Relocation Moving a building to high ground above flood level

Wet Floodproofing Altering a building to minimize damage when flood waters enter

any existing building must be moved temporarily. The grade slope must be carefully designed and built. The new slope can be eroded with fast-moving water

126

FIG 54

127

107. PWD Staff. “Chapter 4 - Stormwater Management Practice Guidance.” 4.5 Cisterns | Philadelphia Water Stormwater Plan Review.

Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www. pwdplanreview.org/manual/chapter-4/4.5-cisterns.

108. Kowalsky, Greg, and P. E. Kathryn Thomason.

“Cistern Design Considerations for Large Rainwater Harvesting Systems.” (2011).

Cisterns

If the underlying soils prove to not be feasible for good

Cistern Traditionally, they have been for water

infiltration. The raingarden can still be used to regulate water

storage in dry regions. Currently, they have a crucial role in

flow. The bio-infiltration works similarly to large cisterns by

stormwater management. Cisterns are multi-function systems

slowing the stormwater’s speed into the watershed. The rain

that collect water for reuse. Rainwater is captured from

garden does have its limitations; plant life must endure high

impervious surfaces, such as rooftops and paving. It allows

stress from being waterlogged and pollution. When designed

for temporary water storage. The water can be stored and

and carefully managed is effective at removing pollutants

reused for building greywater or irrigation purposes. Cisterns

and runoff. The gardens also provide space for recreational

provide flow control into the surrounding water bodies.

activities and provide crucial bioclimatic infrastructure.109

109. Dietz, Michael E., and John C. Clausen. “A field evaluation of rain garden flow and pollutant treatment.” Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 167, no.

1 (2005): 123-138.

110. PWD Staff. “Chapter 4 - Stormwater Management Practice Guidance.” 4.3 Green Roofs | Philadelphia Water Stormwater Plan Review. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www. pwdplanreview.org/manual/chapter-4/4.3-greenroofs.

111. Weiler, Susan, and Katrin Scholz-Barth. Green roof systems: a guide to the planning, design, and construction of landscapes over structure. John Wiley &amp; Sons, 2009.

Whenever there is a significant rain event, cisterns capture the stormwater and slowly allow for its drainage, stretching

Green Roof

through time the total volume of water discharged.107 Instead

Green roofs are a layer of vegetation covering a

of a substantial surge of water in a short time, the water

building’s flat roof. It’s a complex, layered system that includes

slowly trickles into the rivers. The slow trickle can help reduce

waterproofing, moisture interception, drainage, planting

potential flooding further downriver. When a cistern is used

medium, and plants. The roofs provide runoff volume control

for rainwater harvesting, a distribution system must deliver

and are often paired with other stormwater management

the water to its programmed use through active measures,

techniques, such as cisterns or rain gardens. They are used

such as pumps, or more passive, such as gravity fed.108

as a stormwater management strategy when the site is built

Surface Tanks: They primarily work through gravity drain or

out or highly constrained. It also promotes water retention,

pump systems on rooftops or are integrated into buildings.

flow release, and evapotranspiration.110 Roof gardens have

Subsurface Tanks: most use a pump system to move water

the benefit that most roofs can be retrofitted for installation.

from underground. They are designed to be hidden in the

111

landscape.

Extensive Green Roof: a thin, lightweight system mostly

Two types of green roofs are widely employed.

planted with succulents, drought-tolerant ground covering Rain Garden

plants. The system is usually less than six inches.

Rain Garden or, more specifically, Bio-infiltration

Intensive Green Roof: deeper, heavier systems designed to

and Bioretention stormwater management practices are

sustain complex landscapes. The system is typically greater

planted depressions that use surface storage to treat and

than six inches in size.

retain stormwater runoff. These rain gardens help filter water from pollution through a soil medium that promotes 128

transpiration. The substrate soil is crucial for high infiltration.

129

08 Oportunidades

The community development plan, developed with the collaboration of FEMA, ENLACE, the G-8, and the

FIG 55 - Façade View

The Complete Design Proposal Can be Viewed in the links below:

Fideicomiso de Tierra, lists seven different intervention points throughout the communities of the Caño Martín Peña. All the proposed projects include necessary stormwater and sewer infrastructure. The infrastructure is much needed to prevent flooding of the communities. To be able to build, existing land must be cleared. Many families live in those spaces, even though one of the crucial aspects of ENLACE is to preserve social cohesion and relocate the families inside their community. The relocation can be a disruptive process, causing friction. Some families do not want to leave their homes, even though it is primarily an equal trade—a home for a home. The reality is that ENLACE needs to build to a higher density in the existing lots to allow for relocation. This doesn’t consider that channeling the Caño Martín Peña is also going to demolish homes in the proposed canal path.

