Intervención urbana mediante estrategias de planificación sostenible, para mitigar las afectaciones ambientales y sociales del asentamiento informal Los Girasoles, en el municipio de Banca de Upía-Meta

Abstract

In the Municipality of Barranca de Upía, Meta, the property called El Regalo is located, adjacent to the Upía River, the wastewater treatment plant of the municipality and the informal settlement Los Girasoles are located within this property, divided into 37 blocks, with more than 210 informal homes, this settlement between the years 2015 and 2020 affected the environment considerably in terms of the loss of forest cover, due to the processes of informal settlements, causing an impact on the regulating ecosystem services and presenting a deficit in the quality of life of the inhabitants, due to its proximity to the wastewater treatment plant, the Upía River, the deficiency of road infrastructure, public services, public space and housing in precarious conditions.

In the following investigation, environmental impacts, such as the loss of vegetation cover and regulating ecosystem services, and social impacts, such as precarious living conditions, were characterized through social mapping, satellite image analysis, and field visits. Two land-use regimes were established for areas with a predominant environmental situation, in accordance with the analysis of current and future conditions, anticipating the interventions that could be carried out on the property under study, needs, urban, environmental, and social dynamics, in accordance with technical criteria for isolation from wastewater treatment infrastructure, results and recommendations of the basic disaster risk management study being carried out for the municipality of Barranca de Upía-Meta, and its non-structural mitigation measures.

In addition, interventions and elements that encompass sustainable planning were identified to reduce the current impacts, through references that fit the environment and characteristics of the Los Girasoles informal settlement, such as the use of living fences to control offensive odors and flooding (Phytovolatilization, a type of Phytoremediation in which plants help clean the air by converting certain pollutants into less harmful gases that they then release), integrating environmental restoration into urban projects to enhance regulatory ecosystem services, the connection between nature and human well-being, projection of perimeter and main roads, central layout for the provision of public services, strategic residential zoning, landscape restoration, and diversity as the foundation of the urban fabric, combining uses such as housing, facilities and public space.

Finally, an urban intervention model for comprehensive improvement is proposed, aiming to mitigate environmental and social impacts through a reorganization of the settlement, integrating it with the other areas of the municipality and harmonizing it with the existing urban planning model. The lack of road infrastructure, the lack of public utilities, public space, and substandard housing are reduced, and non-structural mitigation measures for flooding and offensive odors are implemented.

This urban intervention model is developed in accordance with the objectives of the Municipal Development Plan of Barranca de Upía 2024-2027, the objectives of the Territorial Planning Scheme formulation, and it is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 1, No Poverty; 3, Good Health and Well-Being; 6, Clean Water and Sanitation; 10, Reduced Inequalities; 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities; 13, Climate Action; 15, Life on Land (UN, 2015). Finally, it complies with national laws and policies, making this urban intervention an element harmonized with these territorial planning instruments, policies, and objectives, as well as an important national and international reference in the field of sustainable planning, environmental management, and territorial organization.