EUropean ROma MApping

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication refl ects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held respon-sible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Action 01EU-ROMA map(happening) Rome

3-14 March 2008

Castel Romano REPORT

in collaboration with:

lanlan

Castel Romano REPORT

Castel Romano is a settlement, known both formally and informally as a “camp,” outside the city of Rome, which houses approximately 800 Roma* people. It is a legal camp, authorized and constructed by the city of Rome. In Italy, where Roma live almost exclusively in camps (as opposed to standard housing), one fi nds both legal and illegal camps, some of which are of long standing. Work began on the site in...

CASTEL ROMANOA Report on the Conditions of Habitation

img 2 Castel Romano, along the via Pontina.

Contents Page

Introduction 5 - 6

Credits 6

Location - Isolation 7 - 16Summary of General Issues 7Transportation 9 - 12Current Location relative to Vicolo Savini 13 - 16

Water 17 - 31Well 19Water Pumps 19Chemical Treatment Tank 21Water Storage Tanks 21Water Quality 23Water Quantity 23Pipe Network to Containers 25Site Drainage 25Fire System 27Sewage System 29

Energy and Safety 31 - 34Energy and Safety Map 33

Adaptation 35 - 40Adaptation Map 39

Ground Cover 41 - 44Ground Cover Map 43

Children 45 - 50School - Isolation 45Health – Water 47Playground - Environmental Conditions 49

Castel Romano is a settlement, known both formally and informally as a “camp,” outside the city of Rome, which houses approximately 800 Roma* people. It is a legal camp, authorized, funded and constructed by the city of Rome. Work began on the site of Castel Romano in September 2005. The camp was built to house the former residents of another camp inside the city of Rome known by its address, Vicolo Savini, which was in existence for 25 years and was closed in September 2005 due to poor conditions of sanitation. The Roma fi rst were moved into tents on the Castel Romano site for what was intended to be two months but became eight, while metal containers and an infrastructure of electricity, water, gas, and sewage was put in place.The Castel Romano community is mostly made up of families from the former Yugoslavia, many of whom immigrated to Rome before the Bosnian confl icts of the early 1990s; others came during the war. Almost all Roma who are resident at Castel Romano wish to be Italian citizens, but have found this a diffi cult status to attain for many reasons, not the least of them bureaucratic and economic. Many still hold citizenship in their country of origin, and, since in Italy citizenship is inherited, many second and even third-generation Roman-born Roma are technically foreign citizens, making work permits, residence permits, and even driving licenses very diffi cult to obtain.Castel Romano is the largest Roma legal camp in Italy and is the fi rst of four or fi ve “mega-camps” proposed by the Comune di Roma to house Roma. The city’s mayor at the time, Walter Veltroni, called Castel Romano a “Village of Solidarity” (Villlagio della Solidarietà). All proposed locations for the mega-camps are, like Castel Romano, outside the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA), the ring road that surrounds the city proper.Castel Romano, located on the via Pontina 13 kilometers outside Rome, sits on protected land, a natural reserve known as Decima Malafede which belongs to the region of Lazio. Castel Romano is managed by Impegno, a non-profi t organization which manages emergency housing. Impegno works in collaboration with UNIRSI, a Roma rights organization (Unione Nazionale ed Internazionale Rom e Sinti in Italia) and ARCI (Associazione Recreativa Culturale Italiana) that serve as liaisons to the Castel Romano community. All these organizations have representatives present in offi ces in containers (prefabricated metal housing) at Castel Romano. ARCI is also responsible for arranging transportation for the children to their schools and acts as liaison between schools and families.In March of 2008, over a two-week period, we visited Castel Romano and prepared this brief report on its conditions. While we also read secondary literature and conducting informal interviews, we have attempted to limit the fi ndings reported here to those based on direct observation of the site.

* We use the traditional word in their language, Romane’, that they themselves prefer, “Roma”, instead of “gypsies,” which is considered a pejorative term. Roma is the plural, Rom the singular. The Italian word for “gypsies” is “zingari.” There is no relationship between “Roma” the Romane’ word and “Roma” the city.

CASTEL ROMANO REPORT : INTRODUCTION

We recognize that the problems of habitation that face the Roma in Italy are inex¬tricably linked to problems of culture, economy, citizenship, racism, and human and civil rights. Given the brevity of our work period, and our particular expertise in architecture, we have confi ned ourselves in this report to problems specifi c to habitation at Castel Romano. We understand “habitation” to mean not only issues of housing and support infrastructure but also the social and psychological environment.

