La Vega is one of the largest informal settlements in Caracas, holding a population of over 100,000 people. “San Rafael Unido” is a sector of La Vega is a small (around 26 hectares and close to 5000 people). The settlement now holds interventions by Arqui5, one of the local firms in Caracas that won the National Council for Housing competition for the upgrade of informal settlements in October 1999. “CAMEBA”, along with the financial backing of the National Government and the World Bank, lead the implementation of the program,

Although I was able to visit La Vega during my stay in Caracas, I did not get the opportunity to visit Arqui5’s intervention. Since I will not be able to visit again until the fall, I wanted to quickly showcase some images of their project in order to give you an idea of their design.

For a quick description, the project is basically a network of stairs. Nevertheless, the design of these stairs allow for much more than simply increase the accessibility in the steep slopes of La Vega. They also encompass, wherever possible, small public and gathering spaces as well as basic services systems (drainage, gas, water, sewer and electricity lines in addition to water reserve tanks located at higher points). In addition, the project projected more public equipments and buildings such as schools, community centers and sports facilities. Unfortunately, my impression is that, none of these, except for the first floor of a community center, were actually built.

Plan of stair intervention in San Rafael Unido, courtesy of Arqui5

Network of Stairs, courtesy of Arqui5

Urban Cable Car, Barrio San Agustín

San Agustin Metrocable: station, sketch, and settlement

The Barrio of San Agustín is one of the most centrally located and connected barrios in Caracas. It sits next to the city center, adjacent to a main highway, the city’s botanical garden and some higher-income residences (Terraza del Alba). According to the 2001 census, the entire barrio has a total of 45 000 residents. From these 45 000 people,  20 000 live in the hill and the other 25 000 in the lower, flat area adjacent to the highway. In the last months, San Agustin has also become home to the first cable car system of Caracas. The Metrocable, part of the city’s metro system, enters San Agustin through the Parque Central Metro Station, looping around the barrio and finishing in the San Agustin station, disconnected from the rest of the Metro system.

From past to present: the Metrocable

The barrio began in 1926 with the temporary workers’ housing constructed by the Banco de Obreros. This housing was organized in 12 blocks, located in the lower part of San Agustin. Soon after their construction, the housing went from temporary to permanent, receiving an upgrading in infrastructure in 1934, by organizations such as Proformento y Promejorar. This permanence was accentuated in the 1950s, as cultural associations marked their presence through the construction and establishment of various theaters, and community centers. Soon after, the barrio grew onto its surrounding hills, and quickly gained an unfortunate negative reputation related to the high rate of violence and criminal activity in the barrio.

Around 2007 and 2008, Caracas Urban Think Tank (UTT) pitched an initial proposal for a urban cable car system in the area. The government accepted the proposal and asked UTT to provide the Schematic design as well as Design Development drawings. The Construction Drawings and actual execution of the project, were allotted, after a competition was held, to a construction company firm called Odebrecht Constructores. As a result of this design/execution disconnection, we can see that there are great gaps and changes between the initial proposal and the final product. For example, the initial design included public programs, such as a health care center, a day care, a supermarket, recreational facilities and even public housing, in the Metrocable stations. In contrast, the final product consists of just the stations with nearly any public space or additional programs.

UTT's Master Plan for San Agustin, courtesy of Urban Think Tank

Initial Station plan with a focus on landscape design, courtesy of Urban Think Tank

Initial Rendering of a Station showing additional programs on the lower levels, courtesy of Urban Think Tank

Observations on the Metrocable

Initially, the project projected close to 15 000 users, the reality however, has been much shyer than this, having approximately 2500 users/month. Nevertheless, the mobility system has brought quite some attention to San Agustin, opening the door for smaller government programs to take place and local groups to organize in the barrio. To illustrate, there are now 3 state “misiones” or programs that are now involved in the barrio: Misión Barrio Nuevo (dealing with the reconstruction of houses), Misión Tricolor (focusing on the facades of houses in the barrios, painting them with the national flags colors: yellow, blue and red), and Misión Bario Adentro (which performs medical and health attendance).

