RISE delivers affordable, on-site water and sanitation solutions through simple, decentralized systems and community-driven design. The project transforms the physical and social conditions of informal settlements through improvements such as water purifying wetlands, rainwater harvesting, elevated walkways and safe public spaces.
In Makassar, more than 40% of residents live in informal settlements, where unsafe water and frequent flooding pose daily risks to health and mobility, particularly for women, children, older adults and people with disabilities. Conventional infrastructure approaches often overlook the needs of vulnerable communities, failing to address the interconnected challenges of public health, environmental degradation, climate vulnerability and social inclusion.
- Co-designed neighborhood upgrading plans with residents’ input through household surveys, stakeholder engagement and participatory planning
- Combined nature-based sanitation systems — including constructed wetlands, rainwater harvesting, decentralized wastewater treatment and green spaces — to improve water quality while restoring ecosystems
- Used a randomized controlled trial to evaluate environmental, health and social outcomes before larger rollout, generating evidence to guide future urban upgrading and policy decisions
- Built approximately 3,000 square kilometers of raised accessways that improve flood-safe movement for residents of informal settlements
- Added roughly 5,000 square meters of improved drainage, reducing flood risk
- Trained community leaders, municipal staff and local partners in infrastructure operations, maintenance, environmental monitoring and inclusive planning to strengthen long-term local capacity
- Installed smart monitoring systems that continuously track water quality, sanitation performance and environmental conditions to support adaptive management
- Developed co-design toolkits, gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) frameworks, and engineering guidance to support replication by governments, researchers and development organizations
- Built long-term partnerships with local governments, universities, NGOs and national agencies to integrate RISE principles into settlement upgrading, climate adaptation and public health planning
- Transitioned operations and maintenance responsibilities to municipal authorities while continuing to expand the program through additional phases of community-led implementation
- Directly benefited more than 1,400 residents across six informal settlements via creation and upgrading of infrastructure
- Indirectly benefited more than 6,000 residents by improving environmental conditions and mobility
- Improved sanitation for 156 households
- Reduced environmental contamination and improved self-reported health outcomes through integrated water, sanitation and ecosystem restoration
- Strengthened local governance by training 72 community representatives and 25 municipal staff in infrastructure management, monitoring and inclusive planning
- Influenced Indonesian settlement upgrading guidelines and national climate adaptation discussions through evidence-based research and community-led planning approaches
- Prompted the Makassar City Government to identify 30 additional informal settlements for future replication of the RISE model
- Expanded internationally through replication in Suva, Fiji
- Established a globally recognized model for integrating public health, climate resilience, sanitation and ecosystem restoration into community-led upgrading of informal settlements
