Petare Venezuela

MALLADO LOS BARRIOS JOINING NETWORKS THROUGH URBAN AGRICULTURE

Ashley Vigen, Evan Yock William Bilyeu, Ashley Kopetzky Liz Johnson

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................01 Arrival City/ Migration Past to Present Current Issues Site Orientation 2. MAPPING...........................................................................07 Natural Environment Wind Contoured Elevation Slope Risk Solar Radiation Streams and Rivers Rain Water Runoff Green Space Built Environment Arterial Road Network Programs

4. CASE STUDY........................................................................27 Elevation Density Samples Water Catchment Agricultural Possibilities 5. MESHING...........................................................................33 Subtractive Layers Developed Land Non Build-able Slopes Flood Plains Proposed Expansion Comparing Connectivity Proposed Connectivity Linking Connectivity 6. SITE MODEL.......................................................................43 7. CONCLUSION.....................................................................47

3. INDEXING...........................................................................17 Dangerous Slopes vs. Built Environment Developed Density Web Road Network Road Network Connectivity Road Network to Slope Road Network to Elevation Road Network Intersection Intensities Highway Catchment Roads and Trees

Response to Issues Reviewers Response

INTRODUCTION

Three cities were proposed as cities that will explode in population by 2050 and that will need drastic aid. After examining the three cities in South America, Petare, Venezuela was selected.

Petare is a suburb of Caracas, the capital of Venezeula. One week was spent researching and ďŹ nding any sort of information pertaining to the city. The following is a depiction of the conditions in and around the city of Petare as well as an orientation of the city and its surroundings.

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ARRIVAL CITY/ MIGRATION An arrival city can be deďŹ ned as a city that will experience a massive population boom and experience all the problems that go with that. Petare is one of these cities and is already experiencing the detriments of its explosion. The cause of its population increase is largely due to the oil boom that Venezuela is experiencing. The top three origins of migrants are Columbia, Brazil and Guyana, but people come from Africa and Europe as well.

Neighboring Countries Arrival Condition

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PAST TO PRESENT Historically Petare was an agriculture community which dwindled due to rapid urbanization in Caracas from the oil industry. Currently Petare is in large part a massive slum. Immigrants come here because it is cheap to live, but end up not able to leave due to the economic shortcomings.

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CURRENT ISSUES Petare as it exists now has several main problems.

Some of these issues include severely lacking infrastructure, economic crisis, violence, lack of jobs and job diversity. Whats more is that the each of these issues tie into another which compounds their impacts. The infrastructure and economic crises go hand in hand for example.

Riots Caused by Lack of Waste Removal

Mudslide Caused by Building on Unstable Steep Hillside

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SITE ORIENTATION Metropolis: Caracas, Venezuela

population- 3.1 million [approx.] pop. density- 7,160 people/sq. km. [approx.]

Arrival City: Petare, Venezuela

population- 1 million [approx.] pop. density- 50,000 people/sq. km. [approx.]

In looking at Caracas we can zoom in one the area outside of the city which is Petare. It is important to note that the population density of Caracas is,7,160 people/sq. km. [approx.] and the density of Petare is 50,000 people/sq. km. which multiplies the density of Caracas seven fold.

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MAPPING

One week was spent doing research and gathering as much information about Petare as possible. There was a major hindrance that was experienced. Petare is one of the most violent places in the world and experiences and average of 52 murders per day, because of this, much of the information we required was very hard to ďŹ nd. Once we found the information we could the mapping phase began. Each category of information was mapped in its own layer in rhinoceros. Much of the information was mapped with simple points with corresponding colors and layers.

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WIND FLOWS This diagram shows the wind directions. In further research this was unnecessary and we ended up not using it in our indexing or ďŹ nal meshing. It is not necessary because wind is not a major factor that affects the built environment.

Average Wind Direction: 6 mph

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CONTOURED ELEVATION Here we see a color gradient depicting the elevation changes within Petare. The black portions represent the lowest elevations. As color grades to a brighter and brighter red the elevation is increasing. On average the highest elevation in the area is about 900 meters and the elevation within Petare varies about 300 meters.

