Connecting the Divided City

By: Manisha Balani (UD/588)
Presented On: 18/05/2013
Master of Arch. (Urban Design)
Fourth Semester
Course: City Futures
Headed By:
Arunava Dasgupta
Mriganka Saxena

GLOBAL SOUTH>> LATIN AMERICA
STUDY AREA
CARACAS
ROSARIO

BACKGROUND STUDY
SUB-REGIONS: Four
COUNTRIES: 42
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX -2011
• VERY HIGH HDI
1. Chile (0.805)
2. Argentina
• HIGH HDI
1. Uruguay
2. Cuba
3. Mexico
4. Panama
5. Costa Rica
6. Venezuela
7. Peru
8. Ecuador
9. Brazil
10. Colombia (0.710)
MOST COUNTRIES LIE IN THE VERY
HIGH OR HIGH RANGE OF HDI –HDI
GREATER THAN 0.7
PRESENT

BACKGROUND STUDY
GINI INDEX -2009PRESENT
• GINI Index –Inequality adjusted HDI
• Shown information is based on 1989 -
2009 data estimated by CIA
• Out of first 30 countries with highest GINI
Index value, 15 countries are from Latin
America and these countries are only
after few African countries.
• Order on the World List
6. HAITI
8. HONDURAS
10. BOLIVIA
11. COLOMBIA
12. GAUTEMALA
13. BRAZIL
16. BELIZE
17. SURINAME
19. PARAGUAY
20. CHILE

BACKGROUND STUDY
HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDPAST
Before 16th Century -Indigenous People (Mayans, Incas, Aztecs)
16th – 18th Century -Colonial rule for more than two centuries
-Mostly Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries
Early 19th Century -Wars of Independence
By 1825 -Most Latin American countries
independent
Postcolonial 19th Ce -Wars on National Borders
-Disputes over Power
-Society was considered to be ill-
prepared for democracy
-Emergence of Dictatorships and
Oligarchies (Wealthy Elite or Military
Chiefs)
-Land ownership overtaken by the rich
19th Cen Economy
-Development of Wealthy Elite
-Resulted in a sizable gap between
the rich and the poor
GREAT BRITAIN
FRANCE
USA
LATIN AMERICA
(Vital Source of Raw
Materials)
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
EXPORT ECONOMIES

BACKGROUND STUDY
19th Cen Economy -ECONOMY LED URBANISATION
-Emergence of Cosmopolitan Centres like Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro
20th Century WW era -Great Economic Depression
–Abrupt end to the inflow of foreign capital
–Drastic decline in the price of the region’s exports
1945 (WWII) -1960s -Cold War Era -Communism expanded
-Cuban Revolution
-Emergence of Cuba as Communist State (FIDEL CASTRO)
-Soaring Economies –Huge sums of money borrowed from International Creditors
1970s -Leftist governments emerged –inspired by the Cuban Communist Regime.
-More support for military dictatorship to avoid a communist threat.
1980s -LATIN AMERICAN DEBT CRISIS
ECONOMIC GROWTH
UNEMPLOYMENT
INDUSTRIALISATION
(Consumer Goods)
Export of Raw Materials
Foreign Imports

BACKGROUND STUDY
1980s Latin American Debt Crisis –AFTER EFFECTS
• Children and young adults -forced to join -DRUG TRADE & PROSTITUTION.
• Problems like HOMICIDES AND CRIME appeared –Made these countries UNDESIRABLE PLACES TO
LIVE.
FINANCIAL SECURITY
SOCIAL SECURITY
1989: IMF proposed the package –TEN ECONOMIC POLICY PRESCRIPTIONS
Adoption by nation-states
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
1990s: Emergence of LEFT-WING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS
IMF
INTERNATIONAL
MONETARY FUND
LATIN AMERICA
FOR UNPAID DEBTS
FORCED TO ADOPT FREE MARKET CAPITALISM
AUSTERITY PLANS

BACKGROUND STUDY
FIGURESPRESENT
As per Cities Alliance 2010 data,
50% OF WORLD’S POPULATION LIVES IN CITIES OUT OF WHICH MORE THAN ONE
THIRD OF THIS URBAN POPULATION (33%) IS LIVING IN SUBSTANDARD
SETTLEMENTS UNDER PRECARIOUS HOUSING CONDITIONS.
In Latin America, by contrast, 78% of its population lives in cities (446 million ppl) with
23.5% of this urban population living in favelas and corticos (105 million ppl).

