2011 Leftovers :: Floods + Stairs – Part 2
2-La ‘Niña’: too much water?
“La maldita ‘Niña‘ ha sido el karma de mi Gobierno” (The darn “Niña’ has been the karma of my government). Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia
Inundations in Colombia, source: El Tiempo
THE CONTEXT
Similar to many developing countries, Colombia faces pressing shortages in housing, particularly due to the inefficient production of low-income dwellings. Moreover, the continuing political violence and recent winter storms in the country have lead to unprecedented increase in displaced populations in urgent need for housing.
According to a 2011 study produced by Camacol, the Colombian Chamber for Construction, for the National Federation of Departments, the country needs to construct approximately 350 000 housing units per year for twenty years to eliminate the housing shortage that exist in the country. These numbers do not include the great percentage of the population that lives in informal settlements, many of which live under illegal and inadequate conditions, lacking basic infrastructure and services, and access to tenure.
Indeed the heavy storms at the end of 2010 and 2011 have resulted in severe inundations and displacement throughout Colombia. Classified some of the worst natural tragedies in the history of Colombia, the recent floods have affected close to 3 million people at national level. A great number of the affected population are inhabitants of informal developments and rural areas that have heavily flooded. Nevertheless, should we only blame the rain?
This image, taken in the outskirts of Bogotá, shows one example of cases where housing was built on former lakes that were filled in, or dried up with the use of particular vegetation. In this particular case, the rain have refilled the lake Fuque.
LA NINA
While many blame the amount of rain as a culprit of the inundations, disasters and displacement that Colombia is now Read More…
2011 Leftovers :: Floods + Stairs – Part 1
With the New Year picking up speed and the passed year quickly dissolving in our memory, I want to take this opportunity to recap on a couple of remnants from 2011. In the following 2 posts, focusing on Colombia, the home country of our widely discussed Medellin, I want to share a quick glimpse on 2 specific leftovers from 2011.
1- Going up!!! –Electric stairs
Source:http://actualidad.orange.es/internacional/medellin-tiene-primeras-escaleras-electricas-del-mundo-para-movilidad-urbana.html
Yes, 2011 culminated with yet another mobility innovation in Medellin. Adding to the existing list of Metrocable (in Medellin; Caracas and now Rio), elevators, and monorails, we have now a new mechanical tool for pedestrian circulation: exterior electric staircases. Although not the first exterior electric staircases(see: Honk Kong), this is he first of its kind being located in one of Medellin’s most difficult informal settlements.
- Electric Stairs: Medellin and HK. Sources (left to right): Monica Guerra; Chirstopher DeWolf (www.urbanphoto.net)
The stairs are being built in the informal settlement Las Independencies (12 000 residents), located in the Comuna 13 as part of the Comuna’s PUI (part of a group of interventions including a Library Park: Parque Biblioteca San Javier , and the city’s second Metrocable).
The electric staircases, imported from Japan, were inaugurated in December 2011, costing 13500 million Colombian Pesos (approximately 7.6 million USD). With 130 linear meters, covering an area of 2000 sqm and replacing over 200 steps, the mechanical staircases climb- through 6 separate segments- 38 m in height.
Although the staircases were inaugurated in December, only 2 segments are functioning during restricted hours: Monday through Saturday they operate from 2-5 PM, 12-3 PM on Sundays. In this regard, one resident Read More…
Prepping for the New Year
On behalf of the FAVELissues team, we want to wish you happy holidays and a very prosperous new year!
Thank you for your support, comments and contributions. We look forward to continue sharing, challenging and building around concepts and discussions of urban informality, seeking a more equitable and sustainable city development.
Best regards,
The Olympic Juggernaut Hits Rio de Janeiro: Is there a compelling new story? [2]
PART 2: Olympics and Vila Autodromo [Guest Post by Maulik Bansal]
CLICK TO SEE previous posts: Intro and Part 1
Vila Autodromo – a favela on the western edge of the proposed Olympic Park. Source: ‘Brazil Olympics may send poor families packing’ – Alison Coffey. www.globalpost.com
AECOM’s original masterplan almost deliberately overlooks the favela Vila Autodromo. Although the four major components of Barra da Tijuca’s Olympic proposal have pivoted around this crucial land parcel, its current inhabitation has not seemed worthy of consideration. In fact, the fragmentation of the masterplan into four components and their subsequent planning by independent agencies has made the existing community of Vila Autodromo ‘peripheral’. Interestingly, the AECOM proposal places the overhead connection between the Olympic Park and the Convention Center along the southern edge of the community. If one pays closer to attention to this peripheral element, it appears as though AECOM proposes to restructure the existing road network of this area without affecting this favela.
