The "dream" of urbanising a neighbourhood in Caracas to avoid tragedies

Cleaning a ravine clogged with garbage, mattresses, clothes and even refrigerators is the first step in an urban project to transform a neighbourhood in Caracas, which wants to avoid being devastated by a flood caused by the rains, as has happened in the past.

It is "El sueño de Catuche", named after the stream around which this community of the same name and 5,000 inhabitants grew anarchically, winding its way through steps and alleys with houses with zinc roofs and exposed brick.

The project seeks to build squares and an "ecological corridor" with vegetation, reinforce the banks and prohibit construction in risk areas to prevent another catastrophe like the one that occurred 23 years ago.

The torrential rains of 1999, which devastated the coastal state of Vargas, a neighbour of Caracas, also washed away some 400 humble houses in Catuche, with 11 deaths.

Some 200 families were placed in government-built buildings on nearby, secure land. The other 200 never received housing and relocated to risk areas.

Architecture students in Caracas participate in a redevelopment project for these spaces, under the supervision of the Escuela Nacional Superior de Arquitectura de París-La Villette.

"The idea is to provide solutions for the spaces along the creek, so that the common space is used by all and is not invaded again."