la paz meshing water flows
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A landscape urbanism investigation of La Paz.TRANSCRIPT
LA PAZ meshing water flows
Manuel Aliaga
Martinez 2014-2015
A landscape urbanism investigation of LA PAZ
meshing water flows
2015 K.U. Leuven Master of Urbanism and Strategic Planning, European Postgraduate Masters in Urbanism
Author: Manuel Aliaga Martinez
Promotor: Bruno De Meulder
LANDSCAPE URBANISM THESIS
PROMOTOR
Bruno De Meulder
TUTORS
Claudia Rojas Bernal
Matteo Motti
Julie Marin
MORE INFO ?
MAHS / MAUSP / EMU Master Programs
Department ASRO, K.U.Leuven Kasteelpark
Arenberg 1, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Tel: + 32(0)16 321 391
Email: [email protected]
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Without written permission of the promotors and
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All images in this booklet are, unless credits are given,
made or drawn by the author (Leuven 2015).
2
The confluence of three main rivers: Huañajahuira, Choqueyapu and Irpavi in the city of La Paz
3
intro
Chapter 0
Urbanization
without landscape/
landscape without
urbanism
analysis
Chapter 1
Enclave of 3
Eco[logics]
3 Ecosystems
Framing the
Settlement in
the valley
Compact settlement/
dense tissues
Chapter 2
La Paz catchment
The city and the rivers
The rivers and the city
Recovering the
invisible rivers
hypothesis
Chapter 3
Water flows
Upstream/
Downstream flow
Micro stories/ Issues
Water flow system
Meshing water flows
project
Chapter 4
Exploring scenarios for
the water mesh
THE INVISIBLE ABSCENCE
OF [Development] URBANISM
The city of La Paz and its lack of development urbanism,
understood under the transformation of the built and natural
environment by connecting the context specificity of design practice
with non-specific issues such as social-exclusion, poverty,
unsustainable construction and urban growth [1], is barely
recognized and openly accepted as such, hence it is invisible.
The reason for this belief is that there is still a very strong
presence and aspiration for the dogmatic modern project at-
tached to urbanism.
The last traceable attempt of modernist urbanism in the city
of La Paz was when the architect Emilio Villanueva draw the
plan for the then new Neighbourhood of Miraflores in 1941,
thus influencing the regulator zoning plan for the city in 1956,
regularly updated until now. Since that period a feeling of
trying to catch up with progress, along with the never-
questioned outlines of the modern project, are still today the
paradigms to be followed in the mind of many of La Paz´s
citizens in their roles of actors and decision makers.
The rivers and creeks of La Paz provide a two way example of
the developing condition of the settlement: on one hand a
strong presence of vernacular practices of dealing with water
and on the other hand the aspiration to follow the modernist
city where such vernacular practices do not have a place. As a
direct result of the disadvantaged conditions of the
developing water system; rivers and creeks are polluted
because they are used as sewages and later used for irrigation.
Rivers and creeks are also transformed into streets and
avenues on a frequent basis, as part of the normal and unique
path to achieve modernity. Streets and avenues have become
one of the most important and popular cards of urbanism in
the local practice, not because everyone has a vehicle, as the
discussed examples of La Paz´s developing conditions, but
because in the street is projected an aspiration of public space,
services and maybe more importantly recognition.
The research project has been developed in this frame of
developing urbanism: recognizing the contextual limitations
as opportunities for urban intervention without giving up the
ambition of urban design inherited from the modern
movement. In other words this work tries to bridge and de-
sign both in the specificity of the context of La Paz, while
dealing with the non-specific issues such as urban growth,
unsustainable water management and climate change.
[1]. D´Auria Viviana, De Meulder Bruno, Shannon Kelly,
“The Nebulous Notion of Human Settlements”, Human Settle-
ments Formulations and (re) calibrations,, Sun, Amsterdam, 2010.
4
Urbanization in Latin American cities is
often characterized by the unbalance of
condensed capitals that have at disposal
a vast and available territory that is
rarely planned. The case of the city of
La Paz shows that a great part of the
subsistence of this great urban centre
rely mainly on the consumption of
natural resources of the surrounding
landscape. The unrestricted consump-
tion of land, water and other resources
keeps extending the city and its borders
indefinitely. As a result of this model of
urbanization, water management has
transformed natural features (such as
streams and rivers) into hybrid figures
that flow across the city (its main river
now is both a sewage and a stream) that
with climate change have proved to
result unmanageable.
The city of La Paz, located at an altitude
of 3500 above the sea level, is the main
city of Bolivia and becomes an interest-
ing case study. The city has grown
slowly for more than 436 years, and
experienced a spontaneous growth in
the past 30 years, due to countryside
migration that led nowadays to a popu-
lation of almost two million inhabitants
along with its twin city: El Alto.
The city is settled on a highly dense
hydrological system as part of a complex
sequence of valleys and hills in which
the riverbanks were mostly used to
contain the growing city, therefore the
system of rivers and creeks have served
in the beginning as clean water supply
and later as drainage for the consumed
water. For centuries the frozen water on
the highest peaks of the Andean east
mountain range have feed more than
300 creeks of fresh water through the
valleys of La Paz. The relevance of the
river valleys has given a serpentine
structure of urbanization that nowadays
continues guiding the city´s growth.
Another image of La Paz is valleys and
rivers frozen in architecture and streets.
These small and large streams were
gradually reduced on size and used as
sewers and culverts that flow openly
across the new urbanized areas and
under vaults in the oldest areas of the
city. Grey water and dark water flow
into these streams creating a hybrid
between a natural stream and an out-
door sewage that crosses all over the
city, where it is difficult to identify
weather it is an open sewage or a con-
taminated river.
The main rivers and tributaries receive
an important volume of water coming
from the ice melting stratum, from the
human consumption and additionally
from the increasing heavier rain season
that lasts four months, all these amount
of water ends up in the reduced in size
and canalized rivers. The capacity of the
current system is already collapsing and
other issues such as water supply,
climate change, and contamination are
still matters pending to be reconsidered.
LA PAZ
AS A RESULT OF
THIS MODEL OF
URBANIZATION
NATURAL
FEATURES SUCH AS
STREAMS AND
RIVERS HAVE
BECOME HIBRID
FIGURE AS THEY
ALSO ARE THE
CITY´S SEWAGE
THE PRESSING
ISSUES ONLY
GENERATE MORE
VULNERABILITY TO
AN ALREADY
EXISTING INSTABLE
URBAN
ENVIRONMENT
intro
Chapter 0
5
The renovated Bolivian constitution
[1] subscribes accessibility to clean
water as a right, this status was
achieved through an active and
constant struggle of social movements
that started in the year 2000 [2]. In
the city of La Paz water supply reaches
to 92% of the population [3], 70% of
the consumed water goes straight into
La Paz´s main river Choqueyapu: while
the rest 22% of consumed water uses
its tributaries of the same river as
sewage. Due to the lack of treatment
plants, adequate sewage infrastructure
and mainly due to a linear centralized
water system, the polluted hydrology
is affecting the metabolism of the city [4]
that not until so long ago was still
sustainable. Nowadays downstream
crops, sold in markets of the city, are
irrigated with contaminated water
[5] , showing alarming levels of
contaminated food. In addition climate
change has put in risk the convenient
coverage of water supply obtained so
far, due to its static dependence on the
reducing frozen layer on top of the
peaks. Warnings about cutting the
service due to the incapacity of the
system have already been made, and
the new master plan for water
management needs another 36 years to
implement water supply for the whole
population. However a much more
palpable symptom of lacking an
integrated vision is that each year La
Paz and Bolivia suffer an increasing
manifestation of phenomena disasters
whose origins come from hydro
meteorological conditions [6]. The
pressing issues described above only
generate more vulnerability to an
already existing instable urban
environment threated constantly by
landslides, flooding and water
excavation. “...water had become an
extremely pressing issue: water as a
resource and necessity, water as a potential
threat, with growing water consumption
that has become difficult to fulfil and
water pollution reaching such levels that
the most basic ecological balances were
disturbed.” (7)
6
Since the foundation of the city of La
Paz in 1548 by commandment of the
Spanish Crown, the superimposition of
the grid would constitute the first step
of a rooted urbanism practice that
believes that urban planning consists
in reproducing the latest urban figure.