Nevertheless, AECOM does not have the last word in the overall masterplan. The municipal authorities have ignored AECOM’s approach, and have continued to find ways to evict residents of the small favela. Indeed, Vila Autodromo would probably be too visible and stand out in a shiny new Olympic masterplan. How can Rio de Janeiro afford to showcase its not-so-bright reality to the world? The new image of the bright new future has no room for these unplanned, spontaneous and illegal developments that pock-mark Rio’s urban landscape.
But, Vila Autodromo is not a new neighborhood. It started out as a fishermen community, and has been there for nearly 40 years. It is a low- and middle-income community of about 2,000 people that is five times older than the Convention Center. It has residents rather than the transient population of the Convention Center, and is built with the idea of permanence unlike the pre-fabricated and assembled steel frame of the Convention Center that has been generously integrated into the masterplan. Moreover, this community has legal rights to be there, on land leased to them by the government in 1994 for 40 years. Yet, the Olympic Bid chose to retain the Convention Center over a living community. In fact, the Bid Document does not even acknowledge the existence of this community.
Over the last few years local authorities have made repeated attempts at notifying “obstructing” communities on their imminent relocation. However, these authorities and their top-down approaches to planning have obviously overlooked Read More…
The Olympic Juggernaut Hits Rio de Janeiro: Is there a compelling new story? [1]
PART 1: Background [Guest Post by Maulik Bansal]
On October 1, 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the Summer Olympic Games 2016 will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro. The Bid Document submitted by Rio de Janeiro was an extensively detailed and thorough proposal consisting of a three-volume document explaining all administrative, financial, social and technical aspects.
Accompanying traditional concerns of transportation, sport, health, education and environment, the bid reflected an elaborate narrative on an urgent need for the ‘new’ and for ‘transformation’.
“The Rio Games will also celebrate and showcase sport thanks to the city’s stunning setting and a desire to lift event presentation to new heights. Rio 2016 will excel in meeting all the needs of the Games Family…. At the same time, Rio 2016 will be an opportunity to deliver the broader aspirations for the long-term future of the city, region and country – an opportunity to hasten the transformation of Rio de Janeiro into an even greater global city.” “For the people of Rio, the Games will transform their city with new infrastructure, new environmental, physical and social initiatives and new benefits and opportunities for all…. They will bring a new level of global recognition for Brazil. Superb Games and stunning broadcast imagery will provide a long-term boost to tourism and Brazil’s growing reputation as an exciting and rewarding place to live, do business and visit….History’s first Games in a new continent, in a city with unique global image, will open new horizons, building interest and enthusiasm over the full four years of the Olympiad. The media and sponsors will be excited by a new destination, bringing new value to the Olympic and Paralympic brands. A compelling new story is ready to be told.”
(Extracts from Vol.1 of Candidature File for Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games)
Indeed, a very well written and compelling story. A story that –although at present fictional-has the potential to manifest itself into reality with the right political will and public sacrifice.. A work of fiction so intent on its manifestation, that it inspires political will and social sacrifice. After all, would questioning such narratives not constitute a regressive, even unpatriotic attitude? Who wants to become a stumbling block in the city’s and the country’s path towards a new future?
In order to ensure that all development with regard to the Summer Olympics and other mega-events, such as the FIFA World Cup 2014, are beneficial to Read More…
The Olympic Juggernaut Hits Rio de Janeiro: Is there a compelling new story?
Guest Post by Maulik Bansal
Today more people live in urban areas than ever before. Our cities are changing rapidly and will continue to do so, and a resilient city may be one that is flexible and adaptable to these changing conditions in social, economical and physical development. Over the last decade, China and the Gulf region have been driven by economic stimulus and authoritarian governments that are able to rapidly and comprehensively change the shape of their urban structure and heritage, though sometimes in disputable and non-democratic ways. It may be argued that such interventions are often associated with authoritative governmental role. But this article contends that it is often the paradigm of intervention itself that enables the government to adopt such a role.
One such paradigm is the mega event, and its perception as a symbol of the resilience and strength of an economy, supposedly representative of the aspirations of its people. As John Short mentions in his 2008 article ‘Globalization, cities and the Summer Olympics’ published in City,
“Across the world city elites are promoting a global city imaginary; a vision of a self-consciously ‘global’ city replete with images of busy international airports, foreign tourists, inward investment, a cosmopolitan atmosphere, creative industries, cultural economies and an overwhelmingly positive image shared around the world.”
However, the scope of the event transcends mere advertising, and becomes a catalyst for significant urban renewal and socio-economic change. Here, it is not the projection of an identity, but the actual manufacturing of it that takes center stage. Here, lies the critical point of juncture – a ‘make-or-break’ situation – that the city is faced with. Facing ever-increasing pressures
GUAYAQUIL REVISITED >> Architecture in Development
I wanted to share this feature that I wrote for Architecture in Development, regarding Guayaquil’s Urban Regeneration strategies and the waterfront renovation project: Malecón del Salado. Although this project was one of the first to be showcased and discussed in FAVELissues, I believe that is a good time to revisit it with new graphic and textual information.