BACKGROUND STUDY
POPULATION DENSITYPRESENT
Map giving an idea how 78% of the
region’s population lives in cities.
Percentage of slum population in
various cities varies drastically from the
region’s average like:
Sao Paulo, Brazil (25%)
Mexico City, Mexico (25%)
Lima, Peru (55%)
Caracas, Venezuela (60%).
Increasing
Population Density Map

BACKGROUND STUDY
PHYSICAL LAND FEATURESCONTRIBUTING FACTOR
Physical Map
Presence of major physical features in
the region which are
ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
AND HENCE NOT URBANISABLE.
AMAZON RIVER BASIN –World’s
largest rainforest.
PANTANAL –Largest freshwater
Wetland System
ANDES –Mountain Range
PATAGONIA –Steppe-like plains with
Jagged Granite mountains & giant
Glaciers carving through these
mountains –Also known as the ‘End of
the World!’

BACKGROUND STUDY
MIGRATIONCONTRIBUTING FACTOR
Gradual increase in MIGRATION OUT OF RURAL AREAS:
• Land ownership overtaken by the wealthy elite.
• Further land reforms in 1992
• Abolishment of Ejido system of Communal land holdings –cornerstone of indeginous and peasant
rights.
• Land open for sale to foreign investors.
• Made it harder for farmers to eke out a living and easier for them to sell land.
BOOMING ECONOMIES:
Migration Trends
• Countries like Brazil,
Argentina and Chile
booming, on the
economic front –Hubs
of Finance and
Technology.
OLYMPICS 2016:
• Large infrastructure
developments -High
rate of influx of
qualified prof. from
all over the world due
to job opportunities.
• Lack of Career
mobility in developed
nations

ACHIEVEMENTS & ISSUES
ACHIEVEMENTS
• MIDDLE STRATA OF LATIN
AMERICAN SOCIETY EXPANDED
greatly by the late 20th century.
• GREAT BUSINESS CENTRES -large
metropolitan areas —MEXICO CITY
& SÃO PAULO.
• With social and economic
modernization came changes, too, in
gender relations. WOMEN
ACHIEVED FULL LEGAL EQUALITY
WITH MEN gradually –TWO NEW
FEMALE PRESIDENTS IN COSTA RICA
AND BRAZIL.
• ETHNIC MINORITIES ALSO SOUGHT
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES and
respect from society at large.
SERIOUS CONCERNS
• FUTURE OF OVERPOPULATED MEGA-CITIES like Sao Paulo, Rio
de Janeiro, Mexico City etc, is a major concern –MOBILITY &
HOUSING in these cities is a big issue.
• Progress toward reducing historically high levels of SOCIAL
INEQUALITY & POVERTY still remains disappointing –Large
sections of society have POOR LIVING CONDITIONS.
• CRIME AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION and PUBLIC SECURITY are
important issues for governments –HOMICIDE RATES IN LATIN
AMERICA ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD.
• MIGRATION TO THE USA and more economically developed
countries like BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA –In parts of northern
Latin America, EMIGRATION to the more prosperous and
politically stable US began happening by the end of the 20th
century. By 21st century, this trend has changed and along with
USA, other magnets are towards the south i.e. Sao Paulo, Rio
(Brazil) or Buenos Aires (Argentina) and other prospering
nations.
• Great Business Centers but POOR CENTERS OF HUMAN CAPITAL
• CONSTANT COMPETITION with other developing nations

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
NEW VISIONS FOR MOBILITY NETWORK PLANS
Over-populated cities facing serious issues of mobility in the city are looking for alternative
means of transportation systems that are more user-friendly and environmentally efficient.
RISE OF THE INFORMAL CITY –NEW WAYS OF INTERVENING IN THE INFORMAL
New directions in research believe favelas are a place for urban renewal, as a growing pool of
innovation in terms of self-organization, association and strategic ingenuity.
DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL HUMAN CAPITAL BY BRINGING FOCUS TO OTHER
POTENTIALS OF THE REGION OTHER THAN JUST BUSINESS ACTIVITY
Tourism and Recreation being the central idea behind hosting Olympics 2016.
Adoption of Urban Agriculture in various cities to provide for the rural migrants.
EXPANSION OF SECOND-TIER CITIES TO COPE WITH MIGRATION
Region has large pockets of environmentally sensitive areas –Hence urban expansion plans
following sustainable development models to be minimally invasive

