Caulim Creek Neighborshed
Green Infrastructure for the Informal Settlement in the Watershed Area of São Paulo Metropolitan Region (Brazil)
Rationale: Why is this case study interesting?
As a case study for a pilot-project, it was chosen the Caulim Creek Neighborshed, one of the streams that is included in the State’s Water and Sanitation Company Program of Clean Streams. This case study is interesting because it can depict a proposal of landscape plan and design as green infrastructure for an area where the conflict between the urban growth and the nature preservation seems contradictory, and could explicit how environmental problems are inseparable from the economic and social realms in an emergent mega-city.
Author's perspective
Green infrastructure for informal settlement in São Paulo Watershed Area
Green infrastructure is the network of connected open spaces where a myriad of landscape elements integrate natural processes in the urban fabric. It represents a way of taking advantage of ecological services for promoting sustainability and conservation of natural resources in the urban areas and its surrounding region.
Landscape and urban context
The Caulim Creek project area borders the environmental protection area that is still preserved and flows to the Guarapiranga Reservoir, in the southernmost tip of the São Paulo urban sprawl. Home of 20.000 people, it is a sector of 200 km2 in the watershed area where is still possible to find streams not yet channelized and remaining forests patches, and where the sewage catchment system is already set. Despite the sewer system, the density and pattern of settlements in the watershed will cause flooding and water quality impacts.
Cultural/social/political context
São Paulo Metropolitan Region is home of 20 millions inhabitants with a GNP of US$190bn, and most of the drinking water for São Paulo comes from the reservoirs in the southern limits (Guarapiranga and Billings).
This watershed area was declared protected by law 30 years ago, not allowing conventional developments. Instead of it, since then many informal low-income settlements were built on the once-forested areas of the watersheds, decreasing the water quality and increasing the cost of water filtration and treatment. In this process of settlement, most of the forest that once covered the margins of the reservoirs lakes was changed to high density self-constructed housing among not planned streets where now lives more than 1.6 million people. The public administration has now concentrated efforts to improve housing and urban infrastructure in these neighborhoods. Nevertheless, these projects follow the conventional way of building the city as a paved and build surface where the remaining vegetation is considered primarily for ornamental functions.
History
- How did the area/project/plan at the focus of the case study evolve?
Illustration: Table or time line
Spatial analysis of area/project/plan
- What are the main structural features?
- How has it been shaped? Were there any critical decisions?
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Core Questions Working Group Green Structure Planning
How does funding influence the planning and use of public space?
Caulim Creek is present in Stream Clean Program, launched by the Government of the State of Sao Paulo in partnership with the Mayor of the City of Sao Paulo and Environmental Sanitation Company of the State of Sao Paulo. The Program envisages the improvement of the system for collecting and cleaning of drains and urbanization of the banks of streams. In a first phase, are invested 200 million reais in 42 streams, benefiting 2.4 million people in an area of 204 km2, within two years. However, the schedule provides that 300 streams will be cleaned in a period of ten years. Caulim Creek is in the first phase of the investment Program and will receive an investment of 1.35 million reais.
How are spaces within the site used, both currently and projected?
How can the historic elements / layers be integrated?
How do the contributing elements of water relate to the project?
How does the built environment relate to the landscape around it?
Analysis of program/function
- What are the main functional characteristics?
- How have they been expressed or incorporated?
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Analysis of design/planning process
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- Were there any important consultations/collaborations?
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Analysis of use/users
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- Is the use changing? Are there any issues?
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Future development directions
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- Are there any future goals?
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Peer reviews or critique
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- What were their main evaluations?
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Points of success and limitations
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References
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