Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteSome links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
A New Central District and Balanced Community is an award-winning student landscape-architecture proposal for Candelaria, a neighborhood in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. It answers a practical question: how can a community relocate households exposed to landslides while gaining safer public space, services, jobs and flood-resilient infrastructure? The 2022 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Student Awards Honor Award project combines relocation housing, a mixed-use town center, a connected park system and water-sensitive grading. It is a design vision—not a verified, built neighborhood.
The proposal was developed by University of Pennsylvania students Yihan Huang, Zhimin Ma, Linda Ge and Ruoxin Jia, advised by David Gouverneur and Judy Venonsky. ASLA’s project page and the university’s award announcement describe the concept, its phases and its social-equity goals; neither establishes that construction was funded or completed.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Recommended Free Tools
What is A New Central District and Balanced Community?
It is a 2022 ASLA Student Awards Honor Award in Residential Design for a proposed new district in Candelaria, Toa Baja. The scheme uses a large parking area near PR-22 as the starting point for a town center and relocation neighborhood. Rather than treating housing as a stand-alone replacement, the designers connect homes to civic facilities, commerce, training, recreation, transit and a landscape system that manages stormwater.
The project responds to several conditions described in the ASLA project narrative: households whose homes were damaged by landslides, limited community services and public space, industrial land uses, and weak connections between parts of Candelaria. Its central idea is that relocation can also be community repair. New homes are paired with places to meet, learn, work, shop and move safely through the district.
Popular on Amazon
- Ergonomically Designed: Work in tight areas with a compact design that gets into tough spots
- Both tools are designed to fit into difficult to reach spaces
- Complete a wide range of applications with a high-performance motor that delivers up to 300 UWO, and an impact driver delivering up to 1,400 in-lbs of torque
- Both the DEWALT impact driver and drill driver feature integrated LED work lights with a convenient 20-second delay, ensuring enhanced visibility in dimly lit or challenging work areas
- One-Handed Loading - Keep one hand free with a 1/4 in. hex chuck that accepts 1 in. bit tips
The award recognizes a student proposal, so drawings and stated goals should not be read as evidence of completed buildings, operating businesses or measured flood performance.
Why did the designers focus on Candelaria?
The authors describe Candelaria as a low-income neighborhood facing environmental and social vulnerability. In their narrative, about 150 families had homes severely damaged or destroyed, and more than 10 inches of rain fell in 48 hours during the event they associate with flooding and landslides. Those figures are statements by the project authors in the 2022 ASLA narrative, not an independently documented dataset.
The same narrative says Candelaria’s median household income was about one-third of the national average and reports a poverty rate above 60 percent. These comparisons help explain why a relocation plan must address affordability, access to services and livelihoods alongside physical safety. They should be cited as project-context figures rather than treated as current official statistics without additional verification.
Site conditions make a conventional flat subdivision difficult. The proposed area sits between hills, beside factories and warehouses, and includes an existing retention pond. The designers state that the ground rises about 15 meters from south to north. That relief can create drainage problems if streets and lots simply follow a rigid grid, but it can also support terraces, overlooks, planted channels and varied public spaces when grading is designed as a system.
How does the plan organize the site?
The proposal has three interlocking moves: terrace the slope, establish a pedestrian-and-bike spine, and use local vegetation as a botanical framework. Together they turn a parking area and fragmented surroundings into a sequence of neighborhoods and public destinations.
| Design move | What it does | Construction implication |
|---|---|---|
| Terraces and grading | Fits housing, parks and civic uses to the 15-meter site relief while directing water toward low points. | Requires coordinated earthwork, retaining solutions, accessible slopes and drainage details before building footprints are fixed. |
| Pedestrian and bicycle spine | Links recreation, community services, relocation housing and the denser town center. | Calls for continuous, shaded, safe routes rather than isolated sidewalks around individual projects. |
| Botanical framework | Uses local species for shade, habitat connections, gardens, orientation and identity. | Requires a planting palette, soil preparation, irrigation or establishment planning and long-term maintenance responsibilities. |
The spine is more than a path. It is the organizing address for daily life: residents can move from homes to a community center, market, bus stop, park or training facility without crossing the site as a series of disconnected parcels. Bike lanes are included so short trips do not depend entirely on cars, an important choice for a district near industrial land and a major road.