CONTEXT
COUNTRY: Venezuela
SCALE: 100 hectares
CLIENT:
Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas
CONSULTANT: Urban-Think Tank
BUDGET: $18 million USD
STATUS: Complete & Functional by 2010
PROJECT PROFILE:
Project designed a Cable Propelled Transit
System linking two barrios with Caracas’s
public transit system. The plan also calls
for ‘plug-in’ buildings –attached to each
station housing cultural & recreational
programs -Radical departure from official
planning strategy to link the barrios to the
city by creating new surface streets –
Which lead to loss of many dwellings.
Mobility & Community Development
Plan, San Agustin, Caracas
CITY & PROJECTS
• 60% of the city’s 5 mil population lives in Barrios –informal settlements.
• Some Caraqueños, pay more for a litre of drinking water than a gallon of
petrol.
• Hills surrounding the city centre of Caracas have long been the sites of
barrios populated by poor, rural migrants.
• Due to their illegal status, these areas have never been formally
connected with public transit or other civic services.
• Result: Seemingly inexorable social divide between two parts of the city.
Barrios, San Agustin
(Informal Settlements) Skyscrapers in the city
Existing Urban Form

CITY & PROJECTS
BACKGROUND
CARACAZO –The Caracas Outbreak, 1989
1989: Then President Pérez proposed to
implement free-market reforms in his
second presidential term (1989–1993).
Pre-election scene: Perez ran a populist, anti-
neoliberal campaign which was against the
IMF and the World Bank.
Post-election scene: Cooperation with the
IMF rather quickly after his victory.
Most controversial part of this economic
package: ELIMINATION OF THE
GASOLINE SUBSIDIES.
Result: Rise in gasoline prices by as much as
100%, and subsequently, the costs of public
transportation rose by 30%.
CARACAZO: Protests and rioting began in
towns near-by Caracas due to increase in
transportation cost to Caracas.
Result: Death toll of hundreds of people with some reports of 3,000 dead mostly at the hands of security forces.
• STATE OF EMERGENCY and Suspension of rights to liberty and freedom of expression
Consequence: Political instability.
1993: –Impeachment of President Pérez for corruption –Collapse in confidence in the existing parties.
1998: HUGO CHÁVEZ elected President, and the subsequent launch of a "Bolivarian Revolution” –New Constitution of
Venezuela.
2003: Launch of the ‘MISIONES’ for social development.
HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES –Focus on ‘BARRIOS’

Public Seminar at
the Central
University of
Venezuela, Caracas
CITY & PROJECTS
San Agustin Barrio
• Due to the steepness of the neighbourhood, a large number of
stairs are included in the pedestrian paths.
• On average the inhabitants would walk 39 floors each day (2.5
hour walk) to get to communal services or transportation.
• Early 2000s –Physical development –Government
proposed a new highway to connect the barrio with the city
roads, introduce bus routes and allow car movement within the
barrio.
• Result –Would lead to demolition of a number of households in
the neighborhood.
• U-TT Proposal –No to the Car –CAR FREE CITY
To question the
government plan and to
put forth alternatives
Creation of a Task
Force: U-TT
together with
barrio residents
Selection of a Cable
Propelled Transit
System –that had
greatest potential
URBAN-THINK TANK’S APPROACH:
One-day Charrette
with the task force
Analysis, planning,
media campaign
and Presentation To refine the
concept
To build support and
funding for the project.
METRO CABLE
SYSTEM PLAN
Suited to the terrain, minimally
and selectively invasive of the
existing fabric, highly
sustainable and flexible
IDEA & APPROACH

CITY & PROJECTS
SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SYSTEM
CITY LEVEL METRO NETWORK
BARRIO LEVEL CABLE CAR SYSTEM
CITY LEVEL BUS NETWORK
FIVE STATIONS
• THREE along the MOUNTAIN
RIDGE
• TWO in the VALLEY -connect
directly to the Caracas public
transportation system.
• CENTRAL PARK STATION -One
station in the valley connects to the
City Metro.
• SAN AGUSTIN STATION –Another
station in the valley that connects
to the City Bus network.
LENGTH of the network -2.1 km
CAPACITY of each gondola –10
passengers each –8 sitters and 2
standees
CAPACITY of the system -3000 pphpd
(persons per hour per direction)
JOURNEY TIME: 20 minutes than 2.5
hours
SAN AGUSTIN
CENTRAL PARK
Overall Map of Cable Car System
LA CEIBA
EL MANGUITO
HORNOS DE CAL

CITY & PROJECTS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT –PLUG-IN BUILDINGS
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS:
• Cultural, social and system administrative functions;
• Replacement of demolished residences with more homes, as well as public spaces;
• Vertical Gym
• Library
• Supermarket and day care centre;
Construction on this plug-in building adjacent to LA CEIBA Station has started.
VerticalGym&LibraryatLACEIBAStation
GrowingHousenearELMANGUITOStation

