Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Dirección General Mes del Barrio: Nelson Morales. General Directorate Month of the Neighborhood: Nelson Morales
Producción General Mes del Barrio: Daniela Aguirre. General Production Month of the Neighborhood: Daniela Aguirre.
Edición General: Alejandra Vio, Daniela Aguirre, Claudia Bustos, General Editing: Alejandra Vio, Daniela Aguirre, Claudia Bustos,
Nelson Morales, Lídice Varas. Nelson Morales, Lídice Varas.
Corrección y edición de textos: Cristina Varas, Ana María Campillo. Proofreading and editing of texts: Cristina Varas, Ana María Campillo
Fotografías: Archivo fotográfico Programa de Recuperación de Barrios. Photography: Neighborhood Recovery Program Photographic Archive
Diseño y dirección de arte: Camila Trivelli, Txomin Arrieta. Design and Art Direction: Cristina Trivelli, Txomin Arrieta
Diagramación: Francisca Yánez. Layout: Francisca Yáñez
Impresión: Gráfica Puerto Madero Printing: Gráfica Puerto Madero
Registro de Propiedad Intelectual: N° 188731 Registry of Intellectual Property: N° 188731
ISBN: 978-956-7674-18-3 ISBN: 978-956-7674-18-3
AGRADECIMIENTOS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
La siguiente publicación ha sido posible gracias al esfuer- The following publication has been possible thanks to the
zo, apoyo y colaboración de los profesionales que traba- effort, support and collaboration of the professionals who
jan en el Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo y a todos los work at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
vecinos y vecinas de nuestro país que cada día sueñan y and all the residents in our country that dream and work
trabajan por mejores barrios y ciudades. for better neighborhoods and cities every day.
Damos también un especial agradecimiento a aquellos We also give special thanks to those strategic partners
socios estratégicos sin los cuales ni esta publicación ni without whom neither this publication nor the diverse ac-
las diversas actividades que hemos desarrollado en estos tivities we have developed in these four years of imple-
cuatro años de implementación del Programa de Recupe- mentation of the Neighborhood Recovery Program would
ración de Barrios habrían sido posibles: have been possible:
Agencia Alemana de Cooperación (GTZ), Junta de Anda- German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Board of
lucía, Cities Alliance, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. Andalucía, Cities Alliance, Museum of Contemporary Art.
Agradecemos muy especialmente en este volumen In this volume we especially thank each and every one
a todos y cada uno de los expositores que partici- of the presenters who participated in the II International
paron en el II Foro Internacional de Recuperación Neighborhood Recovery Forum, who confirmed to us that,
de Barrios, quienes nos confirman que, a pesar de in spite of the different realities and distances, better
las diferentes realidades y las distancias, mejores neighborhoods and cities are a shared goal; to the pan-
barrios y ciudades son una meta compartida. A los elists from the various working tables, professional teams
panelistas de las diversas mesas de trabajo, a los and the public who enlivened the debate and reflection.
equipos profesionales y al público que animó el de-
bate y la reflexión.
4
PROGRAMA DE
RECUPERACIÓN
DE BARRIOS
II Foro Internacional
de Recuperación de Barrios
5
ÍNDICE / INDEX
Apertura / Opening 16
Charla Inaugural: Manuel Antonio Garretón. Transformaciones culturales y sociales, camino al bicentenario.
Master class: Manuel Antonio Garretón. Cultural and social transformation, road to bicentenary. 28
Luis Eduardo Bresciani. La experiencia chilena en la construcción de políticas de ciudad e inclusión social.
Luis Eduardo Bresciani. The Chilean Experience in the Building of City Policies and Social Inclusion and Social Inclusion. 74
Panel 2: Regeneración urbana a escala barrial / Urban Regeneration at the Neighborhood Scale 108
Michael Peterek. Cinco principios de planificación para el desarrollo de distritos urbanos exitosos:
ejemplos recientes de Alemania.
