Social Infrastructure Recovery in Porto Alegre: Mapping for Resilience

By Marcelo Pérez Alfaro, Cecilia Giambruno, Céline Jacquin, Mariana Marín and Fabrizio Scrollini

On April 27, 2024, following two weeks of intense rainfall in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil, the collapse of the 14 de Julio hydroelectric dam exacerbated the already critical situation in Porto Alegre. This disaster impacted over 160,000 people, with nearly 94,000 homes affected, about 420 public facilities partially or completely destroyed and more than 1,000 kilometers of public roads out of service. Porto Alegre's airport was and is still closed. The Guaíba River reached record levels, flooding the city's historic center. However, this was not an isolated event: in September 2023 a cyclone claimed at least 30 lives in Rio Grande do Sul. Climate change and the El Niño phenomenon have exacerbated extreme weather conditions in the region.

Before the floods, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Municipality of Porto Alegre had already been working together to improve the quality and resilience of social infrastructure, including schools, health centers, and social service facilities. In response to the new challenges posed by the disaster, the IDB partnered with Humanitarian OpenStreetMap TeamHumanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), an organization with extensive experience in humanitarian action and community development through open mapping for disaster management. In this new context, the IDB and HOT set out to support the Municipality of Porto Alegre in collecting high-quality geographic data, paving the way for a swift recovery of essential social infrastructure.

A Collaboration Between the Inter-American Development Bank and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap

 As the emergency gave way to response and rebuilding efforts, it became crucial to understand the current infrastructure status of education, health, and social services facilities, particularly affected in the city's most vulnerable areas. In this context, to accurately assess the situation on the ground and provide tailored support to the authorities, an IDB and HOT mission visited Porto Alegre last June.

The mission, co-led by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap team and a multidisciplinary group from the IDB's Social Sector, focused on identifying and mapping buildings in need of damage assessment, reviewing existing data and past evaluations, and addressing critical information gaps to support a georeferenced assessment of public facilities. To aid timely decision-making, an online survey tool was created, allowing for the efficient collection of accurate, comparable, and georeferenced data. This work relied on close collaboration with Porto Alegre's Secretariat of Planning and Strategic Affairs, along with representatives from the Secretariats of Education, Health, Social Assistance, and Sports.

Early decision-making is at the essence of social infrastructure of recovery. Therefore, efforts concentrated on developing an online survey tool aimed at capturing diverse needs and perspectives, supporting systematic data collection. Field visits to clinics, schools, and sports facilities in heavily affected areas like Sarandí and the Historic Center allowed for the validation of the diagnostic tool, training of local officials on accurate data collection, and gathering of audio and video documentation. These visits provided a direct view of the severe impacts of prolonged flooding, revealing extensive structural damage and unsanitary conditions across affected facilities. 

This 360º video offers an inside look at the Ilha da Pintada Municipal School of Early Childhood Education, focusing on the current state of classrooms after an emergency. Accompanied by military personnel who have traveled from Rio de Janeiro to provide support, we explore how the school community is adapting and responding to current circumstances.

The HOT team emphasized the importance of developing methodologies that leverage open-source technologies, seamlessly integrating with local government systems to provide adaptable, community-driven data solutions. These tools generate alternative data sources, supporting a more efficient and resilient recovery process. They noted, "We were able to map facilities on OpenStreetMap and gather cartographic data, using tools like Mapillary to provide georeferenced images documenting the condition of the infrastructure." In this link, you can review the viewer of 12,216 images taken in the field by the HOT team.

As a result, detailed information on social infrastructure facilities affected by the flooding was collected and organized systematically. Combined with geospatial data, these insights offered an in-depth view of facility characteristics, the scope and nature of damages, priority areas based on severity, estimated costs, and the progress of technical assessments and recovery plans. This comprehensive data was streamlined through BI tools, ensuring it could be easily adopted and utilized by local teams.

Data into Action

The information collected during the mission was crucial for redefining the IDB program with Porto Alegre. Thanks to the georeferenced data from the affected social buildings and the disaster assessments, effective planning was possible, directing resources to where they were most needed.

Collaborative efforts with the technical teams from the Prefeitura were essential in reformulating the program, which prioritizes addressing the consequences of flooding and strengthening the response capacity of social services.

Within the new program, the focus is on the rehabilitation and improvement of social services and benefits through investments in infrastructure upgrades, equipment, and social services across various sectors. All constructions, whether new or renovated, will incorporate criteria for environmental sustainability and climate resilience, along with energy efficiency measures, responsible water usage, appropriate material selection, and the installation of photovoltaic systems.

Health Care Network: 36 rehabilitations and constructions, along with the provision of equipment for health care network buildings. Mental health programs targeting women affected by the floods, especially mothers or heads of families, which will include therapy sessions and support groups to balance professional and personal demands.

Public Education Network: Rehabilitation of 18 educational centers. 9,600 students will receive tutoring, including students with disabilities. 6,000 children will have access to preschool education.

Social Protection Network: 23 rehabilitations and constructions of social protection centers. Programs for 6,000 people in extreme poverty and support for homeless individuals. Construction of a shelter for future emergencies.

Social Development Network: Construction of housing for elderly individuals whose homes were most affected by the floods and rehabilitation of 3 community and sports spaces. Training programs for 6,500 young people and adults affected by the floods and facing greater social vulnerability in high-demand job sectors.

Indirectly, over 1 million adult citizens will benefit by accessing better services through the digital ID platform, and approximately 44,000 vulnerable individuals will receive more targeted and comprehensive care thanks to improved coordination and interoperability of information systems. Additionally, around 133,000 people will experience enhanced health and social protection services due to the optimization of care networks.

Next Steps in Our Collaboration

Building on our initial partnership focused on diagnostics, the next steps in our collaboration will center on developing a monitoring plan for the execution of construction projects under the new program.

We will implement a collaborative strategy to oversee the recovery of equipment, which will include launching a participatory cartographic monitoring campaign in the near future. Our objective is to engage students, community leaders, and Youth Mappers in this initiative. By involving these groups, we aim to foster community participation and ensure our approach is both inclusive and sustainable.

Ultimately, this alliance aims to integrate and strengthen data and organizational efforts to effectively support the population during this challenging time. This experience underscores the importance of collaboration between the OSM community, HOT, and the IDB, demonstrating how coordinated responses in disaster recovery can leverage data and technology to create a lasting impact on the community.

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