Being on the map: survey and participatory characterization in Chacarita Alta

Abstract

Chacarita is one of the most traditional neighborhoods of Asuncion, the capital city of Paraguay. In spite of its major social and cultural relevance and its proximity to downtown, this community has been historically an enclave of exclusion. This situation is observed in the lack of adequate infrastructure, sanitation and housing, but also extends to the area's  representation in the city’s official cartography. Indeed, Chacarita has been, for years, a blank area on city maps. This situation has only recently been reversed, within the framework of the Integral Neighborhood Improvement Project. This essay explores methods used to overcome Chacarita's "cartographic gap", combining state-of-the-art technologies and participatory approaches. The work was undertaken by a group of teachers, professionals and students of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Arts of the National University of Asuncion, in partnership with the NGO Habitat for Humanity Paraguay.

Its products include 2D and 3D high precision cartographic documentation and the characterization of physical-urban elements within the action polygon bounderies of the Chacarita Alta project. Volunteer students were trained to carry out the characterization of physical-urban elements, which was then synthesized using free licensed GIS software. Complementary technologies such as drone produced high resolution imagery and real time kinetik GPS allowed to perform the work with high efficiency, both in terms of cost and time. This experience allowed to put into practice a method to address the task complexity, given its limited resources and deadlines. We hope this work constitutes a meaningful contribution on the topic of how to approach databases creation processes that may foster positive transformation of segregated communities, so common in Latin American urban areas.