Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic George McQueen Community & Regional Planning—School of Architecture Latin American Studies—Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies University of Texas at Austin CRP 386 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems December 14, 2009 Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic George McQueen – CRP 386 – Fall 2009 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Many government institutions in the Global South typically lack capacity to effectively use geospatial data for urban governance, including the ability to develop effective means to improve living conditions in informal settlements. The marginalized communities along the Ozama and Isablela Rivers in Distrio Nacional, Dominican Republic have been surveyed and studied regularly for the past 50 years. The communities and governing bodies are keenly aware of the environmental risks and social vulnerabilities of this area, but there appears to be little continuity between surveys and organizations. Surveys and maps become property of the sponsoring organization and each new effort to understand and address the environmental and social concerns requires the creation of new methodologies, new spatial references and the gathering of new data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be a powerful tool to help improve communication and understanding among communities and government institutions. GIS can provide spatial and statistical information that can be communicated visually. This project will (1) review, categorize, document and prepare geospatial data provided by public institutions in the Dominican Republic, and (2) prepare supporting documentation of the data for use by public officials, technicians, and scholars working in Santo Domingo. Finally (3), this project will conduct a remote risk and vulnerability assessment of the Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, to demonstrate how GIS can be used to identify areas that are at risk of environmental hazards and vulnerable to a variety of social conditions. This will constitute an initial assessment, resulting in a recommendation for how geospatial data may be collected and used for further, more in- depthe assessments of living conditions in the Distrito Nacional. This information may guide public works departments in prioritizing infrastructure improvement or municipalities in deciding where to site public services, such as community centers and health clinics. The assessment will also provide a model for future training of technicians and show the opportunities of GIS for the improvement of informal settlements in Santo Domingo and elsewhere in the Dominican Republic. 2 Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic George McQueen – CRP 386 – Fall 2009 INTRODUCTION As the largest city and the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo also has the highest population density. In a country of 8.5 million in 2002 (almost exactly 50 percent female, 50 percent male), 1.8 million live in the Santo Domingo Province, of which just over 900,000 live in the Distrito Nacional. Of the 48,442 square kilometers of the Dominican Republic, about 1/5th of the country's population lives in area of just 92 square kilometers of the Distrito Nacional. In other words, 21% of the population lives in .01% of the country. (ADN) While the population of the Dominican Republic continues to grow, there is also a shift in the countrywide population to the urban centers. (CONAU) Opportunities for jobs, education, services are all located in the cities; therefore there is a natural tendency for people living in rural communities to migrate towards these opportunities. As cities become more dense, the availability of these opportunities becomes more competitive, which is a disadvantaged to the most vulnerable community members. Housing opportunities also become more scarce, especially affordable housing, therefore people will settle where they can, even in areas that are hazardous, putting their well being at risk. (Navarro) As troubling as this is, this is a reality that affects most large cities, especially in Latin America. The Distrito Nacional is not an exception to the problems affecting large cities developing nations. Since the 1960s, the governing institutions have been trying to address the problems of of social and environmental inequality. Some efforts have been more successful than others, and the Distrito Nacional experienced its own form of “urban renewal” in the 60s and 70s. (Chantada) … One area of continued concern and attention has been the land along the shores of the Ozama and Isabela rivers (see Figure 1). While the northern and eastern political boundaries of the Distrito Nacional are defined by these two rivers, so are many of the social and environmental conditions of the poor. These two large rivers converge just before reaching the Caribbean Sea. Sited at the confluence of three bodies of water, the Distrito Nacional has been a strategic location—militarily and economically—for centuries. However, this location also poses many unique environmental risks to the ever increasing population. (CONAU) In the mid 1990s, the municipality of the Distrito Nacional identified key areas of risk along the Isabela and Ozama Rivers with a project was called RESURE (“La Reestructuración Social, Urbana, y Ecológica de los Barrios Marginados que Rodean los Rios Ozama e Isabela;” translated: “The Social, Urban and Ecological Restructuring of the Marginalized Neighborhoods along the Ozama and Isablea Rivers”). This project proposed engaging the marginalized communities along the rivers to help improve the infrastructure and create “autoconstrucción”—self help. (RESURE) The project also proposed the creation of a greenbelt along the river shore. This proposed relocating families found in areas of high risk and designating these areas as protected zones, which would allow for a contiguous green belt along the river. While intentions, actions and 3 Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic George McQueen – CRP 386 – Fall 2009 results of RESURE (and RESURE II) are not in question, the methodology for the initial assessment remains unclear. Other similar efforts have been made to either improve conditions for or move people from these areas of highest risk, particularly in the neighborhoods of La Zurza and La Ciénega. These neighborhoods are among the poorest and located in the areas most susceptible to natural hazards in the Distrito Nacional.(RESURE) Other neighborhoods that are equally poor, with similar environmental hazards are Gualey, Puerto Isabela, Escanche Capotillo, Simón Bolivar, 24 de Abril, and Domingo Salvo. These neighborhoods represent a contiguous belt along the southwestern shores of the Isabel and Ozama Rivers. Another defining feature of these neighborhoods is the canyon, or the “cañada.” The cañada is the natural watershed drainage and is typically unsuitable for development, (Sletto) which is why the poorest people settle there—albeit illegally— because it is the only available land. Each of these neighborhood has a cañada, which is a continuous source of health and environmental risk. Following previous research and anticipating further investigation, this analysis will demonstrate how government officials can use census data and geographic information systems (GIS) shapefiles to anticipate and prevent certain social, economic and environmental crises. This analysis, however, does have very clear limitations. First, much of the data used for this project is over 10 years old and the conditions and infrastructure have likely changed. The accuracy of the original data is not known, therefore the accuracy of this assessment is limited. Second, much of the data had to be transferred from computer animated design (CAD) drawing files (.dwg) to GIS shapefiles (.shp). This creates additional opportunity for human error. Third, because this assessment was conducted remotely, and the author has not been to the study site, this is primarily a visual exercise in the possible uses of GIS. 4 Risk and Vulnerability Assessment of Distrito Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic George McQueen – CRP 386 – Fall 2009 PROBLEM STATEMENT Individual departments within governmental institutions gather and create information on the community and constituency they serve and represent. However, it is not uncommon for departments to be unable or unwilling to share this information. Cities in Latin America are not an exception, particularly the Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic. Urban planners in Latin America have been traditionally educated as architects and use the tools of architects to document, represent and analyze space. Computer animated design is a common tools for Latin American planners/architects to create maps and plans. But as departmental budgets are constrained, so are the faculties to produce and use these maps and plans. In the Distrito Nacional, the marginalized communities along the Ozama and Isablela Rivers in Distrio Nacional, Dominican Republic have been surveyed and studied regularly for the past 50 years. The governing bodies are very aware of the environmental risks and social vulnerabilities of this area, but there appears to be little continuity between surveys and organizations. There also seems to be a limited capacity to represent these conditions. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be an effective