Also popular on Amazon
- Valued Carpenter Pencil Set: You will get 2 pcs solid carpenter pencils with 26 piece 2.8 mm refills, 1 replaceable sharpener, 1 plastic storage box.The complete carpenter pencils combination allows you to finish your work faster and more easily
- Deep Hole Marker Pencil: The deep-hole construction pencils adopts 45mm elongated tip design, which is more convenient to mark in the small hole or in other tight areas that other carpenter markers cannot reach
- Carpenter Pencils with Sharpener: The sharpener is screwed into the top of the work pencil, which won't get lost either. Built-in pencil sharpener that keep the lead with pointed and smooth to Improves line of sight in fine work
- Stronger Solid Lead: This work pencil is matched with a 2.8 mm thick lead , which is much thicker and stronger during the drawing process of construction work, it will not break or damage easily
- Marks on Various Surfaces: 3 colors solid construction pencil can marks on various surfaces,such as metal, plastic, wood, paper etc. Ideals for woodworkers, contractors, craftsmen, builders, merchants and masons
The designers also describe three related systems: a green-and-blue armature tied to nearby natural features; public spaces and amenities around facilities; and housing in three typologies that support relocation and mixed use. Reading the plan as systems matters for construction. A drainage channel that is installed without its connected planting areas, or housing built before the spine, could leave the district with the pieces but not the intended network.
What would the Candelaria town center include?
The proposed town center is the most compact and mixed-use part of the district. It is intended to concentrate commercial space, a market, a central plaza and a proposed manufacturing and training center. Community facilities and bus stops are placed as public anchors, while the park and pedestrian spine provide everyday routes between them.
A market can serve more than retail. In the proposal’s logic, it is a social destination and a reason for residents from surrounding areas to enter the new center. The manufacturing and training component adds an economic dimension: relocation is not only about moving households away from danger, but also about improving access to skills and potential employment. The plan does not guarantee jobs, tenants or a functioning school; those outcomes would depend on later funding, operators and partnerships.
The central plaza and community park provide different kinds of civic space. A plaza can support gatherings, markets and transit interchange on a durable, relatively hard surface. The park can absorb play, shade, gardens and stormwater functions. Separating and connecting these spaces gives the district a range of places for formal events, informal socializing and quiet use.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
How would relocation housing fit into the district?
The project identifies three housing typologies intended to accommodate relocation and mixed use, but the available award material does not provide a complete unit count, floor-area schedule or construction specification. The important planning principle is placement: housing is distributed along the connected district rather than isolated at its edge, with access to the spine, services and public spaces.
The first phase would begin with relocation housing alongside tree planting on the principal spines and part of the park. Later phases would expand housing as the plaza, community park and employment-oriented facilities are added. This sequencing can let households move into a functioning first neighborhood instead of waiting for every proposed element, but it also creates a requirement for careful interim planning. Early residents need safe routes, utilities, drainage, transit access and usable open space from the start.
Also popular on Amazon
- 【Great Compatibility】This Katerk 1/4 inch hex shank bit holder is specifically designed for 1/4 inch hex shank drill bits. It's compatible with most 1/4 fast hex handles, hex sockets, various electric screwdrivers, and handheld screwdrivers. The bit holder makes it a valuable addition for any handyman.
- 【Secure and Safe】Built with a secure backup nut design, each drill bit holder securely locks onto your bits, ensuring they stay firmly in place. Additionally, our bit holder incorporates a high-quality steel ball rolling design that holds up to several kilograms of weight, ensuring your various drill bits don't fall off.
- 【Easy One-Handed Operation】The bit holder for impact driver allows you to change bits single-handedly, simplifying your workflow. Its multi-color design further allows for quick identification of the drill bit you need.
- 【Compact and Convenient】Thanks to its compact size, this 1/4 inch bit holder is easy to carry around. The bit holder allows for easy attachment to various tools, making this a convenient addition to your construction accessories. The Katerk bit holder is cast from high-quality alloy material, promising a long product lifespan. Despite its rugged strength, the bit holder remains lightweight, making it portable.
- 【Cool Christmas Gift For Men Stocking Stuffers】 This screwdriver bit holder, driver bit holder, impact bit holder, can be given as a gift to your loved one, especially for anyone involved in construction or electrical work. It's a must-have for stocking stuffers for men and women, tools gifts for dad, tech gadgets for men, gifts for dad, gifts for him, gifts for husband, gifts for boyfriend, cool gadgets for men, and cool gifts for dad.
For a real project, housing delivery would also require decisions absent from the student narrative: who owns the land, how households qualify, whether replacement homes are affordable to existing residents, how temporary moves are handled, and how residents participate in final design. Those are implementation questions, not evidence that the proposal itself failed to answer its design brief.
