Urban social integration of camp families relocated to Greater Valparaíso 2011-2022. Cases in Placilla-Curauma

Authors

  • Rodrigo Torreblanca Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Departamento de Urbanística y Ordenación del Territorio, España. Universidad Viña del Mar, Escuela de Arquitectura, Comunicaciones y Diseño, Chile. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5612-3264
  • Eva Álvarez de Andrés Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Departamento de Urbanística y Ordenación del Territorio, España. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7370-7053

Abstract

In the last decade, Chile has experienced sustained growth in informal settlements, especially in the Valparaíso Region, which concentrates 22 % nationwide. To address it, the State has prioritized the relocation strategy by delivering housing subsidies and moving families from the camps to different places, with little evidence of the impacts on Urban Social Integration (ISU), the guiding principle of the National Development Policy. Urban. This article visualizes the geographical displacement of families in Greater Valparaíso between 2011 and 2022 and analyzes their perceptions and experiences from a sociocultural, political, economic, and spatial sphere. The results indicate that families perceive improvements in living conditions in the home. However, they present difficulties in reconstructing the social identity that existed in the informal settlement, their links with the labor market and income, and essential urban services have been weakened. They do not have availability and adequate coverage, and they perceive abandonment by institutions in the process of adaptation and integration into the neighborhood. This highlights the urgency of incorporating comprehensive material and symbolic strategies that address ISU from the multidimensionality that a family's vital situation implies.

Keywords:

self-produced settlements, informal settlements, urban social integration, relocation