Contours Colored Based on Elevation

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SLOPE RISK Here we see the depiction of any slope 20째 or greater. This is the slope at witch buildings are unsafe to be built on. This eliminates the areas shown in red.

Slope Risk Showing Slopes Greater Than 20 Degrees

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SOLAR RADIATION This is a depiction of the areas with the most and least solar exposure. The blue and purple colors are the areas with the least about of solar exposure whereas the red and yellow with the most.

Solar Radiation of Topography

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WATER SYSTEMS The stream and river catchment and rainfall runoff are examined to conclude where ooding will occur.

This is an important aspect because landslides are a major concern when you consider the soil type is clay. Clay is highly unstable when ooded with water and is at high risk for landslide.

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River System

River Floodplains

Rainwater Runoff

Runoff Catchment Area

GREEN SPACE In ďŹ rst image is all of the green spaces in and around Petare. The second image is the green space within the urban fabric. In latter case green space does not necessarily mean parks and gardens. This also incorporates small greenbelts and even just small patches of trees between buildings.

Flora

Urban Green Space

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ARTERIAL ROAD NETWORK One of the more important aspects of a city is its transportation and road networks. Depicted here are the six different levels of road categorization, as well as the result when you layer them all together.

The main conclusion that came from this study was that to the left of the main arterial roads the sub arterials are very grid like and organized. Once you move into Petare and examine the slums the roads become much more chaotic and unorganized.

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Highways Main Arterial Road Network Caracas Sub Arterial Road Network Petare Sub Arterial Road Network Bridges Metro Line

PROGRAMS In each of the following images a different set of programs are called out. In the last image all of the categories are compounded and layered with Petare. This shows what is available in the area as well as what may be missing. As you can see many of the programs are isolated to certain areas which makes accessibility difďŹ cult.

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1. Urban Nuclei 2. Residential 3. Industrial / Production 4. Civic Services 5. Education / PlayďŹ elds 6. New Construction / Development 7. Buildings Outside Barrio Boundries 8. Barrio Favelas

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INDEXING

Indexing consists of taking the mapped information and comparing them with other layers of information. This is beneďŹ cial because it depicts how two different types of information interact with each other. This information can greatly help in leading us to our ďŹ nal intervention site.

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DANGEROUS SLOPES VS. BUILT ENVIRONMENT Here we see a depiction of the previously depicted slope image and the already built areas. This shows where the already built environment avoids the slopes above 20°. This further amplifies the idea that much of the terrain in Petare is difficult and that degree of slope is an important aspect to take into consideration.

Dangerous Slope Grade Area

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DEVELOPED DENSITY WEB This shows the dramatic change in density from the barrios to the public housing blocks, which needs a successful bridging from one barrio region to another.

Density Web of Route Network and Built Development

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ROAD NETWORK CONNECTIVITY Here we can see the disconnection of the road network connectivity through the middle of the barrio region; where additional connectivity nodes should be added for proper ows of trafďŹ c. The disconnects depicted here are a major problem involving getting from ones neighborhood to their potential work place.

Existing Route Network System

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ROAD NETWORK TO SLOPE This interaction shows that roads don’t extend to extreme slopes. Additionally the roads follow the contours of the hills and then main roads stay at a lower elevation.

Dangerous Slopes Shown on Proximity to Major Roads

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ROAD NETWORK TO ELEVATION This is a depiction showing where roads are required to travel over higher elevations and you can see how the main roads avoid higher elevations.

Road Network Highlighted to Elevation

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INTERSECTION INTENSITIES Road network intersection intensity shows where possible congestion can happen. The Major road intersection intensity shows where major roads break off into slower arterial roads. From this we can see that southern Petare is lacking in major road networks.

Major Road Intersection Intensity

Road Network Intersection Intensity

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HIGHWAY CATCHMENT High way catchment shows access to main roads within 1000 meters. Areas of non-access are shown in orange.