How does the landscape strategy manage rain and flooding?
Water management is built into the site plan rather than added as a late engineering layer. The proposal uses the existing retention pond and other low points, terraces and grading to slow, store and direct runoff. It also names rain gardens, community farms and permeable surfaces as measures that can reduce the amount and speed of water reaching conventional drainage infrastructure.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Rain gardens are planted depressions that temporarily hold runoff while soils and vegetation filter and infiltrate it. Permeable paving allows some rainfall to pass through a surface into a prepared base instead of immediately flowing across asphalt. Community farms can combine productive planting with shaped soil and water-holding areas, although their performance would depend on soil depth, maintenance and the final drainage design.
The 15-meter elevation change makes detailed construction coordination essential. Terraces need stable edges, accessible connections and overflow routes for storms larger than the everyday design event. Low points and the retention pond require defined storage volumes, safe side slopes, inspection access and an emergency discharge path. The award narrative describes the strategy conceptually; it does not provide hydrologic calculations, construction drawings or post-occupancy results.
Planting supports this infrastructure. Local species are proposed for shade, habitat links, orientation and identity, helping make water-management areas part of daily public life instead of fenced utility zones. A successful built version would still need a species list suited to soils and salt, a nursery or sourcing plan, establishment watering and a maintenance budget.
What are the three proposed phases?
ASLA describes a long-term, three-phase vision. The sequence is a planning framework, not a confirmed capital program.
Also popular on Amazon
- Toolwiz 17-inch magnetic sweeper maintaining a load capacity of up to 8.8 pounds provides a perfect solution to the problem of clearing small ferrous metal objects, such as nails, tacks, bolts, and metal shavings from workshops or garage floors.
- Convenient and portable：17” is good for home, small workshop, or small yard as it is space-saving and more reachable for narrow areas. Perfect for collecting nails or small parts in the car, under the table, and in other nooks or crannies.
- Upgraded Handle Design: The handle features a sturdy, non-telescopic design to completely prevent slipping during use. By simply adding or removing the extension poles, the height can be adjusted to 3 different lengths: 18.9" (48 cm), 32.5" (82.5 cm), and 42.5" (108 cm) from ground to top. This customizable height helps prevent back bending and muscle strain, making your cleaning tasks effortless
- Flexible wheels: Upgrade wheel screws to avoid being too tight to spin or too loose. More comfortable 3-inch rubber wheels roll smoothly on carpet, grass, concrete, and hardwood floors. Just push and pull this rolling magnet-sweeper to pick up metal nails easily.
- Lightweight materials: The magnetic nail sweeper's compact and lightweight design makes the sweeping can be done anywhere you want, Push or pull it under the furniture, passing through the workshop floor, driveway, mud, grass, and gravel.
- Phase one: plant trees along the main spines, build relocation housing and deliver part of the park. This establishes the first residential area and begins the shade, wayfinding and ecological structure.
- Phase two: add the central plaza, complete the community park and introduce proposed recycling and manufacturing uses. This expands the civic heart and starts the employment and materials-recovery functions.
- Phase three: build additional relocation housing and complete the proposed technical school and manufacturing center. This final step enlarges the resident base and the training-and-production program.
Phasing affects risk as much as appearance. Each stage must stand on its own during construction, with temporary access, erosion control, utility capacity and stormwater protection. A later plaza or school cannot be assumed to solve deficiencies in an earlier phase. The plan’s strongest practical test would be whether every phase provides a safe, connected and serviceable neighborhood while preserving the corridors needed for future work.
Was the Candelaria relocation proposal built?
The reviewed sources do not establish that the proposal was funded, constructed or occupied. It should therefore be described as an award-winning student design and a future-oriented pilot vision, not as a completed town center or a documented relocation program.
This distinction matters when evaluating claims. Renderings can show intended relationships among homes, parks and civic buildings, but they cannot prove that families moved, that the retention pond performs as planned, or that poverty and flood exposure changed. Any current construction status, land acquisition, permits or financing would require separate, up-to-date confirmation from responsible public agencies or project partners.
The University of Pennsylvania’s award announcement confirms the student recognition and Puerto Rico design context. It does not turn the proposal into a built project.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWhat can construction and planning professionals learn from the proposal?
The project offers a useful checklist for relocation work, provided its conceptual status is kept clear.