Michael Peterek. Five Planning Principles for Successful Urban District Development:
Recent examples from Germany. 112
Alberto Paranhos. Lecciones aprendidas y desafíos para la región: la experiencia del trabajo del Programa Onu - Habitat
Alberto Paranhos. Lessons Learned and Challenges for the Region: Working Experience of the UN - Habitat Program 160
Regeneración urbana a escala barrial en Europa y América Latina: semejanzas y desafíos comunes.
Urban Regeneration at Neighborhood Level in Europe and Latin America: Similarities and Common Challenges 214
Cierre / Closing
Discurso de cierre: Paulina Saball, Subsecretaria de Vivienda y Urbanismo
Closing remarks: Paulina Saball, Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development. 226
PRESENTACIÓN II FORO INTERNACIONAL
DE RECUPERACIÓN DE BARRIOS
8
PRESENTATION II INTERNATIONAL
NEIGHBORHOOD RECOVERY FORUM
9
y aprendizaje colectivo, e instalar un cuerpo de conocimientos que per-
mitieran el desarrollo de mejores políticas de recuperación y de ciudad.
10
In effect, the idea was to make this II Forum a space for exchange of experi-
ences so as to contribute to the national debate on neighborhood recovery. The
objective, then, was centered on debating and sharing visions, from the city and
the citizens on neighborhood recovery, creating an opportunity to look at, from
city policy and social policy, advancements and challenges in the implementa-
tion of a permanent policy for recovery.
This II International Forum focused its efforts on responding to four concerns that
are part of the issues that will permit progress in the constitution of the general
framework of innovative territorial intervention, like the recovery of neighborhoods.
In the first place the discussion centered on “The Challenge of Social Inclusion
in the Territory”. From the finding that transformations associated with a new
economic, social, political and cultural order and the growth of the urban popu-
lation have determined significant socio-territorial consequences as regards
social inclusion in cities, the challenge was presented of how to build city “for”
and “with” the citizens, and what is the place for urban policies in the achieve-
ment of greater inclusion in the territorial field.
11
pecto, se planteó la idea de que la planificación urbana debe constituir
una respuesta a los contextos sociales, políticos, culturales, económicos
e ideológicos, y que, según ello, dicha planificación debe apuntar a la
transformación del territorio, con una visión de desarrollo clara que re-
coja las expectativas de los ciudadanos. En consecuencia, en el marco
de la política urbana, la planificación debe plantearse nuevos desafíos
que apunten no sólo a la regulación del territorio, sino también a la bús-
queda de un desarrollo urbano, en función de una ciudad-sociedad de-
seada, construida democráticamente y que estimule la equidad social.
12
Thirdly, the issue of principles to advance “Towards a Cities Policy with the
Citizens” was discussed. If the city, from the Greek polis, is understood as the
space where the citizens take decisions and live in community, then, this must
be a space for heterogeneous meeting, where the sum of individuals constitute
a group in which citizens are expressed as more than “users” of the city. The
challenge was to understand how, from the tensions peculiar to the city, urban
conflict is transformed into an opportunity in the construction of this, containing
the importance of going from the field of housing and the neighborhood to the
city scale, with an approach based on the construction and collective transfor-
mation of the territory.
13
dos y resume la reflexión y el debate realizado en el marco del II Foro
Internacional de Recuperación de Barrios, contribuya a la mejor com-
prensión de los desafíos que para la política de las ciudades supone
la incorporación del ámbito barrial –como foco de intervención, pero
también como activo de la construcción– al desarrollo de ciudades más
inclusivas y democráticas.
14
15
APERTURA
OPENING
16
“¿Por qué poner los barrios en el centro de nuestra gestión de ciudades? Porque
los barrios son el lugar donde mejor se ve reflejado el quehacer de una comunidad.
Los barrios son el centro de la vida urbana, el origen de la identidad propia, el lugar
donde nos sentimos seguros y estamos junto a nuestras familias”.