K.B.

Project Leaders: Alexander Valentino (LAN), Karen Bermann (ISU)

Laboratorio Architettura Nomade (Alexander Valentino, Martin Devrient, Andreas Faoro, Francesca Rizzetto) and the Rome Studio, Department of Architecture, Iowa State University, Prof. Karen Bermann, Megan Anstey, Emily Geralds, Peter Grotenhuis, Jerica Hining, June Hae Lee, Keihly Moore, John Pepper, Bradley Rodenburg, Anna Swinehart, Andy Temeyer, Kurtis Wolgast (4th year students)

and Balo Cizmic, Unione Nazionale e Internazionale Rom e Sinti in Italia

Aerial Images courtesy of Google Earth

Text and Graphics by the students of the Rome Studio

Text Editing: K. Bermann

Final Graphics: A. Faoro, A.Valentino

Editing: A. Faoro, A. Valentino

Additional photos by M. Devrient, A. Faoro

Special thanks to Isabella Clough Marinaro

Summary of General Issues

Camp Proximity to Rome and to PomeziaThe camp is 30km from the historical center of Rome to the north and 5km from the center of Pomezia to the southeast, the nearest town along the Via Pontina. Residents must go to either Rome or Pomezia for all goods and services, including food, water, worship, medical services, and schools.Via PontinaThe camp is located along the Via Pontina, popularly known as the “Strada della Morte” (Road of Death). This fast-moving highway has the second-highest fatality rate of all roads in the country and many drivers avoid it. Given the absence of shoulder along the road except for emergency pull-off stations, it is especially dangerous to walk along.Access to and from Castel Romano (summary)The problems which surround traveling to and from Castel Romano are complex. They intensify all other diffi culties associated with the geographical location of the camp and the isolation, on a myriad of levels, of its residents. The danger posed by daily use of the via Pontina is only one of many problems. The camp is not well served by public transportation. Buses do travel along the via Pontina but they do not stop near enough to the camp, their stops are at hazardous spots, and walking to and from the buses is slow, diffi cult and/or hazardous. Often bus drivers refuse to stop for camp residents (or others who they assume to be camp residents). Cars also experience diffi culties entering and leaving Castel Romano. An additional problem for both car and pedestrian is the absence of a means of crossing from the southbound side of via Pontina to the northbound side, where the camp is located. A more detailed account of these issues follows on page 8. Pomezia: Access to Goods and ServicesPomezia, the closest town to the southeast, is where the camp residents go for many goods and services. As described above, and further on page 10, there are diffi culties getting to and from Pomezia by car or by bus.Lack of Visits: Medical, Emergency, Maintenance, and SocialThe camp’s location and the diffi culties of coming and going also create isolation from services and social contact. At Vicolo Savini, the residents’ previous camp, a doctor made visits on a regular basis; at Castel Romano there are no medical services whatsoever. There was no sign of professional maintenance of infrastructural equipment. There are no scheduled doctor visits at all. Visits to, and especially from, friends and family are, in general, infrequent.Access To WorkAs has been noted by numerous journalists, many of the residents of the camp who had various forms of work throughout the city have had to give it up entirely due to the diffi culty of traveling between Castel Romano and Rome.Location and environmental healthThe proximity of the via Pontina means that the sound of fast-moving truck traffi c pervades the camp. Location and isolation: topographyVery signifi cant slopes on either side of the camp make walking outside diffi cult.

Location_Isolationimg 4 - Via Pontina looking south (Castel Romano on the left)

img 3

TRANSPORTATIONA DETAILED ACCOUNT OF ISSUES OF ACCESS TO AND FROM THE CAMP

Pomezia NordThe crucial point in the movement of pedestrian travelers coming to and from public transportation going both north and south comes at Pomezia Nord, 3km south of the camp entrance along the via Pontina. It is a busy and complex traffi c interchange where cars to and from Castel Romano can change direction. It is also where travelers on foot may cross the via Pontina safely by means of a pedestrian overpass.Pomezia Nord is named for the complex traffi c interchange, but it is also a small social and commercial center. “Il Nord” has a large, well-stocked and pleasant coffee bar, tabacchi, and restaurant; we met individuals and families from Castel Romano doing just this, having breakfast at the bar in the mornings when we arrived. There seemed to be a cordial relationship between camp residents, staff, and other frequent coffee bar patrons. Visits to “il bar” are a crucial part of daily life in Italy and the inhabitants of Castel Romano are no exception.