LINK: UPGRADING INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS – A CASE STUDY FROM ECUADOR
Sectional Diagram, Malecón del Salado (Guayaquil); created by Adriana Navarro
FAVELA CHIC :: Aerial Cable Cars & Gondolas
Metrocable in Santo Domingo, Medellin
The upgrading of ‘slums’ in Latin American cities attracts the global eye. Although governments, planners and architects have long intervened in informal settlements -or favelas- it is only recently that design and physical interventions have become central components. Following a long history of tabula rasa, public housing, self-help, and sites-and-services schemes, current approaches to favelas have evolved into strategies characterized as ‘urban acupuncture,’ aiming to minimize displacement and improve the conditions in the area by focusing on the aspects most absent in the settlement: infrastructure, public space, and public equipment. From libraries, to parks, to new facades and representations, waterfront renovations, and urban promenades, one of the most popular and recognized interventions today is the aerial cable car system, also known as Metrocable, or Teleferico depending on the context.
Metrocable in San Javier, Medellin
With much scrutiny and financial instability, Medellín, completed it’s first Metrocable in Santo Domingo in August 2004. The city now boast three Metrocable systems including Santo Domingo, the Metrocable San Javier, linking the Comuna 13 and inaugurated in 2008, and a tourist line inaugurated in 2010, which begins at the Santo Domingo station and extends into the National Park Arví (an investment of $50.500 millon for the city).
Caracas implemented it’s own Metrocable system in the barrio San Agustín, which began in January 2010.
In great means responding to the city’s preparation for the World Cup and the Olympics, attempting to upgrade and dress up favelas in the city for the great events, Rio de Janeiro completed its first cable car system earlier this year, 2011.
In Bogotá recent elections, the metrocable became a star players, included in the majority of the candidate’s agendas as a strategy to alleviate and address poverty in Colombia’s capital.
Metrocable San Javier, Medellin
Aiming to enhance the connectivity and permeability of marginalized settlements, aerial gondola systems have quite rapidly become the symbols of social change in cities, placing a strong emphasis on the image and representation. As these interventions become more prevalent, they require a scrutinizing and analytical lens.
DRAWING UP THE METROCABLE + PUI NORIENTAL (COMUNAS 1+2)
In 2010, I had the opportunity to conduct an entire year of field research, developing a comparative analysis with a focus on current ‘slum’ upgrading strategies in Latin America. During this time, I organized a series of cognitive mapping workshops with local residents in different settlements; in Medellín’s Northeastern settlements [Comunas 1 and 2], I worked with a local NGO, Convivamos. The mapping sessions aimed to measure the “socio-spatial integration” produced by the Metrocable, the Library of Spain and accompanying PUI interventions, based on a comparison of perceptions between local residents and inhabitants of other “formal” areas of the city.
Before diving into discussions on the results and observations, some quick context: Read More…
Lecture at Parsons :: Vila Viva Favela Redesign, Belo Horizonte
Fernando Lara lectures at Parsons School of Design, discussing participatory budgeting strategies in Belo Horizonte, and recent projects in the Brazilian favelas.
“Vila Viva Favela Redesign, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.” Claudius Pereira, chief executive of the Agency for Housing and Urbanization for Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and Dr. Fernando Lara, architect and professor at the University of Texas, Austin, discuss the redesign of the Vila Viva Favela, winner of a Metropolis Award.
TIME: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: 6 East 16th Street, 12th Floor, Room 1200
ADMISSION: Free; no tickets or reservations required; seating is first-come first-served
Link + Article :: Design for the Other 90% CITIES
Top: Children play on the Platform of Hope, above Gulshan Lake, Dhaka, Bangladesh. [Photo by Khondaker Hasibul Kabir] Bottom: A mural by community youth and artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn, working under the nameHaas&Hahn, Vila Cruzeiro favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [Photo by Haas&Hahn]
Cynthia Smith, the curator of the Cooper Hewitt’s Design for the Other 90%: CITIES exhibit wrote an interesting article on the online journal Places. The article summarizing Smith’s observations and findings, as well as showcases some particular projects. Following is a link of to the article, as well as a link to the online database of the CITIES exhibit.
Cynthia Smith on PLACES
Design for the Other 90%: CITIES ONLINE DATABASE
Adriana Navarro Sertich
Lubaina Rangwala
Jennifer Renteria
Kirsten Larson
Proyectos Arqui5
Tucker Landesman
Namrata Kapoor
Paula Restrepo-Cadavid
Andrew Carman
Jose Antonio Ramirez
Fernando Luiz Lara
Bethany Opalach
