This summary is abridged
from
"Growing Up in the Barrio: Perceptions of the Environment"
by Maria Angelica Sepulveda, Gloria López, and Yuherqui Guaimaro.
CENDIF (Center for Research on Childhood and the Family)
School of Education
Universidad Metropolitana
Autopista Petare-Guarenas
Caracas 1070A, Venezuela
(November 2001)
This report is also available in Spanish (in PDF format).
Venezuela--like many countries of Latin America—is experiencing rapid population growth. It is calculated that the population in the year 2000 was 70% greater than in 1981. One consequence is that about 30% of the total population and 50% of the urban population live in informal settlements, or barrios. Overall, more than 85% of the population is urban. Given continuing rural to urban migration as well as natural growth, population density in the barrios has increased dramatically. Add to this situation the declining purchasing power of the poor and a reduction in the construction of affordable housing by the state and the private sector, and it means that a significant part of Venezuela’s population lives in barrios that typically lack planning and basic services. These conditions of poverty especially affect the most vulnerable: children, women, the elderly. It is estimated that almost half of the children of Venezuela live in poverty in marginal settlements. This figure needs to be considered in the context that 56% of the total population in the country is less than 24 years old.
In the past, three strategies have been used to address these problems. The first is to evict poor urban settlers and relocate them far from city centers. The second, the strategy of "clean up and redevelop," is to replace informal settlements with new housing on the same site (often with housing which the poor themselves cannot afford). The third is to upgrade existing settlements. This process, which involves the regeneration of the community with residents’ participation and a minimum of disruption in their lives, creates a natural context for the implementation of Growing Up in Cities methods to involve children and youth in identifying their own priorities for improvements.
In 1991, the Ministry of Urban Development of Venezuela established a Plan for the Rehabilitation of the Barrios of the Metropolitan Area, with the goal of incorporating informal settlements into the city. Several pilot projects have been initiated as part of this plan. Consistent with this policy, CENDIF—the Center for Research on Childhood and the Family at the Metropolitan University of Caracas—combined with the ATICCA Programme and with Growing Up in Cities to carry out participatory action-research with young people in the La Planada sector of the Barrio Canaima, a settlement of about 218,000 inhabitants situated in the province of Vargas along the coastal highway northeast of Caracas. The goal was to understand risks and resources in the environment from young people’s own perspectives.
Cendif selected ATICCA, for this initial site of Growing Up in Caracas. ATICCA is a program created by Cendif to systematically address the needs of children from the ages of 7 through 17 and their families, with attention to their health, nutrition, psychological well-being, self-esteem, education, environmental education, recreation, community development, and the prevention of drug use. It seeks to organize and empower adults who are chosen by community members themselves and who are designated "promoters," so that they can provide support for nonformal programs in these areas: whether they may be parents; members of community organizations, religious organizations or sports associations; university students; or other volunteers. Promoters visit homes to inform parents about health care and nutrition, children’s need for play, and child-parent interactions that enhance child development and well-being. They also organize 7 to 17 year olds to offer them academic assistance, and organize interest groups among adults to discuss health, nutrition, education and the environment. The main goal of the program is to assist residents in poor communities to realize their own solutions to their problems. ATICCA is one of several programs of this kind developed by CENDIF since 1984 in different barrios of the Central Coast of metropolitan Caracas. It is allied with the Parish of San Martin de Porres and the Neighborhood Association of La Planada, under the auspices of the Voluntary Dividend for the Community (an NGO supporting community development).
Growing Up in Cities was originally conceived by the urban planner Kevin Lynch in 1970, and revived by an international team of planners, architects and social scientists in 1995. Since the beginning, it has been supported by UNESCO, with additional support coming from a variety of international, national and local sponsors. The project seeks to raise citywide and national interest in the capacity of children and youth to document and analyze the resources and risks in their urban environments, as well as to envision better conditions, as the basis for integrating young people into community development.
Both Cendif and Growing Up in Cities are guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1989 and ratified by Venezuela in 1990. These rights provide not only for children’s protection from violence, abuse and exploitation and for the provision of basic needs, but also for their participation in decisions that affect their lives. The Programme for Action from UNCED (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992) and from Habitat II (the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, held in Istanbul in 1996) make it clear that this right to a voice includes young people’s right to contribute their ideas and creativity to decisions that affect their environments and communities.
