Team members
Joshua Shake, Stephanie Gerretsen, Alexandra Markiewicz, Kelly Richardson, Mabel Kessler, Julia Mantey, Samantha Farr, Ali Aayat
Adviser
Ana Paula Pimentel-Walker, Michaela Zint
Project Summary
Santa Marta is located in São Leopoldo, a city approximately 30 kilometers north of Porto Alegre, Brazil. São Leopoldo has a conglomeration of informal and formal settlements, which include regularized neighborhoods and public housing projects. Santa Marta faces a host of environmental challenges that result from trash dumping in public spaces, trash burning, animals opening trash bags, and inadequate sewage, water systems, and road infrastructure. These issues stem from systemic inequalities within the governmental structure that provides waste management and infrastructure resources, as well as the lack of public participation in the participatory budget process.
This progress report highlights a number of different recommendations and initiatives we hope to implement in the local community.
- Deterring dumping
- Increasing communication and dialogue between the São Leopoldo Municipality and Santa Marta residents
- Building community pride and visibility
- Improving security
- Controlling flooding
- Developing strategies for requesting service upgrades and regularization of Santa Marta’s streets, sewage, and infrastructure
These initiatives will encompass and improve environmental stewardship and communication between the local government and the community at large, activate public spaces, upgrade infrastructure, and create a greater sense of community pride and community ownership. The success of our project depends directly on meeting the needs of our community partners and better understanding the interactions between the municipality and the community.