Highway Catchment Shows Proximity to Main Roads

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ROADS AND TREES In this indexing layer we can see that a pattern exists where the urban environment meets with the natural environment. The roadways show opportunity for expansion and the area not marked with roads are open to development.

Shows the Proximity Between the Road Network and the Green Spaces

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Arrival City: Petare, Venezuela

population- 1 million [approx.] pop. density- 50,000 people/sq. km. [approx.]

Neighborhood: Barrio La Cruz

population- 22,250 [approx.] pop. density- 37,000 people/sq. km. [approx.]

CASE STUDY

The case study was conducted in an attempt to zoom into the urban fabric of Petare. Part of the purpose of this was to be able to make mapping every little thing better which was much easier to do on a more intimate scale.

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CONTOURED ELEVATIONS The color shows elevation changes from low to high going from black to red respectively. We can use this information to study how the neighborhoods interact with elevation and what conditions result from different elevations.

Barrio La Cruz with Contours Colored to Elevation

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DENSITY SAMPLES Each sample shows that density and slope are inversely proportional. In this study we concluded that as elevation and slope increases, density decreases.

High building density at the bottom of the hill

High building density mid-way up the hill

Total Area:

105,000 sq. meters

Total Area:

156,250 sq. meters

Building Area:

52,500 sq. meters

Building Area:

83,750 sq. meters

Density:

50%

Density:

53.6%

Medium-low building density moving up the hill

Low building density high on hill

Total Area:

194,375 sq. meters

Total Area:

171,250 sq. meters

Building Area:

53,125 sq. meters

Building Area:

41,875 sq. meters

Density:

27.3%

Density:

24.5%

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WATER CATCHMENT This portion of the study was conducted to measure the quantity of rain caught by the roofs. This water could them be used to irrigate urban agriculture.

Water catchment on rooftops

Light Blue: Dark Blue:

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Greater Roof Catchment Area

Annual Rainfall:

91cm

Rooftop Area:

231,250 sq.m

Annual Collection:

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Lesser Roof Catchment Area

55,591,700 gallons

AGRICULTURE POSSIBILITIES Coffee: 130-260gallons per acre per year 4 gallons per plant 500-700 plants per acre Each acre can produce 900-1300kg of coffee beans per year

The introduction of urban agriculture will not only provide food to the communities in Petare, but because these crops are in high demand a possibility of export is highly valuable. It will not only give the community an optional source of food but also create a new diversity of jobs.

Cocoa: 110-250 gallons per acre per year 320-800 plants per acre 3 gallons of water per plant Each acre can produce 360-900kg of cocoa beans per year

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MESHIING

The meshing phase was conducted in an effort to aid in our selection of an intervention site. All of our conclusions and indexes were meshed on top of one another which allowed us to logically pick out a site. In many cases the information was not helpful so certain indexes have been discarded in an effort to make our mesh clearer

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SUBTRACTIVE LAYERS Each layer of this mesh helps select the proposed intervention area by compounding different layers of information. Subtracting each layer from the potential buildable area helps create a logical boundary for intervention.

Floodplains

Non Build-able Slopes

Developed Land

Existing Landscape

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DEVELOPED LAND Yellow: Developed Land The highlighted area shows areas that are not open to development. The void spaces are all possible areas for intervention within this layer.

Removal of the Existing Developed Land

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NON BUILD-ABLE SLOPES Red: Slopes greater than 25% The highlighted areas shows areas of dangerous slopes. In this case the highlighted area represents slopes that are too great to safely build on. The void spaces represent areas for possible intervention

Removal of the Non Build-able Slopes

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FLOOD PLAINS The highlighted areas shows areas where ood and erosion should be taken into consideration. The void space represents possible area for intervention.

