Uploaded on 2017-01-10 by André Baltazar de Lima Barreto

In 2008, João Pessoa’s local government announced a recovery intervention in the “Porto do Capim” (a riparian zone), replacing the local community by a public events area. Since the majority of the community depends on the river, as fishermen, the project became a huge controversy. With the help from a research team from the main local university (Universidade Federal da Paraíba), the community elaborated an alternative project called “Mapa dos Desejos” (Desires Map), presenting its ideas for the intervention, such as removing only the most at risk population (from high risk flood zones), improving the local infrastructure, increasing mixed uses and establishing reformable and expandable buildings, instead of the residential typical buildings proposed by the government. The community proposal was presented to the government and, at the present moment, the project is being modified and improved.