Home Ongoing efforts by HUD's Office of International Affairs, which SWA is coordinating, to study ways to improve housing in the Dominican Republic, following recent devastating hurricanes, are now focused on Guaricano, a community of approximately 3,000 in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The Dominican capital's population is approaching 3 million, and Guaricano is typical of the squatter communities that have sprouted around the city. By studying this community and developing housing and infrastructure rehabilitation strategies, SWA hopes to create a model that can be emulated in squatter communities around the country and throughout Central America and the Caribbean. Strewn along former sugar plantation land on a hillside bordering the city's flood plain, Guaricano's housing is comprised of squatter shacks made of scavenged materials such as corrugated sheet metal, concrete blocks, auto body parts, and plywood.
Storm drainage is a major problem, as heavy rains cascade through the village.
SWA has partnered on this project with a Dominican architecture firm, GMR, Oficina de la Ciudad. Also part of the study is documentation of the existing housing, and strategies for improving foundations, walls, and roofs to better withstand the tropical storms and hurricanes common to the area. Completion the master plan is scheduled for this summer. A demonstration project to implement the survey, including the reconstruction of a limited, but significant number of housing units, is planned for a small portion of the community and should be completed by the end of this year.