Going to Castel Romano from RomeThe camp is south of Rome, on the east (northbound) side of via Pontina.

By car There is no southbound vehicular entry, that is, no overpass or exchange, that leads to the camp from the via Pontina. Cars coming from Rome must overshoot the camp by 3 km before fi nding an interchange (Pomezia Nord) that allows them to travel north back to the camp.

By bus The nearest stop for buses coming from Rome (and continuing to Pomezia and points south) is 3km south of Castel Romano. One disembarks just past Pomezia Nord and walks northward back toward it along the Pontina. This short walk is not particularly safe, as one walks on the edge of the Pontina itself, and across busy access points for the Pomezia Nord interchange. The already non-existent path worsens as one approaches Pomezia Nord; here one must weave around the base of the pedestrian overpass (see images 5-6). The grass shows the wear of many feet on this path. From there, one can cross an overpass to reach the northbound side (the Castel Romano side) of the via Pontina (see image 7 – ped overpass). It is while walking across the pedestrian overpass that one feels the true speed of the Pontina (see image 9). There is a closer bus stop at the designer outlet also named Castel Romano, 1 km north of the camp, but there is no way to cross the via Pontina to reach it. There are no pedestrian crossings along the via Pontina; crossing it on foot is prohibited and extremely dangerous. In a well-publicized case in December 2007 a woman attempting to cross via Pontina to return to the camp from this bus stop was killed by a fast-moving vehicle. After descending the stairs on the north side of the Pontina, one waits for a northbound bus to make the 2km trip to Castel Romano. Here one feels safer, as the stop for the northbound bus is suffi ciently removed from the Pontina. The alternative to waiting for the bus is walking a “homemade” path along and below the via Pontina for 2km (see image 8). This path is muddy in wet weather.

img 8 - The informal footpath which links the camp to the overpass.

Location_Isolation

img 7 - The overpass over the via Pontina, 3 km south of Castel Romano

img 5 - Waiting for the bus to Rome along the via Pontina

img 6 - Walking the informal path along and below the via Pontina to the camp

img 9 - Waiting for the bus to Roma along the via Pontina.

Going to Rome from Castel Romano

By car The northbound (and only) entrance to the Pontina from the camp is among the most diffi cult moments of the journey by car, as there is no acceleration ramp to enter the fast-paced road. Photos on Google Earth show an informal acceleration ramp that has been created by vehicles. By bus Buses to Rome stop very near the camp along the shoulder of the via Pontina at an authorized stop. Five buses passed by us one day as we waited and waved.

Going to Pomezia from Castel Romano By car A car coming from Castel Romano must fi rst travel north to an interchange which allows one to change direction to reach via Pontina southbound. The problem of the lack of acceleration ramp for a car entering via Pontina northbound has been described in Going to Rome from Castel Romano.

By bus One must walk south 3km to cross the overpass at Pomezia Nord to wait there at the nearest southbound bus stop. (This walk is previously described in Going to Castel Romano from Rome). One can also walk or take a bus going north to reach an overpass which allows one to cross over the via Pontina. There, near the Castel Romano designer outlet, one fi nds another southbound bus stop.

The Nonexistent “Via della Comunella”

In the process of this site and transportation research, an interesting discovery was made, courtesy of Google Earth. In the GE aerial image to the right, the roads are highlighted. The Pontina is in yellow and orange, and the secondary roads and drives are in white. One sees a connection between the camp and the next road to the east. This connection, refered to as Via della Comunella on the GE images, does not exist in fact. We can only assume that it was planned but never constructed. Instead of the offi cial “Via della Communella,” which would permit direct access to Castel Romano from the south the path along the Pontina is a connection which has been created by the feet of many walking camp residents throughout the last 2 years and 8 months. A paved road would also allow camp residents to use the acceleration ramp that the buses use from the bus stop to enter the Pontina.