CITY & PROJECTS
Hornos de Cal Station –that connects to Central Park Station
El Manguito Station

CITY & PROJECTS
JOINT VENTURE: Between the State (Ministry of Infrastructure), Austrian aerial lift manufacturer
Doppelmayr and the Brazilian company Odebrecht were all responsible for the construction of the system.
FINANCE: Completely financed by the State through funds from Oil Produce
DEVELOPMENT COST:
• Total Cost - $265 million USD
• Cost of the Transit System - $18 million USD
• Additional expenses were spent on community centre facilities and land expropriation costs that were
separate from the transit system itself.
FARE SYSTEM:
• 2000 bs –Existing buses that go down the hill
• 500 bs –Metro Cable Car One-side fare
Vertical Gym under Construction
CONSTRUCTION:
Compact & mostly modular stations –built
of prefabricated concrete and steel
components —can be deployed & easy to
erect even in the densest of
neighbourhoods.
RESULT: Government is not intimidated by
the very high cost of the project.
• One of the first of its kind in Venezuela
• A tentative and experimental process.
• Cost of future similar projects expected
to be more efficient.

COUNTRY: Venezuela
Expansion Plan, Metro System, Caracas
CITY & PROJECTS
SCALE: City-level
CLIENT: Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas
STATUS: Phase 2 –Under Construction (4.84 km length of CPT System)
PROJECT PROFILE:
Expansion of the city –level network of Metro Rail along with addition of
nine more lines of CPT System to connect various barrios in the city to the
Public Transport System.
San Agustin
Metro Cable
Network

CONTEXT
COUNTRY: Venezuela
SCALE: 3500 people
45-storey tower
CLIENT:
Squatters of Caracas
STATUS: Complete & Exhibited at 13th
Venice Architecture Biennale 2012
AWARD: Golden Lion award, Venice
Biennale, 2012
PROJECT PROFILE:
The project is a study project that
investigates physical and social
organization of an informal settlement of
750 families (about 3500 people) in a 45-
storey incomplete office tower in absence
of any form of formal infrastructure.
Informal Vertical Communities, Torre
David, Caracas
CITY & PROJECTS
• Torre David, a 45-story skyscraper in Caracas, built as the headquarters of
the Confinanzas Group during the economic boom of the 90s has
remained uncompleted after the company went bankrupt in 1994 during
the economy collapse.
• Ownership of the tower -put into question –Since 2000, the tower
suffered looting and decay.
• Public take-over culminated with the occupation of the tower by more
than 3,500 people in 2007.
Torre David
Torre David amidst other skyscraper offices of the city

IS IT A SLUM?CITY & PROJECTS
Elevation –Brick parapet walls visible
Definition according to UN-HABITAT: is based
primarily on lack of certain amenities
1. Lack of durable housing of permanent
nature that can protect against extreme
weather conditions.
 Does not apply. Largely sheltered by
the permanent structure of the
building as-well as the walls built by
themselves.

IS IT A SLUM?CITY & PROJECTS
WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Definition according to UN-HABITAT: is based
primarily on lack of certain amenities
2. Lack of access to water and sanitary
facilities.
 Does not apply. Residents have water
connections (in regulated quantities)
and their own toilets.
 Main Water Tank at Level 18
 Pumped up till Level 28
3. Security of tenure that prevents
forced evictions.
 Does Apply. Illegal occupation
4. Over-crowding i.e. 3 or more persons
sharing one room
 Applies to some extent since there
are units which fit this.
 However, there are also apartments
which are spacious and allow
individual privacy.
5. Lack of access to public transport
 Does not apply. Sits in the city
centre.

CITY & PROJECTS
DISTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
6. Lack of hygiene and safety
 Does not apply. Highly efficient
system of self-organistion.
IS IT A SLUM?

CITY & PROJECTS
STAIR-WELL: used for VERTICAL
MOVEMENT
LIFT WELL: used for INFRASTRUCTURE
CIRCULATION DIAGRAM

CITY & PROJECTS
REALITY

CITY & PROJECTS
REALITY
MOSTLY INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS AND SLUMS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE
FORMAL PLANNING PROCESS ON GROUNDS OF ‘ILLEGAL OCCUPATION’
BUT
‘SLUM’
DOES NOT REALLY DEFINE TORRE DAVID!