In this sense is that the contextual
qualities of La Paz were never taken
into account, furthermore little atten-
tion was paid to the specificity of the
landscape and the social scape.
After 1941, the city has progressively
lost its range of action upon urban
planning, during the coming decades
the city suffered spontaneous growth
due to rural migration leaving no
space for urban planning. The river
became the city drainage and the river
valleys the city dumps.
Until today this logic of reproducing
automatically models, images and fig-
ures on the city without looking at the
contextual conditions of La Paz leads
general public to believe that many of
the water related problems are present
because of the inefficient size and vol-
ume of the infrastructures containing
the trapped rivers, and that the only
two possible solutions for the exciding
volume of water in the city is thicker
concrete, stronger bridges, heavier
foundations, wider containers for gar-
bage. The biggest mistake of La Paz is
believing it is a city like elsewhere.
THE BIGGEST
MISTAKE OF LA
PAZ IS BELIEVING
IT IS A CITY LIKE
ELSEWHERE
THE POLLUTED
HYDROLOGY IS
AFFECTING THE
METABOLISM OF
THE CITY [5]
THAT NOT UNTIL
SO
LONG AGO WAS
STILL
SUSTAINABLE
Urbanization without landscape
7
The extreme contamination of La
Paz´s main river, the water shortage ,
plus the big flooding in 2002 and the
landslide in 2011 seem to uncover the
issues related to a questionable water
system in the city: while the water sup-
ply is mainly fed by the melting of
mountain glacier, with climate change
the provisions of freshwater threaten
to diminish accessibility to freshwater
in the coming years, yet during the
rainy season the city becomes an insta-
ble environment in which disasters are
reported yearly due to a large volume
of water discharged into sewage and
streams producing ground excavation.
The contradiction relies in having a
current model of urbanization that puts
pressure on natural features by trans-
forming them into artificial (the main
river becomes the major sewage collec-
tor) while artificial originated events
(landslides, flooding's) become natural
disasters forces to be domesticated.
This problematique leads to formulate
the research question on what if a
Meshed Water System that performs
as a Grid provides the opportunity to
deal with climate change, water pollu-
tion, water scarcity, while generating a
new stream based urbanization?
[1] 2010: a new constitution was approved within an important participation process. [2] 2000: This year is considered as the starting point of the social changes experienced in the recent history of Bolivia, of which the new consti-tution is also part of this transformation. The event that triggers the sense of inconformity with the radical neoliberalism model is when the then national government approved an interna-tional company “Suez” to privatize the existing natural sweet water reservoirs including possible rainfalls. [3] 2010: Source EPSAS Agency of water supply. [4] Wolman Abel, The metabolism of cities, 1965. [5] Several lab studies confirm that the polluted agents found in the river return in form of di-aseases in the vegetables cultivated down-stream. [6] 2010-2011: a thousand and nine adverse events have been registered only in this year according to UN Program for development. [7] De Meulder Bruno, Shannon Kelly, Water Urbanisms East. UFO 3: Explorations of Urban-ism. Park Books: Zurich, 2013.
WHAT IF A MESHED
WATER SYSTEM THAT
PERFORMS AS A GRID
PROVIDES THE
OPPORTUNITY TO DEAL
WITH CLIMATE
CHANGE, WATER
POLLUTION, WATER
SCARCITY, WHILE
GENERATING A NEW
STREAM BASED
URBANIZATION?
Landscape without urbanism
Kenning Willy, 1995 . The friction between two strong forces: urban development and landscape
The northern valley of La Paz 1915 before rapid growth at the end of the century.
10
The city´s struggle; a clash between the built and the natural environment
11
Enclave of 3 Eco[logics]
GROUND
WATER
RELIEF
Amazonian catchment
Andean Mountain Range
Andean High Plateau
analysis
Chapter 1
12
WATER + GROUND + RELIEF
An important
section of the
south American
continental Land is
defined by three
impressive
ecological
systems: The
Amazonian
catchment, The
Andean Mountain
Range and the
Andean High
Plateau or
“altiplano” .
13
GROUND
WATER
TEXTURE
RELIEF
5
4
3
2
1km
Lake Titicaca
Lake Poopo
Amazonas
Madeira
Beni
Altiplano
14
WATER + GROUND + RELIEF + TEXTURE
The source of water of the Amazonas
River comes from the melting layer of
the east glaciers of the Andean Moun-
tain Range. La Paz´s system of rivers
becomes part of this water course. In a
very short distance the topography
dissension goes from the peaks at 5000
meters above the sea to less than 1000
in the tropical plain. The city of La Paz
and the water course in this area is
characterized by the speed of discharge.
In this section the Andes splits into
two ranges (east-west), creating the
high flat plateau at a great altitude.
The water system on the high plateau
between the mountains is closed, the
two main lakes Titicaca and Poopo and
river form part of this isolated water
system. The sequence of the textures
along this section, show a drastic and
contrasting change in climate and veg-
etation defined by the altitude. From
the dry and cold high plateau, through
the humid and cloudy mountains to the
warm and rainy tropical plain, the dras-
tic shift between ecologies is character-
istic of the tropical glacier water
course..
15
3 Ecosystems
HIGH PLATEAU MOUNTAIN RANGE TROPICAL VALLEY
analysis
El Alto
La Paz
16
The high plain is a unique ecosystem
at an elevation altitude between 4000
and 45000 meters were many of the
ancient civilizations of the region first
established. Many of these early
settlements occupied territories
around the Lake Titicaca catchment
the highest lake in the world. This
lake is part of the closed water hydrol-
ogy that runs inside the plateau. The
city of El Alto the second largest city
in Bolivia is settled on this ground
right next to the valley of La Paz.
The Mountain Range runs north-
south of the continent, this orientation
structures a diverse sequence of land-
scape transects. At its widest transect
it splits into two branches holding the
high plain in-between, the city of La
Paz is settled next to the plateau
beneath the eastern arm. The melting
layer of the peaks along the mountain
range feed several lagoons, La Paz´s
clean water supply comes from these
artificially enlarged lagoons that later
become the source of the Amazonas.
The “yungas” or the tropical mountain
system is a very humid and fertile
system, the sudden drop of altitude
from higher peaks to the tropical plain
allows to have a radical change in the
climate: gaining a degree in tempera-
ture for every km down stream.
Taking advantage of this ecological
levels most of the productive lands are
settled along water courses, having
the city of La Paz settled on an im-
portant irrigation water course. The
city becomes a distribution enclave, as
well as a consumer of the produce.
ALTIPLANO ANDES YUNGAS
17
Framing the settlement in the valley
GROUND
TOPOGRAPHY
SETTLEMENT
The valley of La Paz is characterized by a troubled topography
and steep slopes, product of an upstream hydrology erosion in
two epochs: upper glacier erosion– lower valley erosion. The
altitude in the highest point of the valley is 4000 m while in the
lower reaches to 2800 m.
The confluence of three parallel river valleys running from
northeast towards south define the central plain, where the city
has settled and grew. This systems of valleys and hills opens up
as altitude and slope decrease towards south hence the urban
growth has been guided in this direction.
Urbanization has followed the river plain areas in order to
colonize, the slopes and the hills. Growth of the city has been
empirically oriented by the conditions of the terrain yet never
achieved an harmonic integration.
analysis
18
TOPOGRAPHY + GROUND + SETTLEMENT
19
SLOPE
LEVELS + TOPOGRAPHY
WATER + URBAN IMPRINT
The valleys are product of water erosion, having as a counter-
figure the hills, hence there is a remarkable difference in the
levels. The sequence of levels conveys into a central white area
in the south corresponding to an altitude of 3300m in contrapo-
sition to the dark hills in the north at 4500 m in a distance of 10
km.
The short black arrows show a steeper slope, while the longer
ones represent areas where the inclination is less steep. The
white central area is where the city first settled expanding
gradually to the valley slopes, when these were increasingly
more difficult to occupy urban growth kept expanding its
sinuous linear figure.