In 1980, to bring its laws into compliance with the Declaration of the Rights of the Child—the foundation for the more extensive Convention on the Rights of the Child—the government of Venezuela enacted LOPNA, the Organic Law for the Protection of the Child and Adolescent. Instead of expressing the needs of the children, like the former Law did, this legal code recognizes the right of children and youth to a standard of living that will ensure their healthy development (its Article 30). In part, it recognizes their right to a safe environment in harmony with nature, and to their rights to relaxation, recreation, play and sports, and requires that the state provide open space, green space, and programs directed to this end, which must be free and accessible to all citizens (Articles 31, 63, 64). Children also have rights to participate freely and actively in the life of their families, communities, culture and society, and to progressive integration into active citizenship, with all of its civil rights (Articles 2, 81, 83, 84, 86). The Growing Up in Cities project developed by Cendif in La Planada, Barrio Canaima, was intended to demonstrate how these rights can be realized in practice.
Project Site
According to a January 2001 census, 173 families inhabit the sector of La Planada in Canaima, with an average family size of 5.2 people. More than 83% of the families have children. Of those younger than 18, about 37% are preschoolers, 46% attend school, and 18% are out of school. Among adults, 51% report that they are unemployed and 49% say that they are employed in some form of manual labor.
La Planada is built on a hillside with a risk of landslide, such as the disastrous flood and landslide of December 1999. Most inhabitants own their homes, with the exception of those who lost their homes in 1999 and were reduced to renting. The self-built cement block homes typically rise two or three stories, with zinc roofs, a connection to central water tanks, and sewer outlets to septic tanks. There are two large trash containers at the entrance to the community, which are emptied three times a week. Electricity is available, and there is public transportation until 7 p.m. Public services are lined up along the principle street, including a primary school, a preschool, a clinic, a church, ATICCA (the community center), a Center for the Child and Family, a bakery, a lottery vendor, a garage, and three grocery stores. For recreation space, there is a net for basketball at the entrance and an open space of 3 x 4 meters named "La Placita."
Research Method
The main objectives of Growing Up in Cities in La Planada were:
Seventy-nine children and adolescents from the local school and from ATICCA programs participated in the study: 43 girls and 36 boys. They ranged from 8 through 16 years of age. The children drew their house and neighborhood and responded to a semi-structured interview which was adapted from the basic interview found in Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth by David Driskell (UNESCO/Earthscan Publications, 2002). The young people also participated in focus groups to discuss topics such as their freedom to move about the barrio, recreation, celebrations, and community resources. In addition, 14 adults were interviewed who represented promoters connected to ATICCA, educators, other school employees, housewives, and a doctor.
Research Results - Children
According to the interview results, most of the young people—78%--considered their barrio a pretty place, with its houses close together and many stairways. Some added that it was a peaceful place. Almost a quarter (23%), however, considered it ugly, dirty and dangerous, with bad people and drug addicts. In general, respondents believed that La Planada was a pleasant place with some dangerous areas; but for some children, the dangers affected their perception of the barrio as a whole.
When asked what they believed La Planada would be like in 10 years time, 52% believed that it would be more clean and well ordered, with painted houses and well fitting roofs, more bushes and trash containers, repaired roads, recreation places, and less violence and bad people.
Other responses, however, indicated an existing lack of adequate public space. The best place to meet their friends, 62% said, was in their own homes. When they were asked their favorite place outside in the barrio, 76% named "La Placita," (the area with the basketball net), the alleys, and the stairs in front of their house, as the places where they could play with their friends. At the same time, these were the places that were identified as the most dangerous because of vagrants, drug addicts, assaults and shootings. Many young people testified that they had witnessed violence or been its victim. Some reported that they had to stay hidden in their houses to be safe. Whereas 68% said that they felt free to move about in their community, 32% said that they did not.
When the young people were asked what they would like to change in their barrio, 88% were in agreement about priorities: to eliminate the bad people; enlarge the houses; create play spaces free from drugs; repair the streets and stairways; install more trash containers; build more schools and eating places; have more friends; end child abuse, fights and murders; fill in the gullies; build flood walls; plant trees and flowers; and help people with problems.
When they were asked where they would like to live in 10 years time, despite the fact that more than half of the young people had expressed optimism that the barrio would improve, only 38% said that they would like to continue to live in La Planada. Fifty-nine percent answered that they would like to live in another part of the country or in a foreign country. Eighty-one percent expressed fear that a natural disaster like the floods of 1999 could happen again. Two-thirds claimed that the disaster changed their lives, not only because of the loss of their homes and possessions, but also because of the emotional effects of seeing people die, seeing thefts and lootings, and being isolated for days without electricity or food.
