G-8, Grupo de las Ocho Comunidades Aledanas al Cano Martin Pena

The ENLACE Cano Martin Pena Project (ENLACE Project) is an innovative initiative that pursues the environmental rehabilitation of the Cano Martin Pena (CMP), a highly polluted tidal channel in the heart of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the social, economic, and urban transformation of its surrounding communities through participatory democracy, community organizing, and intersectoral partnerships that guarantee residents a central role and empowerment. Three institutions that work in close partnership were designed by seven communities adjacent to the Cano Martin Pena to facilitate the implementation of the ENLACE Project. The Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Cano Martin Pena (Fideicomiso) is a com... read more The ENLACE Cano Martin Pena Project (ENLACE Project) is an innovative initiative that pursues the environmental rehabilitation of the Cano Martin Pena (CMP), a highly polluted tidal channel in the heart of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the social, economic, and urban transformation of its surrounding communities through participatory democracy, community organizing, and intersectoral partnerships that guarantee residents a central role and empowerment. Three institutions that work in close partnership were designed by seven communities adjacent to the Cano Martin Pena to facilitate the implementation of the ENLACE Project. The Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Cano Martin Pena (Fideicomiso) is a community land trust that is a private, nonprofit organization with independent juridical personality that owns and manages the 200 acres of land, collectively owned by its members, for the benefit of all the residents of communities located along the Cano Martin Pena. Its mission is to own and manage lands and other assets for the benefit of the residents of the Cano Martin Pena Special Planning District, in order to promote comprehensive and sustainable development, overcome poverty, and foster a healthy relationship between the urban environment, the city, and the communities. This instrument regularizes land tenure of approximately 1,500 families, preventing gentrification as an unintended consequence of the Cano Martin Pena ecosystem restoration project. The Corporacion del Proyecto ENLACE del Cano Martin Pena (ENLACE) is a government corporation with a limited lifespan, created under PR Act 489-2004 to implement the ENLACE Cano Martin Pena Project, whose main contents are included in the Comprehensive Development and Land Use Plan for the Cano Martin Pena Special Planning District. Through strong partnerships with private and public entities, and strong community participation in the decision making process, ENLACE implements projects and programs that transform Cano Martin Pena communities through socio economic development; improvements to their public space, infrastructure, and housing; as well as the environmental restoration of the Cano thorough its dredging. The G-8, Grupo de las Ocho Comunidades Aledanas al Cano Martin Pena, Inc. (G-8) is a community based non-profit organization that brings together 12 grassroots organizations from the Cano Martin Pena Special Planning District and the Cantera Peninsula as a strategy to unite with a common voice around the issues that are pertinent to all the neighborhoods along Martin Pena. The G-8 is a critical and effective partner that ensures participation in the decision making process and implementation of the ENLACE Project. Their mission is to promote the interests of the residents of each of the eight communities, and their assertive and effective participation in environmental restoration and community development processes, through programs, strategies, and activities aimed towards avoiding displacement, grassroots action, and comprehensive community development that improves the quality of life of the residents. The G-8 oversees the Fideicomiso and the ENLACE Project Corporation, and connects their work to the residents. The community leaders of G-8 do not make important decisions for the residents-instead, they create the conditions that allow the residents to decide and act themselves.