Co-authored by Kiley Yuthas, Housing & Community Development Graduate Intern
Investments in infrastructure are often necessary for improving the health and safety of communities. However, improving infrastructure, particularly in areas with high rates of informal land occupancy, comes with the risk of displacement for residents. Formalizing land tenure and integrating community input are essential to mitigating displacement risks associated with environmental improvements. Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña is an example of how the community land trust model can protect communities facing challenges associated with informal land rights and ecological and social vulnerabilities.
Key Takeaways
- Municipal partnership supports transformation: Local government plays an essential role in infrastructure delivery, regulatory reform and project coordination. The City of San Juan’s investments in sewage systems, storm water management, and streamlined formalization processes were important to the transformation of the CMP area.
- Legal tools are key to formalizing land tenure: Cities need regulations and processes to enable title transfers and collective ownership in communities with many people who do not have formal legal ownership of their land.
- Community participation matters to avoid displacement: Residents must be involved in decision-making and have tools to ensure that their interests are represented and avoid forced displacement when infrastructure changes or new development happen.
- Connecting climate resilience and housing security: Solutions to update infrastructure and improve environmental conditions must incorporate strategies to prevent displacement of current residents.
A Brief History of Caño Martín Peña
Caño Martín Peña (CMP), a community within the San Juan metropolitan area (pop. 342,259), includes eight neighborhoods around a 3.75-mile tidal channel of the San Juan Bay Estuary. The informal settlements of CMP built on public land around the channel sprang up during the 1930s and 40s as a result of migration from rural areas into the city (PDF), with generations of subsequent residents continuing to build and develop in the area throughout the 20th century.
The informal houses that developed along the channel lacked proper wastewater systems and were constructed over mangrove areas that had previously provided natural flood protection. Due to limited infrastructure and frequent flooding that posed risks to residents, life on the channel came with environmental and health hazards. More than 3,000 structures emitted raw sewage directly into the channel because of limited infrastructure, and a lack of adequate sewer and stormwater systems resulted in flooding that exposed residents to polluted waters. Residents faced two simultaneous threats: health hazards related to ecological conditions and insufficient infrastructure, and risk of displacement due to their informal tenure on the land where they had built their homes.
The Community’s Dual Challenge
Residents and advocates in the CMP area supported infrastructure and environmental improvements to promote health and well-being of community members. However, they feared that dredging the channel and installing improved waste infrastructure would make the area — located next to San Juan’s growing financial district — more vulnerable to speculative pressure and development that would displace them. The estimated 2,000 families living in the CMP area had deep connections to their community and the land they lived on, but no formal property title to protect them from displacement. They knew their community needed infrastructure improvements and ecological restoration, but also that they needed protection from being pushed out by those very improvements.
Creating a Community-Led Solution
In 2002, the Commonwealth government of Puerto Rico began two years of engagement with CMP communities to determine how best to address flooding, sewage and associated health and environmental concerns. The City of San Juan, the government of Puerto Rico and local stakeholders and community members collaborated extensively to develop a solution that balanced ecological and infrastructure needs with displacement prevention protections. The participatory process included educational sessions and workshops where residents compared different ways to address insecure tenancy, considering individual property title models, land cooperatives and community land trusts. Residents and advocates settled on the CLT model in response to prevent displacement and promote a sense of belonging in CMP.
In 2004, the Puerto Rico legislature passed Law 489 (PDF), creating a Special Planning District and establishing Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE, a public corporation tasked with overseeing and implementing the district plan. ENLACE supported the establishment and transfer of public land to the Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña, a Community Land Trust which would maintain ownership of the land in perpetuity and lease to families living in the CMP area to prevent displacement of residents. With the finalization of the regulatory framework, ENLACE transferred ownership of the land to the Fideicomiso by means of a formal deed.
The CLT Model: Preventing Displacement
The Fideicomiso was the first land trust of its kind in Latin America, regularizing land tenure and integrating informal residents in decision-making to prevent forced displacement due to speculation. Its managing council includes members nominated by San Juan’s mayor and Puerto Rico’s governor, as well as community residents and non-resident members. The Fideicomiso ensures secure tenure for 2,000 families through rights to occupy land in defined areas, and these occupation rights are formalized with the Land Registry (administered by the Department of Justice). The regularization process can also involve obtaining building permits and resolving inheritance issues for families who have lived on the land for generations without a formal title.
In collaboration with ENLACE, the City of San Juan has also streamlined its processes for formalizing land occupancy in an effort to facilitate informal tenants’ path to formal titles. This administrative support has been essential to ensuring that residents can access the legal protections and benefits that come with formalized tenure.
Infrastructure and Ecosystem Restoration
In the 20 years since the establishment of ENLACE and the CLT, the City of San Juan, the government of Puerto Rico and federal agencies have been key partners in transforming the district. The Caño Martín Peña Ecosystem Restoration Project represents an estimated $261 million investment benefiting CMP communities and the San Juan Bay Estuary. This has been made possible through multiple partnerships: a major agreement between the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Justice and the Municipality of San Juan enabled important investments in storm sewer systems, while federal–local collaboration between the US Army Corps of Engineers, ENLACE and PRDNER advanced ecosystem restoration and related infrastructure.
One of the city’s most critical contributions has been addressing sewage and wastewater management in the area. Projects including relocating and updating the current sewer line and connecting communities with sewer infrastructure are ongoing and will help ensure that CMP households are not exposed to sewage in the event of future flooding. The local government has also implemented a system to provide solid waste collection trucks (PDF) to the area to promote community-based recycling and limit the amount of debris ending up in the canal.
Looking Forward: Managing Change for Long-Term Sustainability
Today, work remains to be done to fully address the ecological and infrastructure challenges faced by the CMP community. The Fideicomiso and ENLACE are important mitigators of displacement related to these necessary upgrades, supporting residents whose relocation is necessary for environmental restoration efforts including canal dredging. Their efforts ensure that families are relocated within the area with agency and planning, rather than being pushed out by market forces. In addition to managing change related to ecological restoration, the Fideicomiso continues to identify potential sites for new development and support the preservation and restoration of existing properties in the CMP area. While challenges remain, the Fidecomiso serves as an important example of how the CLT model can be used to empower community voice in local community development and environmental restoration projects.
Upcoming Webinar
On Jan. 28, 2026 at 12 PM ET, NLC will host a session designed for municipal officials and staff from Puerto Rican communities. The webinar will highlight the value of NLC membership and help attendees understand how to fully maximize available benefits and resources.
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