Urban imprint is the result of settlement along the main rivers
plains running diagonally and the colonization of slopes from
the central valley to the river valleys on the periphery
according to the gradient of inclination.
20
LEVELS/TOPOGRAPHY + SLOPE + WATER/URBAN IMPRINT
0 1 km
3300 m
3900 m
3500 m 3700 m
4100 m 4300 m 4500 m
3900 m
21
Compact settlement/ dense urban tissues
ON TOP OF HILLS ON VALLEY SLOPES ON RIVER PLAINS
0 500 m
3400 3300 3500
analysis
22
0 1 km
The urban tissue on the top of hills and
small plateaus is normally planned,
reproducing a small scale suburban
typology having a front and a back
courtyard. The density of this tissue is
not medium-high: the buildings don´t
reach more than 5 stores because the
plots have a medium size , they don´t
allow high rise buildings and they are
not compressed by terrain conditions.
Informal settlement grows around are-
as with more distinctive natural borders
such as cliffs and cracks.
This kind of tissue is normally planned
in the areas near roads, but also has its
unplanned counter part in the steeper
slopes of river valleys. Thus settle-
ments and buildings are both formal
and informal. Planned buildings usually
have wider plots, while further up ur-
banizations have narrow plots because
of the increasing slope. The density of
this tissue has a tendency to be high
due to the construction of taller build-
ings (5-6 stores) in the lower areas and
also due to the intensive use of the land
in steep areas.
The urbanization in the river (flood)
plains can be described as the “better
placed” because is the most stable and
important urban destinations as well as
important buildings are normally set-
tled on these plains. The city grew up
following river plains; it counts with
large plots, it is in between important
roads, hence it is accessible, and lastly it
allows for high rise development to
take place. The taller constructions are
precisely on central river plains. The
density has a tendency to be high due to
the increasing investment in towers.
TOP OF HILLS VALLEY SLOPES RIVER PLAINS
Urbanization on top of hills
Urbanization on valley slopes
Urbanizations on river plains
Lanza, Leonardo. 1877
24
The rivers of La Paz are usually backside spaces until they are covered and become avenues.
25
La Paz catchment
NATURAL WATER FLOW
RELIEF
CATCHMENT AREA
The catchment area gathers three main courses upstream at
the source around the mountains of Chacaltaya in the north.
The valley of La Paz is placed in the middle course of the
catchment, where similar mountain source tributaries meet..
Agricultural lands are settled in the lower catchment area
having smaller rivers from underground and pluvial source in
the south.
The main course of water receives the name of Jhunu Tincu
Jauira in the upstream melting source, after joining with
other two streams it is called Kaluyo river. When entering
the city it becomes Choqueyapu, becoming Río La Paz
further down after the confluence of the eastern tributaries.
The relief is defined firstly by the three major ecosystem on
the territory, in the catchment area four parallel valleys run
diagonally from northeast to southwest. The valleys are
defined by four tributaries of the main course: Orkojahuira,
Irpavi, Achumani and Huañajahuira. After crossing a perpen-
dicular hill system, from which the valley becomes a more
recognozible figure, carrying water towards south only to
make a turn to the north to reach the Amazonas.
analysis
Chapter 2
Río La Paz
Choqueyapu
Kaluyo
26
CATCHMENT AREA + WATER + RELIEF
0 5 km
27
La Paz is an old city, up till now
trails of pre Columbian cultures
can be found dispersed along the
valleys. Originally funded in the
Altiplano in 1548 , it was temporal-
ly placed in the former valley for
the assigned Royal comadment. In
the colonial period the evolution of
the settlements and its population
was not significant, although its
position between Cuzco and Potosí,
as originally planned, consolidated
La Paz in the valley definitely.
From 1790 with 53.340 inhabitants
[Mesa, Gisbert La Paz en el siglo
XVII] until 1912 with 78.856 urban
growth has been much less acceler-
ated. The great expansion hap-
pened during the end of the twenti-
eth century.
“The present century is fundamental in
the history of the city. The balance kept
between the physical implantation and
its natural space suffers a significant
transformation” (1).
In the first period of this century
many infrastructures of great rele-
vance were implemented, however
the effect of these projects was
rapidly overcome by population in a
matter of years, meanwhile the
expansion of the city followed the
less steep areas meaning river
plains, this generated a linear figure
that started to twist and turn. “The
urban expansion project of Miraflores
is the most serious attempt to de-
centralize some of the urban functions
[…] in addition to offer areas for high
density” (2). In the decade of the
70´s the economic system led to a
strong dependency of the urban
centres.
Sinuous growth + rapid urbanization
analysis
28
Flows of migrants coming from
small towns across the plateau
arrive to the city and consequently
an important expansion of the
urban imprint has taken place in
every direction, first the river val-
leys and after the slopes creating a
sinuous system of lines that follow
the winding river valleys over the
territory.
The population growth overcame
largely the investments, the envi-
ronment changed extremely, the
rural area suffered deterioration as
well as the land, environment and
water.
Occupation of areas that represent-
ed risk for construction, pollution,
erosion and more important low
quality in the new living conditions
of the city dwellers were the first
signs of the loss of planning and
control over the territory.
Between 1990 and 2000, the deteri-
oration of the city´s natural and
built environment was already
visible affecting the hydrological
system significantly, additionally
during this period it was registered
several disasters attributed to na-
ture, including major landslides due
to the densification of the valley´s
steep slopes.
[1] Free translation Villagómez Carlos, La Paz ha
muerto, La Paz 2004.
[2] Free translation Cuadros Alvaro, La Paz, La Paz 2003. .
29
The city and the rivers
One of the first cartographers to draw
the region was Mercator; in his series
of maps of the world in 1569.
The city of La Paz is a small village on
a river drawn under the name of
“Cuchiao”, the native name of the river
in the valley.
In 1613 according to Guaman de Poma
chronicles the city of La Paz was still
called “Civdad de Chvqviiapo” which is
refering in an ancient Spanish, to city
on the river currently called
“Choqueyapu”.
The first name of the city of La Paz
was precisely after its main river
“Choqueyapu”. By 1652 the city is
called La Paz, unlike the Mercator map
in the map in which the settlement is
drawn as part of the puna, 83 years
later in the map of Nicholas Sanson
d´Abbeville the river is correctly drawn
as part of the Amazonian catchment.
analysis
Guaman Poma de Ayala Gerardus Mercator 1569
30
La Paz 1652
Amazonas
Adapted from Sanson d´ Abbervile 1652
31
During the colonial period in Boliv-
ia (century XVI-XVIII) the division
between the Spanish city and the
indigenous city was of course not
only spatial, there were marked
social classes and the indigenous
population was not able to enter the
Spanish city. This restriction led
the development of a marginalized
city established in the periphery of
the Spanish grid, where the
Choqueyapu river was the border.
For the majority of the population
the river, the main indigenous
church (San Francisco) and the
regional roads defined important
spatial structures where most of
their everyday activities took place
(Cuadros 2003).
The painting by M. Florentino
Olivares 1880 is a representation of
the siege that took place in 1796,
when an indigenous rebellion iso-
lated the city of La Paz leaving the
colonial city, its Spanish inhabitants
and its defensive wall in precarious
survival conditions. This siege
lasted nine months, but the colonial
border stayed longer.
First settlements in 1548
The Spanish city century XVI, Mesa Gisbert 1960
M. Florentino Olivares 1880 [upside down for orientation]
32
TOPOGRAPHY+ HISTORICAL MAP 1796
Adapted from the first official map of the city 1796
0 1 km
33
La Paz of 1846, maps of the National Territory, 1859
The urban development of La Paz
revealed in this period the need to
expand throughout routes and
connections from the compact
settlement defined by the Spanish
grid, therefore in this period the
construction of bridges across the
different sections of the rivers is a
remarkable aspect of the period (up
to 1880 a total of 21 bridges were
built). Similarly, the consolidated
neighbourhoods communicating
arteries were improved according
to structural reforms of the time,
with the projection of the city’s
urban expansion.
