+ CHAPA CIVIC DATA LAB [data activism]

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL / 2015 - current

Chapa Civic Data Lab

Sponsor
National Science Foundation (2015 - 2017)

Research Assistance (TTU CoA)
Brianna Deleon, Jesus Ruelas, Jorge Ituarte Arreola, Ana Merino Garcia, Darian Hut

Extension
Latin American Housing Network

SITUATED DATA | ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP | INFORMALITY | URBAN REDEVELOPMENT

CHAPA—a local term for “urban guide”—is a design and research initiative supporting inclusive urban transformation in communities vulnerable to displacement or exclusion. Launched through a National Science Foundation fellowship, CHAPA uses participatory and data-driven processes to collaboratively reveal, preserve, and reimagine places often left out of conventional design and planning.

Visit the Chapa website for more information.

Chapa stems from a study that documented over 1,000 dwellings across two of São Paulo’s largest informal settlements

A partnership between Chapa and the UNAS community organization in Heliópolis focuses on drawing youth into community and urban development processes and introducing them to QGIS.

The identification of rental risk in the Heliópolis favela formed the basis of the Sensitive Densification studio.