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Barrio de Paz La Pista: Water, Sanitation, and Flood Resilience in a Migrant and Indigenous Community














2026
︎︎︎ Full Project Report - English
︎︎︎ Full Project Report - Spanish
2024
︎︎︎ Research Announcement

Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism &
Civic Data Design Lab 

Principal Investigators
Sarah Williams
Gabriella Carolini
Janelle Knox-Hayes
Eran Ben-Joseph

Research Team
Maria Gabriela Carucci (Project Manager 2025-2026)
Alberto Meouchi (Project Manager 2024-2025)
Stephen Hart
Javier Ricardo Diaz
Gabriela Sarri-Tobar
Aashna Daga
Manolo Barroso
Julia Koziatek

Project Collaborators
World Food Programme
Rossella Bottone – Deputy Country Director
Giulia Baldi – Deputy Country Director
Riohacha Field Office
Bogotá Office


Local Project Collaborators
Community leaders and residents of Barrio de Paz La Pista
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Table of La Guajira
Municipality of Maicao and the Municipal Disaster Risk Management Unit

Project Supported By
Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS)

Overview


This project is a research initiative exploring how integrated planning can improve water access, sanitation, and flood resilience in peri-urban settlements where migration, climate stress, and infrastructural exclusion intersect. Funding for this research was provided by the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at MIT.

The project focuses on La Pista, an informal settlement of approximately 9,700 residents in Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia, where Wayúu Indigenous families and Venezuelan migrants live without connections to municipal water or sanitation networks. Located on a former airstrip with compacted soil and limited drainage, the community experiences an interconnected set of challenges: chronic water scarcity alongside recurrent flooding, inadequate sanitation, informal tenure, displacement, and limited access to basic infrastructure.

Five manzana leaders coordinate mapping efforts with Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) and WFP team members during site visits in August 2025. Source: Civic Data Design Lab. Map of water runoff trajectories and flood zones in La Pista derived from the DEM using Strahler stream ordering. For the most part, the community-mapped data of the flood zones and trash deposit terrain depressions match up with the hydrological mapping of the worst flood zones (such as the one in manzana 9). The leader of Manzana 9 points out the worst flood zones in the area. Source: Civic Data Design Lab, 2025. Burrito delivery system with donkeys transporting water from a local well near manzana 9 in plastic tanks to households. Source: Civic Data Design Lab, 2025 A walkthrough in manzana 7 during a site visit in late August - early September of 2025. Source: Civic Data Design Lab, 2025.
The research was developed through a collaboration between the MIT Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, the Civic Data Design Lab, the World Food Programme (WFP) Colombia, and local stakeholders in La Guajira. The project combines systems thinking, participatory co-design, and spatial analysis with household surveys, hydrological modeling, participatory mapping, community workshops, and case study research to understand how environmental, infrastructural, social, and governance conditions interact across the settlement.

Rather than treating water scarcity, sanitation, and flooding as separate problems, the project examines them as parts of an interconnected system. It identifies opportunities to build on existing community knowledge, governance structures, adaptation practices, and public and humanitarian programs to support more equitable and resilient interventions.

Beyond La Pista, the research develops a planning approach that can inform work in other peri-urban settlements where climate vulnerability, migration, Indigenous knowledge systems, and limited infrastructure converge.

Main Findings

  1. Water scarcity and flooding coexist as interconnected challenges. Despite chronic water shortages throughout much of the year, seasonal rainfall events generate significant flooding due to compacted soils, limited infiltration, and the absence of drainage infrastructure. Effective interventions must address both water capture during wet periods and flood mitigation during extreme rainfall events.
  2. Although La Pista is located adjacent to major municipal water and sewer infrastructure, its informal legal status excludes residents from formal service provision. Infrastructure availability alone does not guarantee equitable access.
  3. Households rely on complex informal water systems that impose significant economic burdens. Water access depends on a combination of donkey-carts (burrito) distribution networks, private wells, emergency tanker deliveries, rainwater harvesting, and purchased drinking water. Safe drinking water is disproportionately expensive, placing additional strain on already vulnerable households.
  4. Sanitation insecurity is driven by cycles of destruction and rebuilding. While most households have some form of latrine access, recurrent flooding damages sanitation facilities, forcing families to repeatedly reconstruct them. Sanitation challenges therefore relate not only to access, but also to durability and resilience.
  5. Women play a central role in community governance and WASH management. Women lead eleven of La Pista’s twelve manzanas (blocks) and often bear primary responsibility for managing household water, providing care, and coordinating community activities. These leadership structures represent important assets for future implementation efforts.
  6. Vulnerability is unevenly distributed across the settlement. While all manzanas experience multiple forms of risk, some areas face compounded vulnerabilities due to geographic isolation, higher flood exposure, inadequate sanitation conditions, demographic characteristics, and environmental hazards such as waste accumulation.
  7. Community-led adaptation strategies demonstrate significant local capacity. Residents have developed a range of coping mechanisms, including informal drainage canals, communal water storage systems, rainwater harvesting practices, and household-level adaptations. These strategies provide a critical foundation upon which future interventions can build.
  8. Indigenous knowledge and governance systems remain important but have been transformed through displacement and urbanization. Wayúu traditions related to water management, collective decision-making, and environmental stewardship continue to shape community life, although migration and peri-urban conditions have altered how this knowledge is transmitted and practiced.
  9. Strengthening community governance structures is essential for implementation. The manzana leadership system enables localized decision-making, coordination with external actors, and rapid mobilization. However, these responsibilities place significant burdens on a small number of community leaders who require institutional support.
  10. Integrated and phased interventions offer the greatest opportunity for long-term resilience. Solutions addressing water, sanitation, and flooding independently risk overlooking the interconnected drivers of vulnerability. Combining household improvements with community-scale infrastructure, governance strengthening, and existing policy mechanisms provides a pathway toward more equitable and sustainable outcomes.

  Main Recommendations

  1. Household Water Harvesting and Filtration System
 Aims: Expanding rainwater harvesting and combining traditional Wayúu treatment practices with affordable household filtration to increase access to safe water.

2. Community Water Detention and Flood Management Network Aims: Strengthening existing canals and open spaces to reduce flooding while detaining water for aquifer repletion for drier periods.


3. Flood-Resilient Community Platforms
Aims: Creating elevated community spaces that provide access to water, sanitation, gathering areas, and emergency services throughout the year.

4. Flood-Resilient Sanitation Upgrades
Aims: Improving the durability and functionality of sanitation systems in areas affected by recurring floods.