By the late nineteenth century, this
expansion had come to agricultural
areas that were urbanized trans-
forming them into residential
neighborhoods. It is estimated that
the urban area consisted of 184
hectares, and housed around 42,842
inhabitants (Villagómez, 2004).
Engraving of the main Plaza of La Paz, 1877
Engraving of the main Plaza of La Paz, 1880
34
TOPOGRAPHY+ HISTORICAL MAP 1877 + MAIN RIVERS
0 1 km
Adapted from Leonardo Lanza 1877
35
After the Federal War (1899), La
Paz is set as the final political cen-
tre of the country. The importance
of the city within the national scale
had an important influence on its
urban development, reflected in a
map that begins to show the periph-
eral areas as an inevitable new
destination for the most recent
settlements.
The rapid urbanization process, in
the earlier century, was material-
ized in a significant amount of
works. These transformations
became a significant improvement
of the urban quality of life, such as
opening of new avenues, improve-
ment of the canals and water recol-
lection reserve system, and the
installation of electric lighting in
1905 along with other urban con-
structions. This process was accom-
panied by a significant population
growth in the city. (Villagómez
2004).
Train crossing the river, early XX
Water excavation caused by the river, tram lines hanging. 1933
Choqueyapu river before Avenida Montes, early XX
36
TOPOGRAPHY+ HISTORICAL MAP 1912 + HIDROLOGY
0 1 km
Adapted from the municipality official map 1877
37
By 1950 the sinuos figure of urban
expansion following river valleys
had been consolidated; the expan-
sion to the then new river valley in
Miraflores defined by the Orkoja-
huira river had already been traced
and followed, and this gave rise to
expansion towards the southern
Valleys.
Rivers started being canalized as a
usual practice for urban expansion,
it is the starting point of and incipi-
ent but increasing contamination of
water bodies and the start of an
urban practice of expanding infra-
structures on creeks and rivers in
order to become urbanized areas.
From the aerial picture it is possible
to recognize how much the river
plains were reduced, already by
1950 the Choqueyapu river is under
a vault in the historical centre.
Vaulting the river opening Avenida Troncal 1935
Choqueyapu canalized, before Avenida del Poeta , 1960
38
AERIAL PHOTO 1950 + HIDROLOGY
Adapted from aerial photo 1950
39
micro story
Canals &
Vaults
Archive Miguel Irigoyen, 1950
Felipe Aliaga, 2010
2010
2010
2010 2010
1900
2011
40
In the city of La Paz, Choqueyapu; the
main river and its tributaries, have
performed in different ways along the
history. In the colonial period the river
was more than a natural barrier as it
served to separate the Spanish city
from the indigenous city, its name
means Lord of Gold, which in the
native language talks about another of
the earlier functions of the stream: gold
washing. Rather soon the first
infrastructures were built on the
Choqueyapu, the bridges are an earlier
stage of what later upgrades into canals
to become vaults and maybe streets or
avenues. After the colonization of the
valley of La Paz and after using the
river to segregate people, the next
stage was (and still is a usual practice)
canalizing the river in order to gain
more space for urban expansion. The
practice of vaulting rivers comes from
the need to trace avenues and the need
to cover the pollution of the rivers that
gradually became sewage. A vault is an
extended bridge and/or a sewage.
The river valleys have served for
different spaces, facilities and functions
of the city. The Choqueyapu runs next
to the main access highway, later when
entering into the city it is vaulted and
becomes the main avenue of La Paz. Its
remaining bank in the centre has
become the Central Urban Park,
although the river lies under two
massive vaults through the park. After
3.5 kilometres under a vault it is open
again between canals of 6 meters
where the second largest river of the
city the Orkojahuira joins its course.
The river runs across newer areas of
the city for 4 and a half km. In the
lower course after joining waters with
two other main rivers it runs openly
without canal.
“In the city of La Paz, the courses of the
rivers can be classified according to the
existence of hydraulic infrastructures:
Rivers without infrastructures 10%, open
canals 30%, former canals and vaults
60%.”(2)
The double vault 2011, in the Central
Urban Park is the most recent and
visible practice of large infrastructures
upon rivers, the construction is not
part of the designed master plan of the
park, it was built to stabilize the talud
of both slopes as well as to cover the
polluted river from being used as
dumping area. Now it is a pedestrian
street. The double vault is part of a
restoration project of the vaults in the
city centre. “It has been worked in the
structural reparation of canals and vaults”
of the Choqueyapu river and its affluent.
(3).
[1] Free translation Villagómez Carlos, La Paz ha
muerto, La Paz 2004.
[2] Free translation Estrada Liz , Propuesta técnica
para la implementación de sistemas ecológicos de
desinfección de las aguas del río Choqueyapu,
Thesis presented to the faculty of industry
engineering Bolivian Catholic University, La Paz
2004.
[3] Free translation , Publication of the Municipal
Government of La Paz, La Paz 2010.
“THIS IS THE FIRST
INDICATOR OF A
PRACTICE OF URBAN
ARTICULATION BY
BRIDGES, THAT IS
CHARACTERISTIC IN
THE URBAN
DEVELOPMENT OF LA
PAZ”[1]
canalized 1960 double vault 2010 street 2012
41
The rivers and the city
2015
AERIAL PHOTO 1950
N
analysis
CASE STUDY SECTION 2015
Case study section
Contunuos vaults
42
NATURAL COURSE
1796
1846
1877
1912
1950
Trunk Avenue project
43
Uncovering the internal hydrology
analysis
URBAN IMPRINT + URBAN FABRIC
URBAN IMPRINT + TOPOGRAPHY
INTERNAL HYDROLOGY + TOPOGRAPHY
44
INTERNAL HYDROLOGY + URBANIZATION + TOPOGRAPHY
45
INTERNAL HYDROLOGY VISIBLE HYDROLOGY
46
It is rather difficult to map the hydrolo-
gy in the city of La Paz, since main
rivers and creeks have been vault and
put into thin channels, they are no
longer visible. Contemporary data
provides an insight of what the hydro-
logical system could look like, hence it
is possible to make an interpretation of
the internal hydrology that lies under
the city, therefore it results important
to make a distinction between the
internal (originated by nature) hydrolo-
gy and the one that is visible.
The changes in the natural hydrology
of the valley, that are not natural
changes, has an important influence in
the performance of the greater system.
The rapid variation in the altitude of
the terrain accelerates water in upper
courses such as the one in the valley of
La Paz causing rapid erosion. By
reducing the size of the rivers, water
flows even faster gaining speed and
becoming an massive force capable of
excavating concrete and carrying big
stones.
The progressive work of infrastruc-
tures upon rivers has reduced signifi-
cantly the presence of space for water
in the valley, once a vast mountain
creek wetland, the city of La Paz is
trying hard to transform its arid
atmosphere.
The visible hydrology shows incipient
rivers and discontinous flows. The
main rivers disappear or become thin
lines. The internal hydrology on the
other hand shows indeed a very dense
hydrological system spread out
through the valley. By comparing both
the visible hydrological system and the
internal hydrology the result is a very
contrasting final image between each
other. “With urban growth and the
canalization, [rivers] have not only
hidden , but in some cases diverted their
natural courses.“ (1)
[1] Free translation, Medinaceli Ximena , “¿La
Paz ciudad de cerros o de ríos?”, Ciencia y cultura
no 7, Universidad Católica Boliviana, La Paz 2000.
47
Recovering the invisible rivers
intermediate conclusion
LEVELS + HYDROLOGY GROUND + HYDROLOGY LEVELS + GROUND
LEVELS + URBANIZATION HYDROLOGY + URBANIZATION TOPOGRAPHY + URBANIZATION
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS HISTORICAL TISSUE VOIDS
48
10
CONCLUSION MAP OF ANALYSIS
49
The municipality official map, of 1912
50
Water pollution and water accessibility facing climate change are the main challenges ahead.
51
Water flows
CONSUMED WATER FLOW
DRINKING WATER FLOW
The drinking water supply comes from the melting ice cape
of the surrounding Range, the four lakes artificially enlarged
become the drinking water reservours: Milluni, Incachaca,
Hampaturi , Tuni condoriri and Ajuan khota. Three main
pipe lines supply the drinking system network, two purifica-
tion plants are located away from the city and the two plants
located within the city are the sources of distribution to the
rest of the city.
