Stephanie Patzer, MSc in Rural Planning and Development student at the University of Guelph, was part of a team recently was announced as a top 20 finalist in an international ideas competition inspired by the sustainable development goals. In the Spring 2018, the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology launched an international ideas competition for students interested in the built environment and sustainable development called Confronting Informality. The competition strived to facilitate a conversation on how to build healthy, inclusive, and resilient environments for informal settlements.

To address population growth pressures and limited sanitation infrastructure, Stephanie and her colleagues Anell Padilla and José Lenin Peralta developed an idea to provide waterless latrines to each household in the community of Santa Clara, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. This low-technology adoption would control human waste, reduce disease transmission, and protect local water sources. The concept would work in partnership with TECHO Honduras (www.techo.org/paises/honduras/) to deliver this initiative. A full description of the Systematizing Sanitation: A Dry Latrine Project for Colonia Santa Clara idea can be found here: https://issuu.com/robertorocco/docs/confronting_informality_report_2018_ae2ba31cee0015(page 264-271).

Congratulations to Stephanie and the team on the top 20 finalist in this international competition!