Vila Santa Marta is a small, but growing informal settlement on the periphery of São Leopoldo, Brazil. Developed near a public landfill and dumping site, the community often suffers from excessive littering, illegal dumping, deteriorating roads, and flash flooding. As part of UM's first international planning capstone, I planned and implemented an intensive two-week field research trip to Santa Marta partnering with local middle school students and municipal leaders to gauge current conditions and develop recommendations.

Our team followed our trip with a comprehensive report on our findings and suggested community interventions. Our report outlines a range of recommendations such as community mapping to clarify land tenure and supplement outdated municipal data, innovative design interventions and creative placemaking to deter illegal dumping, and improved communication and outreach strategies with the municipality to spur road and infrastructure improvements. Our team also secured $25,000 through the Ford Company's College Community Challenge Award to implement some of our recommendations.

My work on the report included writing several excerpts, designing the layout concept, serving on the layout team to compile the groups' work, and designing a majority of the maps, graphics, charts and tables.