Location_Isolationimg 12 - Access to and from Castel Romano by bus; points along the route

img 10 - The nonexistent Via della Commu-nella as seen on Google Earth image

img 11 - descending the overpass along the via Pontina

Current Location Relative to Vicolo Savini

The community’s move from Vicolo Savini to Castel Romano changed many conditions of daily life for the residents. The 30km displacement is signifi cant not only in terms of sheer distance but also in terms of context (see map img 3-13-14-17 ). The red area represents the former Vicolo Savini camp near the Tiber River. At the bottom of this page you see a closer image of Vicolo Savini in its urban context, near to the neighborhood of EUR. The image directly above it shows the layout of the former camp.At Vicolo Savini, dwellings were placed on the edges and in pod-like formations in the open space in between. This formation is quite different from that of Castel Romano where a grid of streets and alleys organizes the containers, which are placed along the sewer system grid.Almost without exception, each person interviewed said that, while conditions of sanitation were extremely poor at Vicolo Savini, life there was still preferable to life at Castel Romano. The neighborhood context of the former camp, in which one could shop for food or medicine, get a coffee, or simply take a walk, was cited, as well as its position within the city, which meant proximity to medical services, parks, etc. Parents also mentioned particularly how long it takes ambulances to reach Castel Romano. The presence of shade trees in the neighborhood and the city, and the lack there of at Castel Romano, was often mentioned as well. (see views of both camps)

img 13 - Former camp at Vicolo Savini

Location_Isolation

img 14 - Vicolo Savini img 15 - Vicolo Savini

img 16 img 16 - Temporary shelter at Castel Romano in the fi rst 8 months

img 17 - prefabricated metal containers during construction

Fences and Barriers at Castel Romano

Recently, high concrete and metal fences have been installed which separate the camp from all its surroundings. There is now an opening at the front of the camp facing the Via Pontina, and another at the very rear of the camp where sewage andwater facilities are housed (see images 19-20). When the camp was created, it was split into two halves in order to create smaller administrative units and to avoid tension between various groups. A large space was left between the two parts of the site to create a sense of separation.

Policing as a Barrier

There are invisible as well as visible barriers at Castel Romano. During site visits conducted for this report, there was always at least one municipal police vehicle at the entrance to the camp checking papers of those arriving at the main gate and inquiring into their business at the camp. On one visit, at least 12 Municipal Police vehicles throughout the camp were checking car insurance and impounding vehicles.Offi cers also scanned the interiors of the cars for any illegal substances before removing them from the premises. One resident commented, “They brought us out here so they can do what they want with us.” Anecdotal evidence suggests that carsare sometimes removed even when their status is entirely legal.According to residents, there has been a recent increase in the number of municipalpolice on the premises (as of March 2008).

img 18 - Fence at Castel Romano between the camps

Location_Isolation

img 19 - Fences between the two parts of the camp img 20

img 21 - Police patrol img 22 - Cars being confi scated by police

The water situation at Castel Romano is dire. The fi rst word out of a resident’s mouth to a visitor is often “acqua!” Residents struggle with the uncertainty of water every day. Water quality is also a critical problem at Castel Romano.In addition to issues of thirst, sanitation, health and well-being, sewage, fi re protection, and drainage have all been affected by a fundamental lack of water.Problems have been found in the planning, construction, and maintenance of the water system of the camp. This report documents these defi ciencies briefl y; further study is in order. Further analysis of the underground supply and drainage networks, water source, and water quality is also in order, as the only information gained on those topics is anecdotal.Following is an outline of the problems studied at Castel Romano:

Potable and Bathing Water Well - Number and Water Volume Provided Leaking Vandalized Inadequate water volume Pumps - Maintenance Leaks Error codes Chemical Treatment Tank Empty Error codes on sensors Water Storage Tanks Not fi lled Improper networking of tanks Water Quality - Reports of rashes and sickness from drinking and bathing in well water Water Quantity - Inconsistent availability of water in containers

Pipe network to containers Piping - Improper shutoffs

Site Drainage Gravel - Poor maintenance leads to large amounts of standing water Sub-grade tiling - Improper day-lighting procedures

Fire System Galvanized water tanks Hose bibs and housing Destroyed Sewage Septic tanks—smell Possibly full Not fully buried