Consumed water follows the natural courses of the rivers
meaning that the rivers work as the consumed water
collectors, due to the lack of independent pluvial-rivers
system and sewage system. The quality of water is defined
by the Index of Water Quality that throughout chemical and
biological tests it can be defined [1] where blue is very good,
green is good, yellow is medium, orange is bad and red is
very bad. The water flowing in rivers in the city is very bad,
while the flow leaving the city does not improve its quality
significantly.
(1) Free translation ICA Indice de calidad de Agua, Report on the
contamination of the catchment of the River La Paz. Bolivian national
comptrollers office, 2013.
hypothesis
52
WATER FLOWS + QUALITY OF WATER
0 5 km
Tuni condoriri
Milluni
Ajuan khota
Hampaturi
Incachaca
very bad quality medium quality bad quality good quality very good quality
drinking water
Río La Paz
Choqueyapu
kaluyo
Huañajahuira
Orkojahuira
Irpavi
Achumani
53
WATER FLOWS+ GROUND + PLACE
FLOW ARRIVAL
FLOW SOURCE
Andes Eastern Range
Agricultural fields valleys
54
WATER FLOWS+ GROUND + RELIEF
FLOW ARRIVAL
FLOW SOURCE
Andes Eastern Range
Agricultural fields valleys
Purification plants
55
Upstream / downstream flow
Water courses in the valley of La Paz
perform accordingly to the altitude or
section; at the higher section of the
course it is used for water supply, in
the middle section it is used as an ef-
fective flush, and in the lower section it
is used to irrigate crop fields. This
changing performance has not been
properly considered since any inter-
vention made in a section of the
course of the river will definitely have
an important impact in the following
section of the course.
A distinction can be made between
water flows according to its perfor-
mance. There is a drinking water flow
which has been properly engineered in
order to take advantage of the natural
system as the melting flows of the
peaks provide a valuable source of
clean water, this input is stored in arti-
ficially enlarged reservoirs which
trough piping reaches to filtering
plants that distribute drinking water
to the city. Already at this section of
the course there is a hybrid natural
and artificial flow system.
The second flow refers to the course of
water that follows after is been con-
sumed in the city, this flow of gray and
black water, but also water from indus-
try is flushed trough out the natural
systems of creeks and rivers off the
city, this action created a contradic-
tion: Are the rivers polluted or are
they an open sewage?
DRINKING WATER FLOW
CONSUMED WATER FLOW
NATURAL WATER FLOW
hypothesis
56
Perhaps the most visible example of the
impact of this hybrid natural-artificial
flow system is that downstream agri-
culture fields are irrigated by the city´s
water flow. The natural-artificial sys-
tem built so far from source until the
city becomes natural again. Rio La Paz
recovers its natural state (it is open
without any hydraulic infrastructure
anymore), however the quality of its
water remains still as bad (orange col-
or). An artificial flow system has
been introduced to the natural flow of
the course of waters to provide water
supply and water drainage. Consumed
water doesn´t have enough distance to
depolluted on its own before is used to
irrigate agriculture crops downstream.
Little attention has been paid to the
water flow system as a whole.
Kenning Willy, 1995
Aerial view of Rio La Paz a
nd agricultura fields
57
polluted
water
polluted
food
58
micro story
Issues
WATER POLLUTION
The city of La Paz with its 793.000 inhabitants uses
most part of the catchment as residual water collec-
tors. In the city there is no separated system be-
tween pluvial, domestic and industrial consumed
waters, where most part of the contamination of the
river responds to industrial and domestic water
flows, occasionally tributaries are also used as
dumping sites. According to a study of the Japanese
agency Jica 1993 the water of four affluent of La
Paz´s main river show that the quality of the water
is similar to residual water treatment plants than to
other comparable rivers.
Rivers have a self cleaning quality and are able to
bear some pollution, this is not the case of the
Choqueyapu and La Paz rivers anymore
as the polluted waters irrigate
agriculture fields downstream that
are sold later in the city markets.
“ The Choqueyapu river of the city
of La Paz is a clear example of
water pollution, it is estimated
that 50.000 litters of urine and
0.2 ton of excrement are poured
into the river daily. Everyday it is
poured big quantities of garbage ,
construction waste and even high
toxic liquids from dumps. […] These
waters that flow almost through the whole
city carrying great stink irrigate approximately
600 hectares down stream, that is mostly used for agri-
culture and the production of fruit trees having these
products being commercialized in the different markets of
the city” (1).
Studies have concluded that at least in three commu-
nities downstream in which the main activity is
agriculture, present unacceptable crop production for
human consumption. With this negative cycle
closed, pollution comes back to people in the city,
diminishing significantly the quality of life and
public health.
Besides the contamination of the river should be analysed
as a negative external issue because the contamination
decreases the quality of life of people that uses water for
consumption or for production , not having direct control
of this variable , that is controlled by economic agents
where populations does not receive any compensation in
exchange.“ (2)
In 2013 an important study led by comptrollers
office concluded to the same recommendation
stated by Jica in 1993; the quality of water of the
main rivers in La Paz is not suitable for irrigation or
consumption. This last study unlike others urges to
public institutions to take actions and urges to the
elaboration of projects and plans. In response
currently is under revision a Master plan for water
management for the next 36 years for the
metropolitan area of La Paz, the de-
pollution proposed project returns to
the highly engineered centralized
view of the Jica project which
focuses on building a major
treatment plant that aims to
de-pollute the water flows
onwards. The problem with
this kind of approach is not
only the lack of space for such
big infrastructure between the
city´s border and the agricultural
fields down stream, taking into
account that the city is expanding, but
that it assumes that the river and its
catchment is indeed a sewerage , that environmental
integral sustainability is not a goal and that water
can be controlled in centralized systems. Water
pollution in the city of La Paz is may be the most
urgent challenge after vulnerability to overcome in
the immediate future. “ The study concludes that an
ecosystem constituted of polluted water bodies has been
damaged and real risk and consequences for public health
derives from this issue.” (3)
[1] Free translation Revollo Daniel, “Contaminación del río
Choqueyaou”ABC Economía y Finanzas No 38, La Paz 2003.
[2] Free translation Ibidem
[3] Free translation Report on the contamination of the catch-
ment of the River La Paz. Bolivian national comptrollers office,
59
micro story
Issues
WATER ACCESSIBILITY / CLIMATE CHANGE
CHACALTAYA SOURCE MELTING GLACIER
INCREASING RIVER TORRENTS
60
“The children that today arrive to the
world won´t believe that we used to play
with water” (1)
The major contradiction of looking at
La Paz´s main source of clean water
being reduced drastically in a couple of
years and having an increasing rainy
season that lasts four months in which
the amount of water overpasses the
built infrastructures, speaks about the
fragmented way of managing water
that has been put into practice until
climate change has made it clearly
evident.
The melting of the Chacaltaya Glacier
illustrates how oblivious and fragile is
the current urbanization model in the
city of La Paz. Climate Change and the
challenge of getting fresh water to the
city is still a question to be answered.
On the other hand during the rainy
season from November to February
citizens live in Alert state due to the
heavy rain that overcomes canals,
vaults and come in forms of torrents or
water excavation, with the promise of
increasing the size and volume of
infrastructure, there isn´t an integral
and critical reading of the interrelation
of issues.
Climate change has shifted the source
of recharge of water reservoirs since
today only 35% comes from tropical
melting glaciers while the rest 65%
comes from pluvial precipitations, if the
source of clean water supply has
changed why hasn´t the system. “..the
melting of tropical glaciers that was
projected within the next 50 years, has
accelerated and the loss of ice registered in
this rhythm would reduce the
environmental disaster within the next 20
years. (2)
The coverage of water supply in the
city reaches to 93% of the population
while sewage system reaches to 70%
(Epsas 2012). Within this 23% that is
not connected to the formal sewage
system 4578 housing units make use
of septic tanks and cesspits, 1100 use
river and creeks to discharge consumed
water, 454 discharges on streets and 15
discharges to lakes and small wetlands
(National official results of conducted
census of housing and population
2012). These discharges that are not
part of the formal sewage system are
often part of unplanned settlements
that establish on the periphery of the
valleys. More over what results also
quite interesting is that 8146 housing
units get drinking water from public
faucets, 6272 get clean water from
rain , creeks, rivers and springs.