Two focus group discussions were organized, with 9 children in one group (6 boys, 3 girls; average age 11) and seven in another (4 boys, 3 girls; average age 9). The discussion confirmed the results of the interviews with regard to feelings of insecurity and the lack of recreation space. The majority of the children described the barrio as boring, with few distractions from daily routines. Few of the children could afford to get away on vacations.
Research Results – Adults
Of the 14 adults interviewed, 13 were women. When they were asked what they considered the most important community problem, all but one focused on inadequate public services: a lack of adequate public transportation, trash collection, sanitation or water. More than half were also concerned about personal security. They reported a high rate of assaults, alcoholism and drug addiction. Three people each mentioned child abuse and a lack of recreation space. A few also mentioned neglect, lack of communication, and a lack of community participation. There was general agreement, in other words, in terms of the problems identified by children and adults.
When the adults were asked how they believed that these problems affected children, 13 said that they considered exposure to crime the major problem: such as exposure to the use of drugs and alcohol. In terms of their living environment, most respondents mentioned environmental problems such as excessive noise, dirt and litter. Ten people also talked about the lack of recreation space and the need to beautify the barrio with plantings and flowers. Nevertheless, the same number believed that the barrio had improved over time. Most people believed that the improvements had been achieved by community support for the Neighborhood Association, which sponsored clean up campaigns, repairs, festivals, and sports events. Eleven people reported that they found their neighbors cordial and trustworthy. More than half—eight people—had optimistic visions of the barrio’s future, and half said that they would like to continue to live in the barrio in 10 years time. These figures are similar to the expressions of optimism about the barrio’s future by 52% of the children.
Conclusion
1) The first observation is that it is important to recognize the clarity and relevance of the opinions expressed by the young people in this study. They effectively showed that children’s participation can be of high quality; and therefore it is essential to take into account their own perception of their needs in plans to improve their standard of living. It is particularly important to join with them in this common effort, because the interviews and focus group showed that most of these young people were restricted to the opportunities in their homes and nearby surroundings. For most of them, their home and its surroundings were their world. To a great degree, they found their barrio boring, with few alternatives for recreation. Therefore opportunities for action through programs like ATTICA and Growing Up in Cities are especially important.
2) A sense of insecurity, as a consequence of exposure to violence, is considered the most negative factor in the development of the younger children, whereas the adolescents were exposed to drugs and alcoholism. These experiences create fear and provide poor social role models. These aspects of La Planada coincide with the definition of alienating environments found at other Growing Up in Cities sites.
3) The lack of adequate public services, such as public transportation, trash collection, water supply, and sewerage, affects the entire community, making it especially vulnerable in the case of landslides.
4) The problems described in connection with the terrible landslide of December 1999 affected the development of a sense of belonging and common community identity, insofar as 59% of the children said that they wanted to move away from the barrio. On the part of adults, on the other hand, most of them said that they felt a sense of belonging to the community, except for a quarter who wanted to move away in order to provide a better future for their children.
5) Community participation via the neighborhood association, the church, organizations of both formal and nonformal education, and the small clinic have resulted in improved services, but government support is required in order for these efforts to be more effective.
Despite the problems that the young people in La Planada face, they have been able to maintain hope and to find satisfaction in simple things in life, showing great strength in terms of resilience and competence. They expressed their ideas with energy and optimism, and imagined practical and simple solutions to make their lives better. Their ideas are consistent with the planning strategy of upgrading barrios, which many people consider the most well conceived and secure approach. This consistency in itself is an extraordinary fact.
Yet it is also evident that external help is needed from local government, community organizations and nongovernmental organizations to continue facilitating work on behalf of children and youth. Young people clearly recognize and appreciate the efforts that adults make to improve where they live.
In many ways, the situation that these children describe coincides with what the psychologist James Garbarino has termed a "toxic social environment." Just as physical toxicity threatens human survival and well-being, a toxic social environment affects the development of children and adolescents, in the form of violence, poverty and abuse. Protective factors that need to be enhanced in order to reduce the impact of such an environment include social support, group belonging, stable emotional relationships with parents and other relatives, a sense of self-efficacy, access to education and academic support, and a parental role model who shows how to actively cope with social problems.
Growing Up in a marginal urban barrio is difficult and hazardous, and we do not know what these children could achieve if they received the support they need. Their own participation is the best means for them to gradually achieve full citizenship, through their exercise of their rights. In this study, the children surprised us by the richness of their observations, the sensitivity of their answers, and the relevance of their evaluations. We will continue to be surprised if we continue to listen to them.
We have the conceptual and legal means to achieve the adequate participation of children and adolescents in the improvement of their own standards of living. Let us work together to achieve its full implementation.