“Why put neighborhoods at the heart of our city management? Because neighbor-
hoods are where a community’s task is best reflected. Neighborhoods are the center
of urban life, the origin of its own identity, the place where we feel safe and we are
together with our families.”
The main objective of the II International Neihhborhood Recovery Forum was to con-
tribute to public discussion on the relationship between neighborhood regeneration
processes and the building of an inclusive and democratic city.
17
DISCURSO DE APERTURA
Patricia Poblete
Muy buenos días a todos. Es un gusto y un honor para mí, como Minis-
Patricia Poblete Bennett
tra de Vivienda y Urbanismo, inaugurar este II Foro Internacional sobre
Ministra de Vivienda y Urbanismo de Chile desde
Recuperación de Barrios. En muchos ministerios de vivienda de países
el año 2006. Se ha especializado en dirección y
como el nuestro, existe una presión diaria por dar soluciones habita-
gestión estratégica, y posee amplia experiencia
cionales a familias que no tienen vivienda y que viven en situación de
en el manejo de conflictos y negociaciones con pobreza y vulnerabilidad extrema. En Chile la situación no ha sido di-
parlamentarios, dirigentes sindicales, comunidad, ferente, y por ello la primera prioridad que hemos tenido al retorno de
autoridades políticas y económicas. Participó en la democracia fue hacernos cargo del déficit habitacional. Millones de
la Administración de Gobiernos Comunales en la chilenos vivían en condiciones de “allegamiento”, en casas de parien-
Municipalidad de Santiago, entre 1990 y 2000. tes o en campamentos que carecían de las más mínimas condiciones
Posteriormente, asumió la Dirección Ejecutiva sanitarias. Yo creo que, en ese momento, la urgencia nos hizo poner el
de Fundación INTEGRA, donde impulsó cambios acento en la cantidad. Con esa realidad muy presente desde el año 1990
que la posicionaron como una institución líder en
hasta hoy, hemos entregado dos millones de viviendas a las familias
educación parvularia.
más vulnerables en Chile. Son dos millones de familias que a través de
los subsidios han accedido a este sueño de la casa propia.
18
OPENING SPEECH
Patricia Poblete
Good morning to all. It’s a pleasure and an honor for me, as Minister of Hous- Patricia Poblete Bennett
ing and Urban Development, to inaugurate this second International Forum on Minister of Housing and Urban Development
Neighborhood Recovery. Many housing ministries in countries like ours are un- of Chile since 2006. She has specialized in
der daily pressure to provide housing solutions for families that do not have a leadership and strategic management, and has
home and live in situations of extreme poverty and vulnerability. The situation wide experience in conflict management and
in Chile is not any different which is why our first priority, after the return to negotiations with parliamentarians, union leaders,
democracy, was to take charge of the housing deficit. Millions of Chileans were
community, political and economic authorities.
living as non-paying lodgers or “allegados” at relatives’ homes or as squatters
She participated in the Administration of Munici-
in camps that were lacking basic sanitary conditions. I believe that at the time,
pal Governments in the Municipality of Santiago
the urgency made us focus on quantity. And with this in mind, since 1990 to
between 1990 and 2000. Afterwards, she took
date, we have provided two million houses for the most vulnerable families in
office as Executive Director of the INTEGRA
Chile; two million families that have, with state subsidies, fulfilled their dream
of owning their own home. Foundation, where she promoted changes which
After this enormous triumph over the housing deficit, we have moved on to
the next stage: the construction of integrated neighborhoods to make more
efficient cities. I always say that at the beginning of this government, when
President Bachelet asked me to be Minister of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment, we talked and realized that what had to be done was to add quality
and social integration to the notion of quantity. If we didn’t do this, we were
19
dades eficientes. Yo siempre digo que cuando al inicio del gobierno, la
Presidenta me pidió que fuera ministra de esta cartera, conversamos
y nos dimos cuenta que había que agregar al eje de la cantidad, el eje
de la calidad y la integración social. Si no lo hacíamos, estábamos per-
diendo una oportunidad histórica que era la recuperación de los barrios
y las ciudades en Chile. Los barrios no sólo son viviendas. Son mucho
más que viviendas, infraestructura y servicio. El barrio es un lugar de
encuentro y de reunión donde los vecinos y vecinas comparten su vida
diariamente. Allí es donde los chilenos ejercemos el rol ciudadano, allí
es donde nos encontramos, por eso tenemos derecho a vivir en barrios
seguros, iluminados, con áreas verdes, espacios públicos para la vida
al aire libre y para poder ejercer esa vida de barrio. Queremos que cada
chileno y chilena quiera su barrio, que lo viva y que lo cuide.