- Start with a connected district: Pair replacement homes with services, transit, recreation and economic uses so relocation does not create a peripheral enclave.
- Make topography perform several jobs: Use terraces and low points for access, public-space variety and water storage, while verifying stability and emergency overflow through engineering.
- Build the public realm early: Tree-lined spines, safe crossings and an initial park can give residents orientation and everyday amenities before later phases arrive.
- Coordinate green and gray infrastructure: Permeable surfaces, rain gardens and retention areas need details, maintenance and connections to pipes, roads and utilities.
- Protect economic access: Markets, training and manufacturing are valuable only if operators, financing, workforce programs and transportation are secured.
- Measure implementation honestly: Distinguish design intent from funded scope, completed work, resident outcomes and measured stormwater performance.
If another relocation proposal is being compared with this one, useful criteria are risk reduction and site suitability; access to jobs and services; neighborhood connection; stormwater and landscape strategy; resident participation; and the degree of funding and implementation. The available sources do not provide comparable performance data from built projects, so visual quality alone is not a fair basis for ranking alternatives.
Also popular on Amazon
- APPLY TO MOST DRILLS : 6 pieces screw extractors work with any drill and all the screw size or bolt (3-12mm), These extractor tools are used to reverse the damaged screw counterclockwise until it is released
- The DIY Tools for Men-Men won't know they need screw extractor set until they have one! This screw extractor set is GIFTS WRAP AVAILABLE, can be gifted to your loved ones as it reflects a fresh trend with fun and practical. Amazing and Unique tool gifts for men women. The must have stocking stuffers for men, gifts for dad, husband, father, him, guy teens, adult, Boyfriend, son on Birthdays, Christmas, Fathers Day or anniversary. Perfect Holiday Gifts Guide
- HIGH QUALITY - This damaged screw remover tool kit is made from High-Speed Steel H.S.S 4341# , which have high hardness of 63hrc, it's durable and easily to remove any damaged screws.
- EASY TO USE: Just two simple steps to get the job done - drill a hole with a cutting size using the right size screw extractor and easily remove the screw or bolt using the removal tool Hardness 63-65HRC: Titanium hardened steel material, more durable than most screw extractors on the market, better hardness and durability than others, buy with confidence and complete peace of mind
- Cool Gadgets for Men Dad Christmas Birthday Gifts for Men and Women - Men won't know they need screw extractor sets until they have one! Every screw has the potential to rust and break, which can create a situation where it cannot be removed. Owning it, there will be no anxiety about rusty screws. This screw extractor set is GIFTS WRAP AVAILABLE, can be gifted to your loved ones as it reflects a fresh trend with fun and practical. Amazing and unique tool gifts for men women. A must have stocking stuffer for men on birthdays, Christmas, Father's Day or anniversaries, a gifts for dads, husbands, fathers, him, adults, boyfriends, sons. The best and most practical and surprising Christmas gifts
What is the project’s central lesson?
A safer relocation neighborhood can also be a civic and ecological investment. A New Central District and Balanced Community links housing to a town center, public landscape and water management instead of treating each as a separate project. Its value today is as a clearly articulated design framework for Candelaria—not as proof that the proposed buildings or infrastructure exist.
The ASLA jury summarized the ambition by saying, “It is easy to see how the design’s focus on social equity and placemaking would create a beautiful and healthy community.” That statement is an assessment of the proposal’s potential. Turning that potential into a real district would require land, funding, engineering, approvals, resident leadership, construction and long-term maintenance.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Frequently Asked Questions
Where in Puerto Rico is Candelaria located?
Candelaria is a neighborhood in the municipality of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. The proposal’s site is described as being near PR-22, between hills and adjacent to factories and warehouses, with an existing retention pond.
What does a 15-meter elevation change mean for construction?
It means the stated site rises roughly 15 meters from south to north, so roads, utilities, accessible routes and building pads must be coordinated across a slope. Terracing can reduce abrupt grades, but retaining, erosion control and overflow drainage would need project-specific engineering.
Could this design be adapted for another relocation project?
Its principles could transfer: connect replacement housing to services, use landscape for stormwater, and phase construction around a walkable civic spine. The exact housing mix, plants, drainage standards and economic program would have to be redesigned for local hazards, land ownership, climate and community priorities.
Does the award include construction drawings or a cost estimate?
The cited award materials present a student design narrative and its proposed phases, not a verified bid set or published construction budget. Detailed costs would depend on site surveys, infrastructure capacity, materials, labor, permitting and the final scope.