Water

Well

The well is located a few hundred meters northeast of the camp. Both the well andthe concrete housing that should protect the well head are in a state of great disrepair.On the day of the site visit, the well was spewing water. It was evident that the concrete housing has been vandalized. The ground and concrete slab surrounding the well head are saturated with water leaking from the well head itself. There was evidence of attempted repairs at the location of the leaks. Cloth and string was tied around the hoses in an attempt to stop or slow leakage. Video footage of the sceneat the well can be found on the supplemental DVD.Beyond the well’s poor state of maintenance, a comparative study strongly suggeststhat one individual well is not suffi cient to accommodate the needs of 800 people.Treynor, Iowa, a small farming community in the U.S. is a town of just over 1,000.That city was contacted for information regarding their water supply system. Treynor has two full time wells and one emergency system that can also be used during times of high use. *

Water Pumps

The pump house can be found in the northeast corner of Castel Romano. Its function is to pump water from the well into large blue holding tanks for treatment and dispersal. Evidence of vandalism could be seen in and around the pump house. The lock had been tampered with and the door no longer locks. Inside the pump house, the fl oor was saturated with stagnant water left by the leaking pumps. The instruction manual lay soaking in the same stagnant water. An error message on the pump control panel, visible at all times, reads, “ERRORE: MANCANZA ACQUA.” (Lack of water; water missing.) The error message provides further evidence that there is insuffi cient water volume to even feed the pumps, let alone fi ll the provided tanks. During site visits, the pumps emitted a range of loud sounds indicating reduced or insuffi cient water feed. Video and audio evidence of this can be found on the supplemental DVD.

*We do not mean to suggest that water use in these two communities is, or should be, the same – clearly it is not -- but it is still useful as a point of reference. Obviously, water volume is more important than number of wells. Both issues should be investigated further.

Water

img 23 - At the well head

img 24 img 25

Chemical Treatment Tank

Next to the pumps was a small blue tank. This vessel is used to inject chemicals into the storage containers for the proper treatment of the water supply. When opened, the tank was empty. A set of sensors ran from inside the tank up to a control center attached to the wall. An error message read, “ALARM No. 1.” It is assumed that the message relates to the fact that the tank was empty, but that is speculation. Full green canisters of chemicals were sitting on the pump house fl oor along with one empty container. Administration of these chemicals requires the assistance of a trained operator to, if nothing else, feed the chemical tank. It appeared that no service operators had visited in quite a while.

Water Storage Tanks

Adjacent to the pump house is a series of four large blue storage tanks. The actual capacity of the tanks was not identifi ed. They are networked through a series of plastic pipes embedded in a concrete housing. The water is pumped into the tank closest to the pump house, but the piping network allows them to fi ll simultaneously. All the tanks were almost empty, every time that the levels were checked. The highest level observed was approximately 20% full. There is also speculation that the piping network runs uphill. Given that there is no pum p moving water into the tanks, this could cause problems for the complete fi lling of the other tanks.Even if the tanks were fi lled, available water volume appears to be on the low side. Calculated daily usage in the city of Treynor, Iowa, is 80 gallons/per person/per day. Beyond that there is a safety cushion of x2. That means 160 gallons/per person/per day. Given a population of around 800, that would reveal an average daily need of 128,000 gallons. The tanks provided hold far less than this.

img 26 - Water storage tanks

Water

img 27 - Water pumps.

img 28 - The error message reads: LACK OF WATER

Water Quality

Beyond the problems of water quantity and volume is the question of water quality. Residents of Castel Romano have been complaining about this issue since their arrival at the site. All the documentation in this report concerning the quality of the water is anecdotal (we did not submit it for laboratory testing) but it is widespread and consistent, and should be investigated further. The most common reports are of rashes found on children after bathing and of sickness in children after consumption of water. We did not hear any reports of adults falling ill. Apart from questions of toxicity, there are reports of water sporadically fi lled with dirt and sand when it exits the faucets in the containers. Water quality tests should be conducted at all points within the water supply system.

Water Quantity

There are widespread complaints about the inconsistent availability of water within the living containers at the camp. Residents report that water will be available at one time, and then fi ve minutes later, there is not a trace of it. It is not known whether this directly corresponds with the amount of water in the storage tanks or not. This question should be investigated further. However, for this report, on one day, water availability was tested throughout the camp every half an hour for 4.5 hours. Video documentation of some of these tests can be found on the supplemental DVD.

