Peri-urban satellite towns in Santiago, Chile: contradictions between residential satisfaction and the financial vulnerability of middle-class peri-urban dwellers
Authors
César Cáceres Seguel
Hafen City Universität Hamburg
The peri-urban expansion in Santiago, Chile, is related to the development of private satellite towns. The projects developed in the municipality of Lampa deserve some analysis since they shed light on the establishment of emerging middle-income groups in peri-urban areas. Though the process of peri-urbanization of Santiago has been widely studied, the impact of private housing projects on the quality of life of inhabitants remains unclear. Through sixty interviews with inhabitants of Larapinta and Valle Grande, this paper confirms the paradoxical happiness of middle-class peri-urbanites. Such a contradiction emerges from the satisfaction related to the achievement of higher residential standards and the financial vulnerability derived from a lifestyle based on mobility and the availability of private facilities. Far from being a haven of livability, these projects show the vulnerability of middle-income groups with precarious tools to inhabit the private peri-urban sphere.
Author Biography
César Cáceres Seguel, Hafen City Universität Hamburg
PhD in Economic and Social Sciences, with specialization in Urban Planning, HafenCity University Hamburg
Cáceres Seguel, C. (2015). Peri-urban satellite towns in Santiago, Chile: contradictions between residential satisfaction and the financial vulnerability of middle-class peri-urban dwellers. Revista INVI, 30(85), 83–108. Retrieved from https://revistaterapiaocupacional.uchile.cl/index.php/INVI/article/view/62665