Informal Settlements as Urban Laboratories for Renewable Energy: Perfecting Biogas Production in Bogota's Ciudad Bolivar

Abstract

Informal settlements are complex and often overlooked areas of the urban environment. They are initially settled as a short-term solution to housing for its residents, but they often have long-lasting consequences to the population living there and residents of the urban environment that live in planned areas. Although it has been recognized by the Habitat III Conference in Quito as a critical issue for sustainable urban development, research and policies have still fallen short, with strategies of denial, tolerance, formalization, demolition and displacement. This issue can not be eradicated through demolition or eviction, but needs to be dealt with integrated approaches across urban scales and disciplines. An alternative is the formalization of these areas through incremental, site specific upgrading to provide access to basic services, public facilities and public spaces. This capstone explores Bogota's informal settlements through the case of Ciudad. The propose is to use biogas as a source of waste management and energy for areas that are in the process of legalization, instead of using conventional infrastructure. This paper argues that the possibilities of advancing biogas technology are very promising in informal settlements.