The question is, where to locate a building in the community that doesn’t disrupt the residents’ lives, provides high-quality architecture, maintains social cohesion, is adaptive to a wide

gustavovega.me

demographic, implements solutions to the flooding, and has green infrastructure? This is the setting for my exploration of the topics discussed in this text.

issuu.com/aleatorica

The solution may lie in the sites identified in the community development plan. One of the critical spaces is 130

FIG 55

131

the Mangrove Restoration / Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem

132

developed housing, what should this building represent?

Restoration Project. The development plan lacks specific

Choosing a building programming can be a

details to what the community is envisioning for the space.

straightforward process of applying cookie-cutter solutions

In other documents, it is mentioned that there would be

or a more novel, risky programming that tries out new things

a community baseball park beside the allotted natural

in one building. The answer may lie in between those two. This

mangrove space. The park is envisioned as having a multi-

design study should include housing. It is the most integral

role function, serving as a catchment basing for stormwater

and needed part of the design. The community needs homes

during a large rain event. I believe that the space can be

to be built—enough homes with enough variety that any

better used. The large park space can be substituted for

single person can feel at home. Large families, small families,

a multi-function building. That provides housing for the

single fathers, single mothers, the young and the old, the

community while hosting a variety of stormwater catchment

newly married and the recently widowed, this space should

infrastructure. There is enough space to allow for public

be a space to home all. In an ideal world, the design would

recreation spaces and mangrove restoration.

be developed alongside the community. It would consider

This site can provide an opportunity for exploring

the actual demographic spread of the people that are going

solutions and alternatives to what is typically found in the

to live here. Why would you build multiple three-bedroom

neighborhood. Many of the residents of the Caño Martín Peña

homes if it is going to be lived in by retired, single people?

as well as Puerto Ricans at large, prefer to live in single-family

The programming should take a cue from the Viennese. It

housing, with a garage and their backyard. The problem at

should preemptively look at its future residents.

the Caño is that there is not enough space to allow for this

Suppose it’s going to house, many married couples,

type of development. It is a problem that persists at the scale

with small children. It should include space for the family to

of Puerto Rico as a whole. The island adopted a continental

grow. Maybe the designers integrate communal kitchens

solution, building suburbs around the island. If the island is

so that the stay-at-home parents can organize cooking

to be resilient, land should be considered as a larger asset

schedules for the working parents. Latino households have

to society. This exploration could provide for an alternative to

multi-generational families in a single home; why not give

the expected housing types. Higher density would allow for

grandpa and grandma their semi-attached apartment in the

better quality shared public spaces. The green infrastructure

same building. They can see their grandchildren maintain

surrounding this building would have a multi-role that meets

their independence and privacy, and the parents can keep

the need of individual recreation, floodwater management,

an eye on the grandparent’s health. As stated before, when

and ecosystem restoration. Applying the lessons learned

a designer understands the problem at different scales, they

from

can provide quality solutions that work as a puzzle piece of a

integrating

bioclimatic

infrastructure,

affordable

housing, water management infrastructure, and community-

large global problem.

133

The building should integrate commercial spaces that allow for the entrepreneurship of its residents. These spaces could also host grocers or restaurants. It’s essential that the housing solutions also provide the stage for selfSingle Mother

Multi Generation Family

Elderly Woman

Young Woman

$

$$

$$

$

FIG 56 - Demographic Diversity

The demographics of housing should be considered when designing architecture. A cross-section of the people living in el Caño Martin Peña would show a wide spread of incomes (tending towards poverty) and a vast difference in family size, age, and type.

A diverse society needs a diverse architecture that smartly integrates the needs of its residents.

improvement. The community members can start and grow their businesses through collaboration. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario of a stay-at-home mom that lives in the building, has her business styling people’s hair or providing catering for a friend’s event, or her tech startup that offers technical services to banks at the Golden Mile. She slowly

Single Father

Same Sex Couple

Same Sex Family

Single

grows the business, starts hiring people, and later needs a

$$

$$$

$$

$$$

quality coworking space. What better than her building? She takes the stairs and is in her workspace.

