Together with Nuestro Barrio, residents of the Santurce sub-barrio have been working since 2017 on their Plan de Resiliencia Comunitaria.
After hurricanes Irma and María passed through in September 2017, the Seboruco community, in collaboration with the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Sagrado), developed its Plan de Resiliencia Comunitaria.
The initiative aims to address the effects of climate change in the area through concrete solutions for collective recovery and adaptation to natural disasters.
Seboruco residents began by identifying the vulnerabilities and risks that climate change presents. In monthly meetings with the Nuestro Barrio team, from Sagrado's Unidad de Enlace Comunitario, they discussed their ideas and how to carry them out.
"Climate change is not addressed with scientific elements alone; it is also confronted through community unity," said Edwin Figueroa Narváez, director of Enlace Comunitario.
The Rev. Arelis Cardona, who has been pastor for 22 years at the Iglesia Presbiteriana Rvdo. Ramón Olivo Robles in Villa Palmera, joined the project two and a half years ago.
Cardona noted that flooding is what affects the Seboruco population most, given that the area has an aging stormwater system and sloped streets, which compound the problem.
A look at the plan
The community established three goals within the plan: promoting a safe urban environment for the community, fostering safe housing spaces, and building spaces for community cohesion.
To complete the first goal, a collective waste management program will be created through a community network, the community will coordinate with the Municipality of San Juan to promote better electrical infrastructure, a working group will be formed to report abandoned vehicles, and residents will participate in the municipal inventory process to identify structures that are no longer in use.
Regarding the second goal, Seboruco proposes conducting a community census to identify vulnerabilities in properties within the community. Residents also hope to inform neighbors about their rights related to housing issues. In this way, they aim to learn how to improve properties before an environmental disaster occurs.
The third goal is aimed at building community ties and designating community spaces in Seboruco.
The plan details a desire to convert the Emilio Castelar school into a community center, and later into a resilience center to strengthen community ties.
The plan also calls for educating and raising awareness among residents to strengthen community relationships, which participants consider necessary for facing an atmospheric event.
"Oh my God, if we manage to reach even half of what we're hoping for, that would be a success!" the reverend exclaimed.
Since 2022, the project has been in its final stage, which has included ongoing consultations with neighbors and the collection of comments and suggestions.
The implementation plan needs approval from the Departamento de Hacienda to move into the execution phase. As a result, the work has not concluded, and participants need the support of neighbors to move closer to their goals.
"We are active agents in the care of creation, rather than pointing to the things that divide us. So I feel very blessed by this experience," Cardona concluded.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