In a more broader perspective Bolivia
has managed to incorporate in its new
Constitution (2010) access to water as a
right. This transformation is product of
many reflections discussed in
workshops, and seminars but mainly
due to strikes and public demonstra-
tions that had their critical moment in
the year 2000 in Cochabamba with the
so called “water war”. “The unreliable
and limited services resulting from the
implementation of Centralized state and
private water management institutions
produced pandemic civil Unrest, which
manifested itself public social protest.(3)
An important characteristic of
development plans in Bolivia is the
contradiction of having a set of laws,
norms and regulations that provide a
solid legal platform based on a deep
understanding of structural issues, such
as water management, that compared
to the instruments and vocation of the
final outcome planning process and
vision seemed to be diametrically
opposed.
The city of La Paz is a clear example of
this mismatch where the legal
framework is not able to find the
correct partner in the practice that can
integrate and bridge current challenges
such as water accessibility, climate
change and the desired vision on water
achieved finally in 2010. Hence the
n e e d o f r e t h i n k i n g a m o r e
comprehensive water system that deals
with both contradictions the first one :
having a water supply system based on
melting glaciers that only contribute
with 30% and having increasing
volumes of rainwater that don´t know
where to go, and the second one:
having an strong and innovative legal
platform for water management and
returning to traditional approaches for
projects and plans.
[1] Free translation, Fernandez Katherine,
“Gestión integral del agua bajo la vision del
acceso al agua como derecho humano”, Ciudades
y Cambio climático, La Paz 2012.
[2] Hidraulic and Hidrology Institute ,
Universidad de San Andrés, 2011, as cited by
Fernandez Katherine, “Gestión integral del agua
bajo la vision del acceso al agua como derecho
humano”, Ciudades y Cambio climático, La Paz
2012.
[3] Chan, A., Kahn, V., Scott, C., & Vetere, P.
Bolivian Water Wars, 2007
61
Water flow system
hypothesis
CURRENT WATER FLOW SYSTEM
CURRENT WATER FLOW SYSTEM CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIO
The current system of water supply was built having the melting layer as the main source of
clean water, the melting water of the glacier is contained in 3 big reservoirs: and 2 small ones,
the water is piped to water cleaning plants in which the water becomes drinkable. These three
plants distribute drinkable water to 243 683 housing units in La Paz and some prevailing in-
dustry in the northern area. Consumed water (dark and grey) from housing and industry goes
to the two main rivers of La Paz Choqueyapu and Orkojahuira that act as collectors. The flow of
consumed waters share the canalized rivers and the open creeks as a single drainage system,
this means that there is no distinction between water from creeks, from rain, dark water, grey
water and water from industry that doesn´t receive any treatment.
The degradation of the quality of water in the river starts with industrial discharges at the en-
trance of the river, while the degradation of the tributaries of the main rivers, starts been pollut-
ed in the peripheral urban areas. Creeks that initially arrive with clean water (blue) soon be-
come sewage in the new areas (yellow), once the creek or river is canalized this water flow be-
comes orange. When reaching to the central areas of the city, creeks and river go definitively
under vaults and are considered the formal sewage where it already shows high pollution (red).
Later on when urbanization stops the canals and vaults disappear, the quality of water improves
(returning to orange) yet is not good enough to irrigate the agriculture fields down stream,
production that later is sold in markets carrying diseases.
With climate change the current system presents increasing flaws, first of all since an im-
portant part of the melting cape has drained, the reservoirs depend only 35% of this source, the
remaining 65% comes from precipitation, the systems of reservoirs were not intended for water
rain caption hence they are adapted to the new source.
Since adaption of the system depends uniquely on the rainy season, during the dry season there
is water shortage. With heavier rain and a lack of control over water, unplanned settlements in
the periphery are vulnerable to suffer landslides caused by water infiltration and water excava-
tion. Although river and creeks temporally improve the quality of their waters because of the
increasing amount of water coming from the rain, the canals and vaults run the risk of being
overwhelmed by torrents causing flooding and infrastructures damage.
The most vulnerable place is downstream, crops that are being cultivated are flooded and the
production on the fields is damaged during the rain season. The formalization of rivers as the
main water drainage means that the system does not only have to bear with the volume of water
coming from the natural system but it has to cope with the consumed water flow from house
holds and the extra volume of rain derived from climate change.
62
63
WATER SUPPLY/SEWAGE COVERAGE
Public authorities estimated that by
2036 100% of the population in La
Paz will access both services water
supply and sewage, meanwhile the
conditions show that currently 93%
of the population has access to
drinking water, while 70% are
formerly connected to the sewage
system.
This figures show that there is still
an important number of people who
rely on alternative systems apart
from the one provided by the
city. According to the national
census of 2013 out of the 243 683
households, still 17 354 use alterna-
tives methods to get clean water
such as: from rain and creeks 6272,
from public faucets 8146 and from
wells, ponds and lagoons 2942.
Regarding sewage system out of
the 243783 documented housing
units, 205211 of them have a con-
nection to the formal sewage while
4578 claim to discharge into septic
tanks, and 1100 into creeks and
rivers.
In order to look for design strategic
logics it is fundamental to
acknowledge the potential of ver-
nacular practices that are currently
dealing with water supply and
water discharge.
“These knowledge and Andean wis-
dom are still kept involved in the
among the daily practices of many
people that dwell in zones of the city of
El Alto and on the slopes of the city of
La Paz as a result of the continuos
flows and bonds of inmigration city-
countryside and that are […] or could
be , if not already, an alternative to
adapting to climate change” (1)
[1] Free translation, Ichuta Jose Luis, “Lo que
hacían nuestros abuelos”, Ciudades y Cambio
climático, La Paz 2012
64
WATER SUPPLY COVERAGE SYSTEMS
WATER SEWAGE COVERAGE SYSTEM
65
PROPOSED WATER FLOW SYSTEM
The proposed system aims to divert the courses of clean water, store and filter rain
water, separate grey and dark water, implement properly treatment of industrial
residual water and dark water., in addition to convey complementary strategies that
are expected to close cycles and have a more efficient metabolism.
The proposed flow starts by enlarging one of the cleaning plants and transforming it
into an industrial treatment plant, this plant does not only treat industrial water
properly but also separates the metals of the industrial water and extract the metals
for reuse.
In the periphery of the city the course of creeks are diverted to benefit from their
good quality, the flow from creeks is also fed by rain that is captured in small ponds,
this water can be used for washing, for the supply toilet even for bathing. In addition
to the formal water supply system, that may or not be available in the periphery,
tanks for rain water storage are implemented in houses in order to be filtered
becoming ready for human consumption or as part of the clean water course. This
strategy is also to be implemented in the rooftops of the more formal high rise build-
ings.
Additionally the grey water is separated in these more formal typologies where there
is more range of regulation, these flows from grey water can be used for irrigation of
parks and humid recreational areas and finally join the main course of rivers.
On other peripheral areas where some of the 23% of people with out sewage is ex-
pected to be, dry toilets are to be implemented were Humanure can be collected and
sold to the farmers downstream as natural fertilizer. Water tanks for collection of
rain are also implemented and creeks water flow are diverted.
It is also important to intervene in the core of the flows, were river valley voids are to
be transformed into cleansing forest ponds, that allow to depollute water and slow
down the current.
By creating a system of water flows that allow to reduce volume of water and
pollution downstream, agriculture production is to be improved while creating new
opportunities to deal with water accessibility and adaption to climate change in a
sustainable framework.
66
67
Meshing water flows
hypothesis
The diagram represent the current
flows in which the many discharges
increase the volume of a centralized
linear system where the central line
is the Choqueyapu River. All the
flows contribute to this single
centralized linear system, here
pluvial water, consumed water,
industrial water and water from
creeks and rivers is collected in a
unique central sewage.
