A community land trust is helping transform an informal settlement around a polluted and flood prone river channel into a sustainable community. It provides a new model for improving informal settlements in cities without them then becoming unaffordable for the original residents.
The community land trust has enabled the local community to:
- Legalise the relationship between more than 2,000 families and the land on which their homes stand.
- Guarantee affordable and safe housing.
- Resettle people who lived in high-risk areas in a fair and reasonable way.
- Improve environmental conditions by developing basic infrastructure and dredging the channel.
- Ensure ownership and management of the area by the community and for the community.
The Martín Peña Channel was once a waterway that ran through the middle of the Puerto Rican capital San Juan. Impoverished squatters settled on the mangrove swamps along its banks, building more than 5,000 informal homes. The water filled with debris and silt, and with no sewer system, it became highly polluted. With nowhere for water to flow, every time it rained the area flooded, creating a dangerous situation for residents.
