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Urban sprawl and infrastructural lands:

Revamping internal spaces in Santiago de Chile
Article in Geoforum October 2015
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.10.004

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Geoforum 67 (2015) 3640

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Geoforum
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geoforum

Critical review

Urban sprawl and infrastructural lands: Revamping internal spaces in

Santiago de Chile
Cristian Alejandro Silva Lovera
The Bartlett School of Planning, Faculty of the Built Environment, UCL, 14 Upper Woburn Place, WC1H 0NN London, UK

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 28 September 2015
Accepted 11 October 2015

Keywords:
Urban sprawl
Infrastructural lands
Revamping processes

a b s t r a c t
Urban sprawl in South America has for many decades been driven by the housing debate, with major
impact on overall urban development. The impact of uncontrolled expansion has been social, economic
and environmental degradation to high rates of poverty, poor services and transport. The presence of
undeveloped areas within suburban landscapes, such as former infrastructural facilities, obsolete airports, and abandoned train stations, contribute to the impetus to reclaimed and revamped land. These
spaces also trigger political aspirations for implementing better practices on smart growth, sustainable
development and urban regeneration principles. A case in point is the former airport Aeropuerto
Cerrillos in Santiago, Chile, which closed in 2001 after years of decay; it intended to replace and host
a large-scale urban project called Ciudad Parque Bicentenario. This development is still incomplete
and describes a series of pressures on a planning system traditionally adjusted to promote expansion
confirming that urban sprawl is still an open agenda triggered by the presence of diverse unexpected
urban gaps.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Urban sprawl, the South American region and infrastructural lands
The case of the Cerrillos Airport as alternative to urban sprawl. . . .
Ciudad Parque Bicentenario (CPB) project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Introduction
Urban sprawl in South America has been posited as a general
pattern of development that defines the conditions of cityregions (Aguilar et al., 2003; Inostroza et al., 2013). In this context,
new peripheries consisting of differing socio-economic groups
have emerged with high rates of poverty concentration and
socio-residential segregation (Sabatini and Salcedo, 2007).
Environmental degradation is also a major impact, considering
increasing air pollution and degradation of agricultural lands.

E-mail address: c.lovera@ucl.ac.uk

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.10.004
0016-7185/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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36
37
37
37
39
40
40

Urban sprawl hence appear as a major issue in the urban sustainability agenda (Romero and Ordenes, 2004; Moreira-Arce et al.,
2015). Aside from impacts, the debate is also driven to identify
potentials of sprawl, some of them supported by the spatial fragmentation typically found in the peripheries of Rio de Janeiro,
Sao Paulo, Bogot, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile (Janoschka,
2002).
In this context, the presence of abandoned lands that previously
served infrastructural functions such as former airports, railway
services, power and water treatment plants, restriction areas of
security buffers and others provides a chance for changing trends
in planning as these spaces are already well-located and surrounded by built-up areas. Although several initiatives have been
defined for recovering infrastructural lands, only few appear as