CITY & PROJECTS
PROPOSAL BY URBAN-THINK TANK
With a few fixes like mainly:
• PROVISION OF A MORE
COMFORTABLE VERTICAL
MOVEMENT SYSTEM
• PROVISION OF AN OPEN
SPACE STRUCTURE
CALL FOR ACTION:
To see in informal settlements a POTENTIAL FOR
INNOVATION AND EXPERIMENTATION, with the goal of
PUTTING DESIGN IN SERVICE TO A MORE EQUITABLE
AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

CITY & PROJECTS
PROPOSAL BY URBAN-THINK TANK
IS THIS A NEW DIRECTION FOR INFORMAL COMMUNITIES??
IF THIS MODEL IS SUCCESFUL IN CARACAS, CAN THIS BE SUCCESFUL ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD??
WITH A FEW INTERVENTIONS NEEDED TO FIX THE MISSING LINKS IN A WORKING SYSTEM LIKE THIS,
SHOULD THAT BE DONE OR SHOULD THIS NEVER BE FORMALISED BECAUSE IT IS SO CALLED ‘ILLEGAL
OCCUPATION’?

COUNTRY: Argentina
SCALE: District Level
CLIENT:
City of Rosario
CONSULTANT: Fadi Masoud and
Mariusz Klemens
STATUS: Academic Proposal, Doctoral
Program, Harvard Graduate School of
Design
PROJECT PROFILE:
Proposal for subdivision and
transformation of agricultural lands to
suburban decentralized developments on
the basis of micro-watersheds.
Urban Subdivisions by Watersheds,
Rosario
CITY & PROJECTS
• Urban development along the sprawling westward urban border
of the city.
• Project deals with one of the most pressing issues facing
contemporary designers and planners: Relationship between
agrarian conditions, natural processes and patterns of
urbanization
• Bracketed by two small rivers marking the north and south limits
of the city, the site for this project has been newly defined by the
Urban Plan Rosario 2007-2017 as the New Strategic Territorial
Front
• Project plans Urban Subdivisions using existing micro-
watersheds on site and identifying most suitable areas for
development and urban agriculture.

CITY & PROJECTS
ROSARIO -BACKGROUND
ROSARIO
PAMPAS
PARANA
RIVER
ARGENTINA

CITY & PROJECTS
• To combat high degree of
UNEMPLOYMENT, POVERTY,SOCIAL
EXCLUSION
NEW FORMS OF PRODUCTION IN THE
“SOCIAL ECONOMY”
• Rosario Municipality launches two
consecutive programmes in past two
decades:
1) Crecer (“to grow”), established in 1997
to contribute to the development of
community and family kitchen
gardens, in which 18.000 families are
involved at the moment; and
2) Urban agriculture, created in 2002 to
promote the social integration of male
and female members of vulnerable
families, through participatory and
collaborative forms of production,
commercialisation and consumption of
healthy food obtained with
environmentally sound techniques
(almost 800 gardens, created with this
purpose, have been registered since the
beginning of the programme).
BACKGROUND
Rosario Urban Plan, 2007 -2017

CITY & PROJECTS
APPROACH
• Bracketed by two small rivers marking the north and south limits of the city, the site for this project
has been newly defined by the URBAN PLAN ROSARIO 2007-2017 as the New Strategic Territorial
Front.
• the project targets the most vulnerable edge of an expanding city and speculates on its potential
growth through integrated responsive environmental and urban typologies.
• The parcelization of the land for the building of new suburban subdivisions, does not take into account
the extreme hydro-dynamics of these seemingly flat agricultural lands.
• The design process started by analyzing particular elements of the environmental, infrastructural and
socio-economical context of the city.

CITY & PROJECTS
Natural Drainage pattern that runs along and through the site

CITY & PROJECTS
Drainage lines used to sub-divide land and generate urban form that maintains those lines

CITY & PROJECTS

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
FUTURE OF THE WORLD CITIES WILL BE INFORMAL!
New urban form developed propagates that the informal can
be incorporated within the formal without changing the nature
of the informal.
New ways of intervening in informal settlements to promote
social development along with physical development
Identification of new directions in the growth of informal
settlements and Appropriation of the same within the formal
planning
Inclusion of the ingenuity and creativity of the informal
settlements within urban governance to create a city that is
open for multi-cultural coexistence and sustainable life-styles.
FUTURE OF THE WORLD CITIES LIES IN SUSTAINABILITY
New identity to the relationship between agrarian conditions,
natural processes and patterns of urbanization –Sustainable
Urabn Development Model

Connecting the Divided City

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