Painted houses, Misión Tricolor

Part of the reason why the Metrocable hasn’t achieved its potential, is the fact that it doesn’t really lead anywhere, but goes around in a loop through San Agustin. As a result, the majority of the users are residents of the barrio, and more specifically, they are residents living adjacent to the stations. To further explain the low usage as well as the specificity in the users, are the internal borders and hierarchies existing in the barrio. San Agustin is internally divided into various sectors, each one with its own hierarchy. Residents call this phenomenon “pavellonización” referring to being trapped in one’s own “pavellón”, or Read More…

Petare, view from highway

Where are we today?

In 1987, for the first time, the Ley Orgánica de Ordenación Urbanística, the equivalent of the zoning and planning law for the city, recognized the barrios as an integral part of the city and as such, made them subject to special plans for their reordering and physical rehabilitation (also opening a slight door for the possibility of legalization). Unfortunately, the law was never fully put practice and thus remained as a great idea but only on paper. In 1989 two important national laws were passed (Decentralización, Delimitación y Tranferencia de competencies del Poder Publico + Eleccion de Gobernadores y Alcaldes), opening the doors for the political decentralization, a stronger public participation and sustainable development of the country’s infrastructure.

Around the late 1980s, based on the previous work and studies done by the CCG: Centro Cuidades de la Gente, lead by Teolinda Bolívar at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), which focused on the analysis of the barrios and autoconstructed neighborhoods; http://centrociudadesdelagente.blogspot.com/], Federico Villanueva and Josefina Baldó began a series of housing studios at the UCV. This experience led to the consolidation of a reintegration and rehabilitation plan for the barrios (“Plan Sectorial de Incorporación a la Estructura Urbana de las Zonas de los Barrios del Area Metropolitana de Caracas y de la Región Capital”).

In 1999, under Josefina Baldó’s leadership, under the National Council for Housing, the Programa de Habilitación Física de Barrios (The Physical Habilitation of the barrios) was established.  A competition was held in order to select architects for the upgrading of informal settlements The state institution “CAMEBA” lead the implementation of the program, with financial backing from the National Government and the World Bank. This is how the firm Arqui 5, amongst other winners, began their work in the barrios.

"Stairology" (network of stairs) in the Barrio San Rafael Unido, Arqui 5

Los Paraparos in Barri la Vega, by Amaya Mora Arquitectos, source: Arqui 5

However, in the year 2003, the government stopped all plans by CAMEBA and began a new plan, called the Misión Villanueva, which as the name pretty much indicates (new villa) consists in eradication, and relocation of barrios into new constructed communities. What is particular is that these communities are based on a communist concept of mono-production, attempting to convert each planned community into an agricultural or industrial center based on one product. From my conversations and time in Venezuela, I can say, regardless of the marketing and propaganda, these plans seem to be extremely slow in their execution. I did not hear nor see a villa being constructed…

President Chaves discussing a plan for the program Villanueva, source: web

In contrast to the stagnation of the government, the universities (the UCV, the Universidad Simón Bolivar, etc) seem to be doing interesting work, making various proposal and actual constructions regarding the upgrading and reintegration of the barrios. For example, the Simón Bolivar (USB) in particular has established a program called “ECO, Constuyendo Espacios para el Cambio” (ECO, constructing spaces for change). This program, as part of community service that students have to fulfill during their university years, focuses on participatory interventions in the barrios. Many of their projects and actual constructions consist of small-scale public space interventions.  Nevertheless, the projects seem to be growing and ECO is now seeking financial support from the IDB…

Parque la Esperanza in Petare, University Simón Bolivar; source: Arqui 5. Petare, as the largest barrio in Caracas and as part of a persistent municipal government (Sucre), is becoming one of the primary sites for public space and specifically park interventions. The current administration of Sucre is aiming to create a network of parks as a means to equalize opportunities and reintegrate the city.

