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Analysis of Sustainability in the Slum Upgrading Process: the Stormwater Subsystem and the Accessibility, Mobility and Transport

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Analysis of Sustainability in the Slum Upgrading Process: the Stormwater Subsystem and the Accessibility, Mobility and Transport Analysis of sustainability in the slum upgrading process: the stormwater subsystem and the accessibility, mobility and transport Mateus H. Andrade student Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (EP-USP) Brazil [email protected] Architect Patricia Aulicino, EP-USP, Brazil, [email protected] Professor Alex Kenya Abiko, EP-USP, Brazil, [email protected] Summary The process of rapid urbanization in developing countries has produced divided cities where the formal and informal live side by side. Informal settlements have become complex forms, where the social and environmental problems are major challenges for the government and the population for decades, in order to find ways to include them in the urban environment of the formal city, and to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and minimize environmental impacts caused by the land occupation without infrastructure. In relation to urban systems, accessibility, mobility and transport system and the storm water drainage subsystem directly impact on the environment and quality of life of residents, especially in environmental preservation areas. However, as slums are very specific and complex systems, the slum upgrading project should be aware of the location characteristics, observing certain principles related to minimum conditions for the implantation of urban systems. Based on cases of slum upgrading in environmental protected areas, this paper aims to analyze the solutions encountered at implementing the urban infrastructure of drainage and road system in slums, examining the techniques employed and finding innovative solutions implemented by the interaction between the technicians with the local community. The results show the benefits that the urban upgrading process of informal settlements can provide to the environment and to the slum dwellers, if properly planned and performed. Keywords: slum upgrading, road system, urban drainage, recovery of degraded human settlements, sustainability 1. Introduction There are several solutions to improve the life conditions of marginalized groups living in slums, tenements and squatter settlements. From forced removal of slum dwellers and self-construction programs to the different approaches to the improvement of infrastructure in slums – known as slum upgrading – the alternatives are many, but not always appropriate to the circumstances of each settlement. In this paper, a discussion will be made on the slum upgrading, a process a process through which informally settled areas are gradually improved, formalized and incorporated into the city itself, extending access to land, urban services and citizenship to the slum dwellers (since the dwellings are not located in a risk area, such as hillsides, near streams and other high-risk situations). It offers to slum dwellers services that can cover both the infrastructure – water supply, sewerage, drainage, roads, etc. – and the education, land tenure or reduction of crime. Any policy that seeks to improve social conditions of slums through sustainable development will inevitably address the economic and environmental issue as well. Balancing all three dimensions of sustainability is fundamental to the success of an upgrading project, which must be addressed in a holistic manner; when it comes to the slums there is, however, an even worse position because of the fragility of the communities involved. By recognizing and using nature's tools properly, a slum upgrading project strengthens the people's rights to have the basic necessity for human dignity: a home in their communities. 2. The sustainability on Slum Upgrading The particularly large urban agglomerations are major contributors to environmental degradation and resource depletion. The slums, due to lack of basic infrastructure, also cause severe impacts on the environment, even the smaller ones, damaging the water quality of the soil and the water springs, and debilitating the regions where they are. Through urban upgrading, whose approach involves all urban functions, such as land use, construction, water supply, transportation and recreation, these undesirable environmental implications can be addressed and reversed. The slum upgrading is not a new solution to the housing problem, as well as precarious settlements are not recent in the history of cities in the developing world. The favelization (i.e. slum formation) exposed the fragility of the interaction of these communities with the formal city, what hampers the sustainability outlook in a slum upgrading project and its positive externalities beyond the technical issues faced in its planning and execution. Several projects arise when there is this intention of incorporating the irregular city into the formal city through urban upgrading, from the villas miserias of Buenos Aires to the gecekondus of Istanbul – and even between the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is necessary an extensive discussion about the improvement of slum upgrading projects. Through projects that seek to bring an adequate infrastructure to precarious settlements, which would include the access and use of environmentally sound technologies in the slum and reduce the demand for mobility and transport, for example, it could produce significant energy savings and contribute to sustainable development in the region in which the community involved is inserted. 3. Considerations and challenges There‟s still a lot in order to develop determinant guidelines for slums around the world, although the way to sustainability in slum upgrading had advanced greatly in recent years. Slum upgrading improves the quality of life of slum dwellers, mitigates the environmental impacts caused by illegal occupants, integrates the community to the city and brings many other social, environmental and economic benefits. But its poor implementation can bring many disadvantages, bringing negative aspects of cities, such as soil impermeabilization through the unnecessary or exaggerated paving, and disrespect to the environment in which it is located. A slum upgrading program must regard the slums not as resource-draining liabilities but as opportunities to make sustainable changes to the city as a whole. There is already technology available to obtain fresh water from sea water, produce fuel from garbage and to generate electricity from solar energy, but they are far from sufficient to supply the needs of over one billion people who call urban slums their homes. Several studies will be necessary for achieving sustainability not only in the slums, but in most cities of the developing world, which still have basic questions as congenital problems e.g. water supply and housing. As the slum has to acquire the existing infrastructure in the city, cities have much to learn from the slums. Slums are complex organic entity, just like the cities are. Analysis of sustainability in the slum upgrading process: the stormwater subsystem and the accessibility, mobility and transport Mateus H. Andrade student Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (EP-USP) Brazil [email protected] Architect Patricia Aulicino, EP-USP, Brazil, [email protected] Professor Alex Kenya Abiko, EP-USP, Brazil, [email protected] Summary The process of rapid urbanization in developing countries has produced divided cities where the formal and informal live side by side. Informal settlements have become complex forms, where the social and environmental problems are major challenges for the government and the population for decades, in order to find ways to include them in the urban environment of the formal city, and to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants and minimize environmental impacts caused by the land occupation without infrastructure. In relation to urban systems, accessibility, mobility and transport system and the storm water drainage subsystem directly impact on the environment and quality of life of residents, especially in environmental preservation areas. However, as slums are very specific and complex systems, the slum upgrading project should be aware of the location characteristics, observing certain principles related to minimum conditions for the implantation of urban systems. Based on cases of slum upgrading in environmental protected areas, this paper aims to analyze the solutions encountered at implementing the urban infrastructure of drainage and road system in slums, examining the techniques employed and finding innovative solutions implemented by the interaction between the technicians with the local community. The results show the benefits that the urban upgrading process of informal settlements can provide to the environment and to the slum dwellers, if properly planned and performed. Keywords: slum upgrading, road system, urban drainage, recovery of degraded human settlements, sustainability 1. Introduction When there is a concern, particularly from the government, on improving the life conditions of marginalized groups living in slums, tenements and squatter settlements, there are several solutions to this urban problematic. From forced removal of slum dwellers and self-construction programs to the different approaches to the improvement of infrastructure in slums – known as slum upgrading – the alternatives are many, but not always appropriate to the circumstances of each settlement. In this paper, a discussion will be made on the slum upgrading, a process a process through which informally settled areas are gradually improved, formalized and incorporated into
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