In the context of alleviating poverty and contributing to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through land reform, improved land management and tenure security and access to housing, GLTN, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and her local partners collaborated in the implementation of a pilot project; ‘STDM Pilot Implementation in Soacha, Colombia’. The project aimed to design, implement and document STDM pilot implementation in Soacha, particularly within Ciudadela Sucre, one of the most important neighbourhood in [1]Soacha, and to facilitate and support the participation of key champions within Habitat for Humanity, its regional offices and national network organizations to UN-Habitat/GLTN organized capacity development initiatives around STDM use and application and key related events/meetings.
The project provides a good example where community sourced information has been accepted by local authority in their support to improving the living conditions of communities in neighbourhoods whose settlements require upgrading. The data was collected through community mapping workshops in ten (10) neighbourhoods and household surveys. Data collected from the settlements was utilized by the Comprehensive Neighbourhood Upgrading program to respond to multi-sectorial needs informed by community-based decision-making reflective of the social, economic, and physical features of their settlements.
Through this pilot, the Ciudadela Sucre community was able to identify and rank their neighbourhood challenges and formulate solutions to these issues. It also enabled them look into the opportunities available to upgrade their settlements. Also, information generated using STDM elevated the topic of housing improvements and neighbourhood upgrading at both the local and national level.
Key partners
Habitat for Humanity Colombia (HfHC), The Hospital Order of St. John of God, St. Benito Menni, The Catholic University of Colombia and the Colombian NGO COLNODO,
[1] Soacha is the second most populated municipality in the department of Cundinamarca in Colombia