With the increased centralization of power that has taken place with the current president, Caracas ,and the country in general, seems to be in a tough position. What Venezuela is currently witnessing is a loss of power from the side of professionals and municipal governments and strong, conflicting interest with State policies and projections. In my opinion, the high unemployment and incredible percentage of urban informality should be an indicator to the government to reinforce and prioritize localized plans and actions. It is the local government the ones who can knowingly identify the most critical problems and address the affected/benefited communities directly. Nevertheless, the massive centralization remains a difficult and convoluted obstacle for both municipal governments and professionals who are trying to, not only address the barrios, but to create a better the city.

Background

A great majority of the urbanization in Venezuela took place due to the early oil exploitations. Towards the end of the XIX century, most early cities and camps were born next to oil fields. With time, these, “provisionary” camps, which included residential areas for the workers, began to grow, better their infrastructure, equipments and very quickly became small communities. Nevertheless, in the 1920s, these oil camps became the target of most social critiques as they were extremely segregated by working ranks.

Neglecting this social critique, the camps continued to grow, fed mostly by a rural migration that was attracted by the possibility of employment and a better quality of life. This marks the beginning of the first barrios; and with time, the barrios extended to other cities not involved in the petroleum exploitation. Between 1936 and 1950, Caracas went from having a population of 258000 to one of 1 336000, and in the year 2000 reaching over 3 million inhabitants.

Because of the natural topography of the city- a long valley where the surrounding mountains limit the expansion- the city began to grow into and onto itself. Because of the lack of strong urban and housing policies directed to both the production of housing and the creation of “livable” city, the majority of the population slowly improved and solved their own habitat, through auto-construction and incremental development, invading land inside and in the borders of the city, taking over the surrounding hills and ignoring most aspects of circulation and connectivity.

Politics and Housing

The leading housing institution in Latin America, Banco Obrero (Workers’ Bank), was created in 1928. In 1941 began the first process of urban renovation EL Silencio, as well as the massive eradication of barrios favoring the construction of massive super-block projects such as the “23 de Enero.” These two mark the two largest moves in the flight against barrios.

23 de Enero Housing Project after its construction, source: web

23 de Enero Housing Project today

In 1945, the Banco de Obrero’s Housing Plan was established and aimed to terminate all unsanitary and precarious housing and replace it with the construction of 4000 housing units/year in the next 10 years.  In the 1950s, although the eradication continued, the need for housing continued to grow and the massive displacement of people only resulted in the creation of new invasions in the Eastern and Western mounts of the city, thus giving birth to Petare (the largest barrio in Caracas) amongst others. Although the construction and rental of a “rancho” (house in the barrio) was considered illegal, politicians still supported the invasions in return for votes, providing them materials and protecting them from eradication.

Between 1959 and 1964, the Banco de Obrero (BO) began various “sites and services” projects as well as some projects dealing with the rehabilitation of the barrios. Around 1970, through the leadership of Teolinda Bilívar and her collaborators, the BO created the first Program for the Urbanization and Equipment of Barrios. This pushed architects, planners, sociologists and students to work together in projects aiming for the construction of basic infrastructure and services in informal settlements. Nevertheless, as soon as the program began to take off, it was impeded by the same organization that created it, favoring the sites and services projects already began.

The 1973 oil boom brought high financing to the public sector and accentuated the growth of the largest barrios in the capital. According to stats taken from edition 35 of the academic journal urbana, between 1950 and 1990, the informal population grew by close to 900%! Around the same time, various practices began to take place aiming for the “consolidación de barrios” (consolidation of barrios). These projects, in their majority, focused on adding new stairs, drainage, and black water management, yet never truly addressed the factors behind their uncontrolled growth and their physical and social reintegration into the formal city.

Where are we today? To be continued in Part 2…