IDEAS FOR PORTO ALEGRE:FLOOD CREEK CITIZEN CENTERS, Porto Alegre, Brasil, 2010

For some time I have been pointing out the lack of public facilities that could help elevate the quality of life in Brazilian cities. My criticism is focused on our administrations at all levels because, no matter the good intentions of the private sector, some initiatives can only be taken by public administrations, as the elevation of the quality of life in the cities is not possible where financial gain is the only objective.

The creation of what I call infrastructures for everyday life is common practice in Europe: among other things, neighborhood libraries that foster social and cultural life; the refurbishing of local food markets and their environs; the reuse of industrial buildings as arts centers, schools and other cultural facilities. To this list one might add such programs as heath centers, sports centers, old people’s clubs, etc. All this supported by subsidized housing for not only traditional families but also for special groups, young people, old people and so on. Not exactly what we are used to in South America.

An invitation from a Porto Alegre newspaper (Zero Hora) to think about ideas for the Arroio Dilúvio (Flood Creek, in a somewhat free translation) allowed me to put into practice some ideas I had entertained for some time.

The Arroio Dilúvio runs through Porto Alegre for a little more than 10km in the East-West direction, ending in the Lake Guaiba, close to the historic downtown. Along the creek there runs an avenue of great importance for the regional traffic and along which can be found many educational institutions, as UFRGS’s medical campus and PUC’s entire campus.

A brief analysis of the urban quarters on both banks of the creek indicates a lack of urban amenities as the ones mentioned above. This proposal seeks to minimize this problem by turning part of the air space above the creek into buildings and open spaces for public use. The area to be used for the construction of 10 citizen centers would amount to less than 10% of the total area of the stream without actually touching it.

A necessary condition for these centers to come into being would be the recovery of the creek as a healthy water course and a rigid control of its use so that it would not be polluted again. At the same time, the borders of the creek should be landscaped, creating a linear park.

Programwise the proposed centers would house activities like libraries, public social clubs, sports centers, health centers, schools, multi-purpose halls, squares, etc.

In material terms, each center would consist of a platform that would cover the creek without touching or harming it, and a building no taller than four stories high, with a permeable or transparent ground floor to avoid becoming a visual barrier. The platform space not occupied by the building would be always be given over to playing courts or squares. To create new open spaces in this area is paramount as it lacks them almost completely.

This proposal is far from being visionary or expensive. The buildings and platforms can be easily built using concrete and steel prefabricated elements. The budget for the should come from city funds: what one is really proposing here is something the local administration should be doing and is not. It is only by endowing Porto Alegre with facilities of this kind that it will offer to its citizens the quality of life its politicians boast about but which is in fact a mere virtual phenomenon