Santiago: Territories, Yearnings, and Fears. Social and Spatial Effects of Urban Expansion

Abstract

The article proposes to examine the types of space being generated in Santiago, Chile, focusing on those areas that spread out on the edges of the city. The periphery has been developing through the strong expansion experienced by the city during the last decades, and new developments are beginning to modify the way in which territory is ocuppied. Among these developments are residential areas of middle and upper social levels, areas of public housing, Í€œartifacts of globalizationÍ€ and new industrial areas. Given the importance of these changes, the paper analyzes how this unequal growth is affecting the life of city-dwellers and what it is like to live in each one of these juxtaposed fragments. Additionally, the dynamics that underlie contemporary urban forms, the politics of peoples location and activities, the syndrome of ownership , urban status and stigma, the city that we say we want to live in, and the fear of violence and crime, are examined.