1130 - No water. Air running through lines 1200 - Water runs - clear 1230 - Water trickles - clear 1300 - Water trickles - clear 1330 - No water 1400 - Water/air mix - sputtery 1430 - Water runs – clear 1500 - Water runs – clear 1530 - No water - air in lines 1600 - Water/air mix - clear

Water

img 29 - In the pump house

img 30 - Error message

img 31 - Inside a storage tank

img 32 - Residents collect and store water, since availabil-ity is unpredictable

Pipe Network to Containers

Due to the fact that the water network to the containers is buried it was not possible to observe much beyond the network’s above-ground appearance. Proper shutoffs which would make it possible to remove a unit without spewing water have not been provided. A few units have been removed and the ties to electrical, water, and sewage networks were literally cut. In one instance, water was found fl owing rapidly out of the ground where a container once was. The connection was never plugged; there is no way of knowing how long that leak has been fl owing. Footage of this leak can be found on the supplemental DVD. With leaks like that in the camp, in addition to other problems it is not surprising that there are water supply issues.It seems that all containers receive water of varying quality at various times during the day, but testing should be done to ensure the integrity of the supply network.’’

Site Drainage

It appears that all of Castel Romano is drained by some sort of subterranean tiling system. Further evidence of the system’s existence is the fact that downspouts on the containers run below-grade. It was not possible to speculate further on the state of the drainage system.One feature that both facilitates and inhibits proper site drainage is the fact that the whole settlement is placed on a layer of gravel. This gravel allows water to seep through to the tile drains, but without proper maintenance, depressions have begunto collect runoff in large amounts. This poses an obstacle to movement along those roads, not to mention all of the dangers associated with stagnant water.

Water

img 33

img 34

img 35 - Site drainage problems

Fire System

Located adjacent to the drinking water tanks are the holding tanks for the camp’s fi resystem.These tanks are connected to a series of hose bibs located throughout the camp. When inspected, the tanks did contain water, but residents demonstrated that no water came out of the spigots on the other end. The lids to some of the tanks had been pried open; large amounts of trash were found inside, along with water. Video footage of the tanks is available on the supplemental DVD.The tanks themselves are constructed of galvanized metal. This is fi ne for a fi re system, but water held in these tanks for extended amounts of time should not be used for drinking or bathing. Many of the hose bibs around the camp have been broken into, suggesting that that this water may be, or may have been, used for drinking and bathing when the fresh water system is or was not operational.As previously mentioned, many of the hose bibs located throughout the site are either damaged, destroyed, or missing altogether. Often, their housings are cracked, the hoses have been removed, and other pieces have been salvaged for usage around the camp. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the system never worked in the fi rst place, that little more than a trickle water ever came out of those fi re spigots.A few weeks prior to this research (March 2008), a fi re occurred in a container located on the ARCI side of the camp. No water was available to put it out, and it the container burned completely (see image 47). No water came out of the fi re spigot when it was tested during this research.Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the generator placed near the pump house for the fi re system was never operational. With that said, it would make sense that thespigots did not receive pressurized water.

Water

img 36 img 37 - Hoses and hose boxes out of service due to absence of water for fi re protection

img 38

img 39 - The interior of a tank of water in the fi re protection system

Sewage System

Also located at the back corners of the camp are the septic tanks for the sewage system. Both of them smell of sewage, an odor which pervades the camp on some days. The ground around both sets of tanks is saturated. The combination of the smell and saturation suggests that both tanks are full and possibly overfl owing. Leakage could be another, or additional, explanation.The tanks located on the ARCI side of the camp are not fully buried and the covers to the tanks have been broken open. This poses a grave hazard to anyone who might wander into this area. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the fi lters for this system were either never provided or, once installed, never replaced. Detailed investigation of this problem is crucial. The sewage network connecting the tanks to the containers appears to be in working order. However, there is not suffi cient water to fl ush the sewage through the networks. If this persists, the pipes might eventually back up.

Water

img 40 img 41

img 42 img 43

img 44 - Sept tank and surrounding area

img 45 - The exterior of one of the housing units. An electrical power strip (which should never be exposed to the elements) is wrapped around a water hose, and is hanging (in an attempt to keep it dry) over the housing unit’s gas supply line.

img 46 - Most fi re boxes at Castel Ro-mano look like this. Fire hoses are missing.

img 47 - Container at Castel Romano have caught fi re and burned down completely. Without fi re extinguishers, fi re hoses, and enough water pressure to actually use the hoses there really isn’t anything that can be done to save a burning container. In the time it would take for a fi re truck to arrive at Castel Romano it would be too late.

img 50 - An intact and functioning electrical box at Castel Romano.

img 51 - Over a quarter of all electrical boxes at Castel Romano look like this – not maintained and damaged beyond use.