C.A. Silva Lovera / Geoforum 67 (2015) 3640

successful, as they often rest on housing shortages or for building

gated communities with private services (Hidalgo, 2007). In this
light, how urban policies are still dealing with uncontrolled sprawl
through revamping internal infrastructural lands is worthy of
examination, where my focus on Santiago de Chile offers a possible
illustration of its potential. Indeed, in the last 20 years public
authorities have raised the political illusion of creating better practices in planning based on urban regeneration, sustainability and
social integration principles through the potential of underused
infrastructural spaces (Ducci, 2014; Tokman, 2006; Zapata and
Arias, 2008).
This is the case of the mega urban project Ciudad Parque
Bicentenario (CPB): it exposes the tense relationship between private and public sector in a country where the development model
is defined by neo-liberal policies, where government nevertheless
continues to regulate the free market (Gross, 1991; Vallejo and
Pardo, 2008). This initiative labelled as a pioneer in the implementation of a regeneration policy was intended to be finished
in 2010, fully commanded by the Ministry of Housing and
Urbanization (MINVU) aimed to maximise social benefits. After
several stages, management issues became extremely complex
and the original purposes were reformed to overcome administrative and economic problems. The illusion of changing trends
entered into an endless set of administrative, social, economic
and political constraints; hence after 12 years, the project is incomplete. This case illustrates how the urban sprawl in South America
remains a hegemonic trend of unplanned growth, despite attempts
to promote the internal revamping processes.
2. Urban sprawl, the South American region and infrastructural
lands
Although some posit that there is no consensus regarding an
urban sprawls definition, traditional descriptions point to a scattered development composed of low-density residential neighbourhoods, single land-uses and open tract as evidence of
physical discontinuity (Galster et al., 2001; Gillham, 2002; Jaret
et al., 2009). Moreover, urban sprawl has also been recognised as
a complex stage of development, illustrating conditions of multifunctionality, polycentricity and functional self-sufficiency
(Gallent and Shaw, 2007; Kloosterman and Lambregts, 2001;
Phelps and Wood, 2011).
The debate in South America has been part of a topic related to
the impacts of housing policies in the region and Southern hemisphere (Murray and Clapham, 2015; Cern-Palma et al., 2013;
Heinrichs et al., 2009). Generally, urban sprawl is understood as
an outcome of neoliberal policies, where the planning process
follows market trends and applies these to public benefit.
Consequently, areas with high rates of segregation, poor housing
solutions and slums emerge as part of the suburban landscape,
interspersed with random empty or undeveloped areas of economic speculation (Roshan et al., 2013; Sperandelli et al., 2013).
In South America, larger cities describe this pattern of sprawl with
minor variations. However, the Chilean case is particular due to its
successful housing outcomes defined by a long-standing policy of
subsidies and eradication of slums (Rodrguez and Sugranyes,
2004). This policy is part of an aggressive capitalist context where
the right to a house is another market niche supported by the State
and hosted by discontinuous expansions (Sabatini and Salcedo,
2007; Rodrguez and Rodrguez, 2013). Although the Chilean
model is highly criticised, developers and policy-makers accept it
as an inevitable outcome of increasing housing demands and population growth (Gross, 1991; Echeique, 2006).
In this context, the presence of physical discontinuity rests on a
large set of former infrastructural lands that nowadays are inside

37

the suburban landscape (Salazar, 2010). A study of the Chilean

Chamber of Construction detected the presence of several welllocated empty areas of over two hectares without physical restrictions and able to host a maximum of 150 inhabitants per hectare,
with well provided energy supply, services and consumption
power (C.Ch.C., 2012). These spaces are closed environments and
yet, because of the nature of their activities, their property regimes
are incompatible with co-existing residential surroundings (C.Ch.
C., 2012).
3. The case of the Cerrillos Airport as alternative to urban sprawl
Urban sprawl of Santiago de Chile contains several infrastructural lands but only one has been considered for a mega urban project to facilitate improvement of the suburban surrounding: The
Cerrillos Airport site is located in the Southern district of Cerrillos
just at the boundary of a peri-urban ring, demarcated by the presence of the Amrico Vespucio ring-road connecting peripheral
communes (Fig. 1).
The Cerrillos Airport was created in 1929 with a donation
from the Guggenheim Foundation to promote aeronautical
studies. It belonged to the Chilean Air Force and then became
the national airport. Originally its location was in the outer
reaches of Santiago and surrounded by open countryside.
However, because of the citys expansion and the incremental
demand for civilian flights in 1967 a civilian airport replaced
Cerrillos, where the latter started to be used by the military. Over
years, the area became underused and polluted (noise, oil and fuel
smell), while alongside the growth of the city made the land more
valuable. After attracting the interest of central authorities, in
2000 the area was to be revamped and authorities announced a
new way of making city as alternative to the conventional sprawl
(Del Piano, 2010).
4. Ciudad Parque Bicentenario (CPB) project
In 2001 the MINVU prioritised the importance of recovering the
area. After several negotiations with the Air Force, the MINVU
recognised the potential and positive impacts for its surroundings.
The total area would encompass 245 hectares and was proposed to
host 50 inhabitants per hectare within it, adding services and
transport infrastructure. By 2001 central authorities made an international call for ideas based on specific planning principles: high
construction standards, social integration, environmental sustainability, multi-functional land uses and flexible urban design as a
strategy for adapting the project to market trends. The idea was
to create a diverse and innovative environment in comparison to
the suburban tradition (Galilea, 2006). This announcement was
settled during a period where several international flagship projects were successful elsewhere, such as the Olympic Stadium
and the Biblao Guggenheim in Spain, Puerto Madero in Buenos
Aires, and the London-Eye in the UK. As a suitable icon to commemorate the bicentenary anniversary of the independence of
Chile the project was named as Ciudad Parque Bicentenario
(CPB) and was to be completed by 2010 (Del Piano, 2010). After
several studies, in 2002 the MINVU defined a general Master Plan
that included the financial and building construction models. The
plan was won by an international consortium and coordinated by
a Chilean office for completion by 2005. The proposal pointed to
the importance of connectivity improvements as the area had only
longitudinal roads and also secondary streets for connecting
nearby neighbourhoods. It also defined four spatial morphologies
aimed to provide social and spatial diversity and considered that
the State would make the small scale urbanisations and a central
park to attract real estate investments (Fig. 2).