El Caño must reimagine itself, not as a place that floods but as a place that is flooded with solutions. The building must include some of the organizational knowledge

Young Couple $

Grandmother & Grandhildren $

Retiree

Young Family

that has allowed for community development. ENLACE can

$$

$

integrate some of the programs it provides to the community; the building could host an after-school education program or have a health clinic. It also could just be an education center.

A policy of developing all its new housing with mixed-use programming, integrated with the democratic nature of the

Single Woman

Dual Income No Kids

Multi-Species Family

Retired Couple

$

$$$

$$

$

community land trust, can only be a net positive solution to the historical struggles.

Let’s take a page from the potential solutions. Not ignoring the site’s challenges, the building would be in a highrisk area that does flood. That doesn’t mean it’s inevitable that the building will flood. The installation should be designed

Same Sex Family $$$

134

Young Woman $

Retired Couple $$

Young Family $$$

FIG 56

to not flood, but it should also protect the community. It should be thought of as part of the whole. Whenever there is a storm surge and the tidal water of the San Juan Bay

135

or San Jose lagoon rushes in, a grade change of the site

Building Programming

can protect from inland flooding. The building can also host cisterns to substitute the water catchment function of the

1.Flood Protection Infrastructure

proposed baseball field. Integrating into its public spaces,

a.Rain Gardens

rain gardens, and bioswales allows for temporary water

b.Bio-Swales

storage; between the stormwater infrastructure, there will

c.Cisterns

be spaces for running, basketball, and nature watching. The

d.Dry Flood Proofing

rooftop of the building can host some of the communities’

e.Grade Changes

gardens or allow for clever observation points. The bioclimatic

2.Water Storage

infrastructure must be developed alongside flood protection

a.Cisterns

and integrated into the structure. What should my resilient,

3.Green Spaces

community-developed mixed-used housing project have?

a.Community Garden b.Rain Gardens c.Bio-Swales d.Green Roof 4.Demographic Inclusive a.Mixed Housing Types b.Mixed Income Residents 5.Commercial Space a.Coworking Space b.Grocer or Restaurant Space 6.Community Spaces a.Library b.Afterschool program c.Health Clinic

136

137

Buena Vista

Mangrove Restoration And Housing Site

138

FIG 57

The building should integrate its multi-function programming so that the end-user has a seamless transition between them. Better relating the housing to the street level and improving the pedestrian walkability. The building exploration can allow for a lifestyle change, providing community residents with a positive alternative to affordable housing. Its been proven that projects that integrate this alternative are successful in other parts of the world. Why could it not be successful in the global south? What better place to model a novel strategy than the first urban laboratory for community land trusts in an informal community. They have a successful track record that proves their competency.

A new challenge would allow them to apply their larger methodology. The building can become a refuge, a nodal point of resiliency for the community. When a hurricane does make landfall, residents won’t wonder if they will lose their possessions. They can feel safe. The coordinated flood protections can allow for a building that quickly returns to normalcy. Where the cisterns store water, the gardens filter pollution, the mangroves protect from storm surges. The structure can become a point of ecological restoration and help natural processes.

If there is a lesson to be learned, communities must organize. Their power for progress lies in collaboration. The Caño Martin Peña community has undergone its growing pains; it’s now in the process of formalizing its infrastructure.

Other communities in Latin America are in the same place the G-8 communities were a century ago. Suffering from governmental disinvestment and forced to live in inhumane conditions. Everyone deserves better, a dignified living.

Informal urban communities have the power to demand change. Community Land trusts can be a tool in a larger toolbox, allowing for the empowerment of the individual through activism and intelligent, targeted planning.

FIG 57 - Buena Vista Site Building Site

139

FIG 58 - Site Strategies General Site Strategies

140

Push Back Existing Buildings

Fill Low Lying Areas

Build Up Land on Rivers Edge

Density Near Rivers Edge

FIG 58

141

FIG 59 - Massing Studies A

FIG 60 - Massing Studies B

Building massing Steps.

142

Building Massing Variations

FIG 59

FIG 60

143

Boc, Vladimir. “Green infrastructures from the perspective of European institutions.” Scientific Papers-Series B, Horticulture 58 (2014): 297300.

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