Energy and Safety

img 48 - This is how many houses are supplied with gas. This would go against most safety regulations in Italy. The “bombola”(gas tank) is considered an unsafe means of supplying gas to a home. In the denser housing areas of Castel Romano, if one gas tank caught fi re and explodes it could start a chain reaction, causing many units to burn down.

img 49 - Many of the houses have propane tanks hooked up inside because in some circumstanses this is the only way they can cook.Practices like this are and have been against code for some time, due to the potential dangers associatedwith the use of propane tanks.

Energy and Safety Mapping

Castel Romano was built in a cookie-cutter fashion, in uniform rows and with identical containers. Despite this, some residents of have taken pains to alter their living space and perhaps create a sense of house, if not home.

EXTENDING - With limited interior space, some have expanded their living environment outside. Here one sees an extended kitchen and dining area.The inhabitants have also decorated their front facade with a faux-brick fi nish and plants - img 52

ILLUMINATING - By turning a fl oodlight intended to illuminate the “street” inward, inhabitants create their own porch lighting - img 53

CONNECTING - Depending on their size, families are sometimes permitted to occupy multiple units in Castel Romano. When they are adjacent, in-between spaces can be constructed to connect the units and provide more room - img 54

Adaptation

With only limited space available, inhabitants convert the area in between units into the things they lack. By closing off a space, families can create a place for storage, a laundry area, or a makeshift garage - img 55

LANDSCAPING img 56 - Even with very limited water supply, some residents still manage to cultivate green spaces in Castel Romano. Landscaping also serves a practical purpose as paving stones help to reduce dust.

INNOVATINGimg 57 - This box that used to hold a emergency fi re hose now acts as a place for someone to hang a bag. With the lack of water a prevalent problem in the community, certain useless features have been given new uses – here, storage and display.

ZONINGimg 59 - Inside the camp people have created their own zoning. The central street is blocked off where it intersects the square, preventing traffi c from driving through and creating a place where children can play safely.

img 58 - A wall partition has been reduced to a decorative valence to make two rooms into one.

Adaptation

img 60 - Because of the inhabitants’ limited access to work, some have created their own home businesses. Here, a salvage yard of bathroom parts fi lls the back alley between two containers.

Adaptation Mapping

img 61 - A mix of different ground cover typical of Castel Romano

img 62 - Garbage in some areas makes them unwalkable

Most of the camp is surfaced in a mixture of dust and gravel that becomes dusty in the sun and heat.

img 64 - When wet, the earth and gravel areas become muddy and standing water becomes a problem

Ground Cover

img 63 - Unplanted areas are subject to erosion in periods of rain

Ground Cover Mapping

School - Isolation

There are approximately 250 children at Castel Romano that are eligible to attend school. Of those 250 about 50 actually go, and some do not go regularly. Often it takes more than two hours to go from Castel Romano to Rome where the school are located, and the bus often arrives late due to traffi c jams along the Pontina. Children attend 5 different schools in the areas of EUR, Grottaperfetta, and Ponte Marconi. These schools were predetermined by the residents’ previous address, Vicolo Savini. ARCI is in charge of transporting the children to and from school by bus.“Too frequently these kids [Roma] are sent to special schools for the mentally disabled, but their primary obstacles to learning are typically language-based. However, their language defi ciencies are not addressed in these schools.”(Ozdemir, Cem. “Roma: 15.000.000 European citizens.” p. 40. Els de Groen, 2005)

img 65

Children

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Health – Water

Children are at special risk of illnesses or rashes from the water at Castel Romano, which does not appear to affect adults as badly. Parents buy bottled water for the children and indeed bottled water was in evidence everywhere. There are showers and sinks located in each of the containers, but basins and bottled water are used to bathe the children. However, this does not stop young children from drinking or playing in the water supplied at Castel Romano. The presence of leaking water creates a particular diffi culty.

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Children

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Playground Environmental Conditions

Children frequently play around the water treatment facility and old abandoned cars in the area in the back of the camp. On rainy days the children also play outside because there is not much for them to do inside and not much indoor space. There are no designated playgrounds at Castel Romano, only a large central gathering space that is covered in gravel.

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Children

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