38

C.A. Silva Lovera / Geoforum 67 (2015) 3640

Fig. 1. Santiago de Chile and the set of infrastructural undeveloped areas and open tracts. Also, the location of the airports, including the Cerrillos Airport into the Amrico
Vespucio ring-road (Authors map based on Echeique, 2006).

Fig. 2. The Master Plan of CPB (Memoria explicativa, Ciudad Parque Bicentenario Una nueva forma de hacer ciudad, MINVU, 2010).

The first reaction led by private companies emerged and the

Chilean Chamber of Construction labelled the initiative as an
unconstitutional understanding of the States role for delivering
subsidies, instead of making urban projects. The State was the

main landlord, delivering subsidies and defining the urban standards, while the private sector launched several legal claims. By
way of solution, the government decided to delay the project to
ensure that other nearby private investments were sold

C.A. Silva Lovera / Geoforum 67 (2015) 3640

(Libertad y Desarrollo Institute, 2004). Due to changes in the

presidential team, in 2004 the MINVU confirmed the importance
of the initiative and the airport was closed. At this stage, social
organizations expressed their disagreement and raised legal
objections, which again left the project in a stalemate for several
months (Eliash, 2006). However, these claims were rejected
because the presence of two closer airports is not allowed by
international regulations. Then there was extra pressure by the
Guggenheim Foundation, which argued that it donated the construction of the airport to promote aeronautical initiatives and
not urban development. This claim was rejected and the national
court decided that the urban project would go ahead as it was
within Chilean jurisprudence. Finally, the Service of Housing
and Urbanisation (SERVIU) acquired the lands and transformed
the area into public property.
The project now included a new goal: it should provide a minimum of a 30% of affordable housing to ensure social integration,
which made reference to additional controversies and tensions
between political empowerment and private interests. Moreover,
the financial evaluation had to consider high architectural standards and innovative urban designs, high quality public spaces
and renewal energy systems (Trivelli, 2006). The Air Force asked
for compensation to find a new area suitable for military practices,
signalling conflicting pressures. As such, its conception occurred at
different stages to capture the land appreciation over time
(Del Piano, 2010).
Although a special committee was appointed to supervise the
proposals, real estate firms assumed that the State will transfer
the land to them and they would provide building models targeted
to secure demands. The committee rejected the initial proposals

39

and defined a design guideline aiming to clarify social diversity

within homogenous architecture. This debate opened again the tension between creating massive housing projects for low-income
families in sprawling areas and the creation of a new multifunctional centre. Finally, the local Mayor of the municipality of
Cerrillos rejected the subdivisions of plots and new tensions
emerged into the public sector between central and local authorities. So, the Ministry halted the project again, evincing the lack of
political alignment.
In 2006 with Michelle Bachelet, further tensions arose.
Ultimately the Chilean Chamber of Construction reclaimed again
the role of the State as a developer gained momentum. Against this
backdrop the only accomplishment was a central park called
Parque Bicentenraio, which is a basic green area. The landing field
remains intact and the park is an isolated desert contrary to envisaged plans (Fig. 3). A new management team is charged with
accomplishing project goals, but is attempting a strategy of public
concessions of lands to secure political agreements.

5. Conclusions
Urban sprawl in South-America is an ongoing process supported by policies traditionally adjusted to promote outer expansions defined by housing demand. Considering its negative
impact of housing shortage attempted to revamp infrastructural
lands as the Chilean case illustrates and point to the difficulties
for changing land use. However, the suburban sprawl inertia
evinces the tensions regarding public and private forces as well
as local and central authorities. Finally, the case illustrates that

Fig. 3. The uncompleted public park named as Portal Bicentenario (Authors image, June 2014).

40

C.A. Silva Lovera / Geoforum 67 (2015) 3640

urban development is not only a matter of outer areas but also

recovering existing suburban gaps in the built fabric of city regions.
Considering the diversity of undeveloped tracts, these areas
deserve a closer inspection in the literature to aide understanding
of suburbanisation processes. These will then inform improvements in planning to incorporate policies and practices beyond traditional accommodation of population and employment growth in
the outward expansion of urban areas that is commonly coined as
urban sprawl.
Acknowledgments
This research has been supported by a PhD studentship from
the National Commission of Science and Technology CONICYT
Chile, and the Becas Chile Program, code 72110038. The aforementioned institution had no involvement in any research process
neither the preparation of this manuscript except by its financial
support.
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