Dominican and Peruvian projects win CAF Competition on Urban Development and Social Inclusion

(Caracas, November 2012). A project in the Dominican Republic called Ecobarrio. Haina1.0: A Participatory Approach to Sustainable Development, which fosters comprehensive development and empowerment of informal settlements, and Peruvian project I am Pisco, Comprehensive Development Strategic Program for the Families of the Pisco Coast, were the winners of the Second International Competition on Urban Development and Social Inclusion, an initiative seeking to promote solutions to improve social inclusion in the region, organized for the second consecutive year by CAF –development bank of Latin America-.

CAF President Enrique García said the competition’s goal is to support urban development projects in Latin American cities that seek to improve their citizens’ quality of life, to promote the improvement of urban services through better management and to prepare communities for the inevitable growth of urban populations faced by Latin American cities.

"The winning projects promote real solutions to specific and chronic problems in modern Latin American cities, which is why we support these kinds of local initiatives that can positively impact the quality of life in developing countries, where the growth of informal settlements around urban centers is increasingly common,” García said.

The competition’s panel of judges considered a total of 35 projects from 10 countries in the region, with 10 projects from Venezuela; nine from Mexico; four from Argentina; three from Colombia; two each from Chile, Costa Rica and Peru; and one each from Bolivia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.

The Ecobarrio. Haina1.0 project in the Dominican Republic will benefit some 3,150 residents and promote the sustainable and comprehensive development of one of the country’s most heavily populated municipalities, which grew up around a sugar mill and its adjoining facilities, including housing and basic services for its employees. The municipality is listed as one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world and 60% of its population is deemed high vulnerable. Its 165,000 residents live in an area of 15 square miles (39 square kilometers), which has resulted in overcrowding of families in substandard housing.

For its part, Peruvian project I am Pisco is a strategic program for comprehensive development that will benefit some 4,500 residents living along the coastline of Pisco, a town devastated in a strong earthquake that hit Southern Peru in August 2007. The program includes community monitoring through www.mifamiliaurbana.pe and training for social workers for collective action in areas such as neighborhood improvement, micro-business ventures, and cultural and sports activities.

Finally, Venezuelan projects La Silsa Neighborhood Comprehensive Transformation Plan and Mesuca Community Sports Park, both in Caracas, were awarded honorable mentions.

The panel of judges included architect Clemencia Escallón, from the Faculty of Architecture and Design at the Universidad de los Andes of Bogota, Colombia; Albina Ruiz, founder and president of the NGO Ciudad Saludabe of Lima, Peru; and landscaper Máximo Rohm from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.