Puerto Rico Community Land Trust Awarded UN World Habitat Award
A world organization has recognized and awarded a group in Puerto Rico's metropolitan region for their work ensuring that a dangerously polluted and highly populated area can be made safe and thrive.
A community land trust created to tackle the highly polluted Martín Peña Channel - the 'Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña' - has been awarded the2015-16 UN World Habitat Award.
More than 25,000 people live in settlements around a channel that has long been singled out for its contamination and for flooding. The grassroots group has undertaken an ambitious plan to create safe, permanent and affordable housing around the 200 acres of land near the channel. This is a ground-breaking model for improving such communities without adding financial pressure onto the residents.