Removal of the Water Drainage Flood Plains

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PROPOSED EXPANSION After compressing the four proceeding layers our intervention site emerges logically. These areas are safe to build on with regards to build-able slope, potential ood

Proposed Expansion Layer Left Over After Removal Layers

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COMPARING CONNECTIVITY Here we see the existing road networks and connectivity. The density is representative of not only organized developed areas but unorganized dense areas. We can see that there is a lack of connectivity where the population is not as dense. Also, there is no connectivity between barrios where it seems pertinent that they should exist.

Proposed Expansion Area Compared to Existing Road Network Connectivity

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PROPOSED CONNECTIVITY This system helps to solve the connection issues between barrios. The connectivity is arranged in a way that it is not only successful for those living there but also for transportation and service.

Proposed Road Network Connectivity Over the Existing Connectivity

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LINKING CONNECTIVITY This system bridges the natural gaps in the proposed connectivity. By bridging the disconnections in the new organization we can hope to avoid natural detachments that have occurred in the existing

Links Between the Two Connectivity Networks

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SITE MODEL

The site model was created to depict several layers all in one. The ďŹ rst layer is the gray depicting the sub arterial layers, the next being the white depicts the main arterial roads. The top layer shows our proposed intervention area and connections.

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IN PROGRESS The process was as follows: 1.

Laser cut contours/spacers and assembled

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Cut piano wire to 3” pieces

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Placed rods in place using a map from rhino

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Trimmed rods to 1”above contour and glued them in

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Strung gray layer with a single strand and discovered you couldn’t see it

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Re strung gray layer with 3-4 more strands

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Strung white

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Placed intervention rods

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Strung red

Laying Down Glue for Topography Strips

Metal Dowels Before Strings are Added

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Applying Topography Strip to Base

COMPLETED Final model showing road network arterial connections along with proposed intervention connections.

Major and Sub-arterial Roads Completed

Proposed Connectivity

Plan View of Completed Model

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CONCLUSION

After the analysis of the area of focus both on the city and neighborhood scales, the deciding factors were identiďŹ ed. This included highlighting the existing infrastructure that was shaped by site topography and regional conditions as well as the poorly structured areas that lacked the demanded improvements towards social, economic, and civic issues.

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RESPONSE TO ISSUES

Main guiding issues to be addressed: Lack of natural green space and agriculture due to dense urban expansion and over population Insufficient water supply and removal Poor route structure and road connectivity that fails to accommodate transportation efficiency needed for the population density Proposed prototype solutions: Rooftop utilization for green space and rainwater catchment Community Agricultural implementation to improve food production, in response to inflation on imported goods Bridging gaps in existing route system to alleviate transportation congestion and to improve travel efficiency while adhering to environmental constraints of slope, elevation, and natural waterways

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Further prototype areas will be designed for implementation in areas available for new expansion, outlined by the removing areas of development, dangerous slope, and flood pain catchment regions.

REVIEWERS RESPONSE

Our intervention implementation will occur in areas that are suitable for further development. It will not occur in any are that already has existing development. A major reason for not introducing a reorganization of the existing barrios is because the mapping and specific information available is severally limited due to the density of the population and the small-scale area they exist in. Further analysis of these areas past the level that we have done would prove unreliable, i.e. the mapping of route connectivity and program within the inner communities of the barrios. However the issues that exist in the barrios are well documented and should be a deciding factor towards new expansion and These issues fueled an uncertainty of the direction of our projects intension and area of intervention. development.

We did introduce the specific barrio, La Cruz, as a focus of deeper analysis on the condition of these barrios. At this point our intention was to analyze the condition of developed density towards elevation change. We also included proposed examples of solutions towards impeding issues such as the lack of fresh water supply and agricultural abundances. These solutions were meant to be examples of the impact that these implementation systems could have on a community but these were not proposed as direction for our intervention on this neighborhood.

A suggestion was brought up to address the issue of the transitioning between the city and the neighborhood scales and the classification of the “barrio” by name.

Confusion arose when introducing these high-density clusters of residential housing communities as barrios (meaning neighborhood) as well as favelas, which comes with a negative connotation. This was because the local population refers to these communities as barrios but an outside perspective would be better informed towards the visual condition of these areas by the term favela.

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