This unique canal presents a highly
contaminated flow of water repre-
sented in red colour, as households
and industry contribute with resid-
ual discharges deteriorating rapidly
the good quality of water in creeks
represented in colour blue. The
volume of water is been added in a
canal that was originally a river
causing saturation in the system.
Hence the final outcome is a
massive orange line that is repre-
senting the final volume of water
poured into the system together
with a very contaminated water
quality.
CURRENT WATER FLOW DIAGRAM
68
Urbanization has extended its
growth following the main tributar-
ies, these tributaries have become
central drainages as well, creating a
linear configuration of the city.
As the urbanization keeps extend-
ing its branches the city gradually
loses its compactness and becomes a
line that will keep consuming space
of the rivers.
“Considering the magnitude of the
projected numbers for the XXI century
and the present problems, it becomes
relevant to ask in the epilogue on which
areas potentially [and currently] used
for agriculture will we build? In sum-
mary until what point inhabitants of
La Paz will abuse of a place that
historically was not good enough for a
stable and balanced urban develop-
ment? “(1)
[1] Free translation, Villagómez Carlos, La Paz ha
muerto, La Paz 2004.
CURRENT URBAN GROWTH
69
The general strategy aims to create
a network of water flows, that can
act as a grid: distributing the
volume of water poured into the
central canal, but also diverting the
clean water from the polluted one.
By creating a new network of water
flows we designate smaller
elements on which the flow is
solved.
As the diagram becomes a discrete
representation of the problem.,
diverting the clean water from the
more polluted one, and connecting
this flow to similarly flows be-
comes part of meshing water flows.
This water grid not only performs
as an engineering principle but also
cooperates with nature and values
the community sense of sharing
clean water that is to become the
main public space. It is by its nature
incremental , this reduces costs for
water a long term infrastructures.
HYPOTHESIS GENERAL STRATEGY
70
RETENTION STRATEGY
As a complementary strategy reten-
tion of water results fundamental
for reducing the volume of dis-
charge in the main canal, as repre-
sented in the diagram the volume of
water in the central canal is ex-
pected to be reduced by the imple-
mentation of clean water ponds.
Diverting creeks with unpolluted
water along with the creation of
new water ponds and small canals
of water serve also as the first
source of clean water supply, taking
into account that the creation of
ponds and water canals is part of
the vernacular practices in some
areas of the city. “What are uma
k´otañas? They are small concavities
that are created in the surface of the
terrain with help of pickax and spade,
their main function is to store water
from rain or creeks. (1)
[1] Free translation, Ichuta Jose Luis, “Lo que
hacían nuestros abuelos”, Ciudades y Cambio
climático, La Paz 2012
71
Apart from the retention of water
and the new water flows mesh, it is
important to work in the core of the
most polluted areas of the linear
canal. This purpose is tackled by
slowing down the speed of the
contaminated water flow and store
it in bigger ponds in voids where
natural system such as cleansing
forests can be implemented.
The quality of the proposed
phytoremediation forest varies
depending on the opportunities of
possible flooding areas along the
central canal.
These could be in the middle, next
to it or along a confluence. The
main criteria for this strategy to
take place is finding the urban
voids in which these decentralized
voids along the primary course of
the river can reduce the discharge
of pollutants thus restoring ecologi-
cally the polluted stream.
CLEANSING STRATEGY
72
Finally new and more resilient
urbanization is expected to be on-
wards guided by the reconfigura-
tion of the new structures. In addi-
tion it is expected to reduce the
volume of water in the main canal
by having a new water network
capable of retaining water along
with new urban typologies. New
resilient tissues with high density
typologies that are both capable of
providing enough housing and at
the same time inserting themselves
among water course system and
valuing it..
Lastly a significant decrease in the
pollution of water courses is
achieved, water accessibility is
increased within a climate change
scenario. The water is everywhere
again.
STRUCTURE FOR NEW URBANIZATION
73
micro story
74
S trong actions have taken
place in the city of La Paz
along with a visible improvement in
other areas such as security,
participation, education, etc. These
changes are widely seen as positive and
were led mainly by two consecutives
mandates of the mayors Juan del
Granado and Luis Revilla, from the
same political party which allow them
to recover municipal authority 20 years
ago and implement several important
projects 10 years ago. The national
government has also steeped in the
change of La Paz by implementing the
“Teleferico” lines, a cable car system
meant for massive transportation
alternative.
May be the most important
transformation started already in 2002
when the municipal government along
with international partners such as the
world bank invested in a significant
informal settlement upgrade, that
aimed to be as integral and as active as
possible meaning not only an
i m p r o v e m e n t o f t h e u r b a n
environment, but also an important
process of engagement with local
actors and neighbourhood boards
through workshops and meetings . The
key aspect of this project does not rely
in a single transformation sample but it
rather constitutes as a permanent
simultaneous improvement that up till
n o w k e e p s u p g r a d i n g n e w
neighbourhoods.
“46 zones of the laderas have been
transformed under the project of Barrios de
verdad through integral projects of
improvement of which 39.157 inhabitants
benefited..” (1)
In the year 2011 a three stretch bridge
was inaugurated in order to connect
the dense tissues in an area where of
three important river valleys become
one. The big infrastructure is
conceived under the rooted urban
practice of articulation by bridges
where the car has become once again
the guide for developing such vital
connections, although an important
flow of pedestrians make use of the
stretches that link very different areas
of the city.
In the year 2013 the municipal
government implemented a new bus
system that aims to improve the
mobility conditions as the existing
public transport constitutes of self-
employed and unions. Because of this
self regulated system the quality of
transportation is irregular having
unreachable areas and lack of
accessibility during peak hours. The
new bus system aims to provide
effective displacement within
peripheral areas and the city centre.
In the year 2014 the cable car system
Teleférico was implemented, this
important infrastructure has two lines
connecting La Paz with El Alto (and
some of the most un favoured
neighbourhoods on the west slope)
and one of these also connects a
residential zone of the centre with the
southern zone where most of the new
urbanization is. Another five lines are
to be implemented in the city adding a
new way of displacing. La Paz is
experiencing an important moment
public authorities with major support
have taken the initiative, yet the field of
urban design and urban planning is
still waiting to step in and contribute
to this important stage. The result is
that these strong actions have changed
the way of living in the city.
[1] Free translation, Publication of the
Municipal Government of La Paz, La Paz 2011.
Map of the upgraded areas and the
lines of “Teleferico” system
Mount Illimani the symbol of La Paz
Water urbanism a resilient opportunity for the reconfiguration of the city
New urban structures
design
The current hydrology is the result of a
progressive domestication of the creeks
and rivers in order to give rise to
urbanization, the hydrology is a
discontinuous structure, that guided
urban growth, by reducing its size and
providing its natural flows. The
performance of the hydrology for such
different use needs to be strengthen
and recalibrated.
CURRENT HYDROLOGY
0 2km
PROPOSED HYDROLOGY
The new proposed hydrology
performs like a mesh, a grid allows
water to follow different paths. The
branches of the hydrology respond to
sometimes restored old connections,
close sources or same level confluents.
Urban voids become opportunities for
course to recover space, therefore these
voids become either ponds or floodable
areas.
River restorations, not only ecological
restoration but also in terms of form
and performance along with clean
water course ditches, retention ponds
and rain water storage in buildings
build new the blue structure of the
mesh.
0 2km
design
The direction of water is defied by
topography, the new canals and
streams considers the change in the
altitude to let gravity play in favour.
The direction flows follows the natural
course , the restored natural course, a
parallel course of the same plain and
the most ambitious course follows
curves of levels, which allow to connect
important main courses.
0 2km
HYDROLOGY FLOWS
It is expected to generate a vegetal
secondary structure that follows some
of the new courses of water. This green
natural structure also contributes to
the performance of the mesh, creating
corridors of forest along clean water
courses, and becoming the elements to
slow down the current in main courses
and de-pollute contaminated streams,
parks and new natural areas within the
city are irrigated by grey water from
housing becoming receptors of this
water flow. The only two exsisting
patches of forested areas in La Paz: the
fores of Pura Pura and the Pampahasi
forest become part of the new struc-
ture.
