WUF13: Brazil turns to local mapping to bring slums into city planning

Community mapping helps authorities and city services integrate informal settlements into urban planning systems and improve access to public services, said a Brazilian official, who addressed the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.

Samia Sulaiman, representative of Brazil’s National Secretariat for Peripheries said community mapping methodology is central to Brazil’s policy on slums and informal settlements, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

“If a settlement has no address, it becomes invisible. That is why we are developing the ‘Postal Code for All’ initiative, discussing with residents the organisation of streets and even their names, so as to integrate these communities into the urban system,” she said.

Sulaiman noted that Brazil funds projects on land tenure regularisation, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation in cooperation with local residents, universities, and civil society organisations.

According to her, involving local communities not only improves data collection but also strengthens public participation in shaping their neighborhoods.

“It is important that people living in such conditions discuss problems from their own perspective. We are not just creating maps or collecting data — we are implementing real change together with communities,” she stressed.

The National Secretariat representative also highlighted projects in São Paulo and Belém, where residents worked alongside authorities on flood protection measures, restoration of natural water sources, and urban infrastructure development.

By Vafa Guliyeva