0 2km
PROPOSED GREEN STRUCTURE
Pura Pura forest
Pampahasi forest
design
PROPOSED URBAN STRUCTURES
La Paz as a city settled in a difficult geographical condition of valleys, creeks, rivers
and slopes, the amount of pressure on habitable land is huge, this is readable in the
lack of open space. Due to the excessive attention paid to the urbanized centre of La
Paz, the new blue and green structures intervenes in a larger scale prioritizing
peripheral or secondary elements (such as rivers, patches of vegetation, slopes,
curves levels, creeks) and where urban voids are only part of a major network. By
taking advantage of these often forgotten secondary elements the new mesh explores
the possibility to add a natural layer that performs according to the water related
pressing issues, but also aims to re-introduce open space to an already overcrowded
built environment..
0 2km
Blue structure
River restoration
Clean water course ditch
Retention ponds
Rain water storage
design
RIVER RESTORATION
CLEAN WATER COURSE DITCH
RETENTION PONDS
RAIN WATER STORAGE
Green structure
Forest corridor
Parks and new natural areas
Phyto remediation
design
PHYTO REMEDIATION
FOREST CORRIDOR
PARKS AND NEW NATURAL AREAS
design
BLUE STRUCTURE
GREEN STRUCTURE
GREEN + BLUE STRUCTURE
The two proposed blue and green
structures interplay meshing flows of
water., allowing to have a wide range
of intervention that focuses as much as
in the congested city centre as in the
unflavoured periphery.
Clean course of water defined by curve
of level contained within a forest
corridor encircles an unplanned
settlement, providing a source of clean
water gathered from rooftops, rain and
creeks. This infrastructure becomes
public space in which community
activities take place.
design
In the core of the city urban voids
perform within a larger scale and
become a fragment of a major struc-
ture. In this image a riparian forest
mimics natural restoration of river; it
slows down current and restores the
polluted stream.
New urban areas learn from the flaws
of previous models of urbanization, by
integrating firstly to the natural
conditions of the river, maintaining the
vital activity of agriculture for the city,
and lastly providing new typologies
capable of dealing with housing
demand and sustainable use of water
systems that can be easily plugged in
the restored water mesh system.
design
La Paz is a city originally settled on the course of high Mountain streams, therefore
the rivers that sculpted the complex relief are the essence of this place, La Paz
needs to become again a city of rivers, the city of the 300 rivers, not only because is
part of its internal nature but because water is the most valuable resource to be
preserve for the city´s inhabitants. Many rivers have been buried physically and
metaphorically, therefore it is important to restore the living ones, and to give rise
to new ones, a new water net work needs to flow again upon La Paz. The city is
waiting for its water flows to be meshed.
references
Bibliography
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Amerasinghe Anojie, Dehaene Michiel. Matara: Structuring dispersion. Antilope Printers: Lier, 2007.
Bolivian national comptrollers office. Report on the contamination of the catchment of the River La Paz.
Chan, A., Kahn, V., Scott, C., & Vetere, P. Bolivian Water Wars, 2007.
Constitución Política del Estado. Bolivia.
Cuadros Alvaro. La Paz. La Paz, 2003.
D´Auria Viviana, De Meulder Bruno, Shannon Kelly. “The Nebulous Notion of Human Settlements”, Human Settlements For-
mulations and (re) calibrations. Sun: Amsterdam, 2010.
De Meulder Bruno; Shannon Kelly. Water Urbanisms East. UFO 3: Explorations of Urbanism. Park Books: Zurich, 2013.
Estrada Liz , Propuesta técnica para la implementación de sistemas ecológicos de desinfección de las aguas del río Choqueyapu.
Thesis presented to the faculty of industry engineering Bolivian Catholic University: La Paz, 2004
Fernandez Katherine, “Gestión integral del agua bajo la visión del acceso al agua como derecho humano.” Ciudades y Cambio
climático. La Paz, 2012.
Franken Margot. Gestión de Aguas, conceptos para el nuevo milenio. 2007.
ICA Indice de calidad de Agua, Report on the contamination of the catchment of the River La Paz. Bolivian national comptro-
llers office, 2013.
Ichuta Jose Luis, “Lo que hacían nuestros abuelos.” Ciudades y Cambio climático: La Paz, 2012.
Mathur Anuradha, da Cunha Dilip. SOAK Mumbai in an Estuary. Rupa & Co, 2009.
Medinaceli Ximena. “¿La Paz ciudad de cerros o de ríos?” Ciencia y cultura no 7, Universidad Católica Boliviana: La Paz, 2000 .
Revollo Daniel. “Contaminación del río Choqueyapu.” ABC Economía y Finanzas No 38: La Paz, 2003.
Secchi Bernardo; Viganò Paola. Antwerp. Territory of a New Modernity. Explorations n.02. Sun: Amsterdam, 2009.
Urquizo Carlos. Metrópoli Andina. Centro de Apoyo al Desarrollo Laboral: La Paz, 2004.
Villagómez Carlos. La Paz ha muerto. La Paz, 2004.
Wolman Abel. The metabolism of cities, 1965.
*Publication of the Municipal Government of La Paz, La Paz 2010.
*Publication of the Municipal Government of La Paz, La Paz 2011.
* Hidraulic and Hidrology Institute ,Universidad de San Andrés, 2011, as cited by Fernandez Katherine, “Gestión integral del
agua bajo la vision del acceso al agua como derecho humano”, Ciudades y Cambio climático, La Paz 2012.
Maps
Bingmaps, 2015.
First official map of the city 1796.
Gerardus Mercator, 1569.
Guaman Poma de Ayala, 1613.
Google Earth, 2015
Imágenes históricas de Bolivia: La Paz, 1915.
Lanza, Leonardo. 1877.
M. Florentino Olivares 1880.
Mesa Gisbert, The Spanish city century XVI, 1960.
Maps of the National Territory, 1859: La Paz of 1846.
Municipality official map, 1877.
Sanson d´ Abbervile, 1652.
Unknown. First settlements in 1548.
* aerial photo 1950 (pag. 39)
Websites
*GeoBolivia: http://geo.gob.bo/ (july 2015)
*Gobierno Autónomo Municipal de La Paz: http://www.lapaz.bo/
index.phpoption=com_gmapfp&view=gmapfplist&Itemid=446 (june 2015)
*Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) de Bolivia:
http://www.ine.gob.bo/ (july 2015)
*Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua:
http://mmaya.gob.bo/ (june 2015)
*Fotos antiguas La Paz: https://www.facebook.com/groups/552392304808975/?fref=ts (august 2015)
Photos
*The northern valley of La Paz 1915 before rapid growth at the end of the century (pag. 22) https://www.facebook.com/
groups/552392304808975/?fref=ts
*Engraving of the main Plaza of La Paz, 1877 (pag. 34) http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,115715813,var,GRABADO--
GRAVURE-DU-1877--La-Paz--Bolivia--Vista-de-la-plaza-principal--De-fotografia,language,F.htmlEngraving of the main
*Plaza of La Paz, 1880 (pag. 34) http://books.openedition.org/ifea/6085?lang=it
*Train crossing the river, early XX (pag. 36) https://www.facebook.com/groups/552392304808975/?fref=ts
*Water excavation caused by the river, tram lines hanging. 1933 (pag. 36) https://www.facebook.com/
groups/552392304808975/?fref=ts
*Choqueyapu river before Avenida Montes, early XX (pag. 36) https://www.facebook.com/groups/552392304808975/?
fref=ts
*Vaulting the river opening Avenida Troncal 1935 (pag. 38) https://www.facebook.com/groups/552392304808975/?fref=ts
*Choqueyapu canalized, before Avenida del Poeta , 1960 (pag. 38) https://www.facebook.com/groups/552392304808975/?
fref=ts
* Aerial photo 1950 (pag 42) https://www.facebook.com/groups/552392304808975/?fref=ts
* Proposed new image (pag 89) adapted from Pablo Villalobos http://www.panoramio.com/user/4942325
Special thanks to Miguel Irigoyen and the collaborators of the Facebook group “Fotos Antiguas La Paz”.
Interested parties for photo credits contact [email protected]