20
losing a historical opportunity to recover the neighborhoods and cities of Chile.
Neighborhoods are not just rows of houses. They are much more than houses,
infrastructure and services. The neighborhood is a meeting place where neigh-
bors share their daily life. This is where we Chileans exercise our role as citizen,
where we meet, and why we have the right to live in neighborhoods that are
safe, with good lighting, green surroundings, public areas for outdoor activities,
and be able to live a neighborhood life. We want every Chilean man and woman
to love his or her neighborhood, to enjoy it and take care of it.
As the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, our task is to generate the
necessary instruments for this reality to happen and to favor integration with
urban centers. To this end, we have implemented a series of programs that
intend to revaluate, recuperate and protect our neighborhoods. One of them is
this much-appreciated Neighborhood Recovery Program “I Love my Neighbor-
hood”, with which we want to recover neighborhoods that have deteriorated
and to generate the conditions that will also unite neighbors.
This raises a key question: why place neighborhoods in the middle of our cities?
I’d say because neighborhoods are the place that best reflects a community’s
activities and life. Neighborhoods are the center of urban life, the origin of our
identity, the place where we feel safe, where we live together with our families.
As someone said, a neighborhood is like having our own “little country”; a place
that is close to our hearts, the safest of all places. What I’m saying is that this
demonstrates the seal of social protection that President Michelle Bachelet has
wanted to promote in this government. That is why we are working on building
better neighborhoods, better houses, better cities. And to do so, we are im-
proving all public policies in existence to this end, adding on different points of
view of what makes up a city, to make them much more integrating. And I feel
that we are on the road set out by President Bachelet when this government
started, when she said we want cities that are more beautiful, friendlier and
more equal.
I believe that the Ministry of Housing has placed all of its energy and efforts
in this Neighborhood Recovery Program. It has recovered 200 neighborhoods
across the country and worked with half a million neighbors, in more than 80
communes, in all 15 regions of the country. Not only does this entail the pres-
ence of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development but other State serv-
ices as well, and the cooperation of private actors and international agencies
such as those accompanying us today, who took a chance on us in this task.
After working three years at the neighborhood level, I am proud to say that, one
way or another, we are accomplishing the goals we set out to fulfill.
21
Programa ha significado la recuperación de 200 barrios en todo el te-
rritorio nacional y está trabajando con una población de medio millón
de vecinos y vecinas, en más de 80 comunas, en las 15 regiones de
este país. Esto considera la presencia en terreno no sólo del Ministerio
de Vivienda y Urbanismo, sino también de otros servicios del Estado
y la colaboración de actores privados y de agencias internacionales
como las que hoy día nos acompañan, que han hecho una apuesta con
nosotros en esta tarea. Después de tres años de este trabajo a escala
barrial, me enorgullece decir que de alguna manera estamos cumplien-
do los objetivos que nos hemos planteado.
El Programa “Quiero mi Barrio” ejemplifica muy bien la construcción de
entornos con calidad de vida, donde la integración social y la partici-
pación ciudadana son claves. Estamos avanzando y logrando que los
barrios deteriorados en Chile ahora sean más dignos, más bonitos, más
eficientes y, sobre todo, que empiecen a ser también un orgullo para las
familias que los habitan. Las familias se empezaron a reencantar con
sus barrios, y yo creo que en este tremendo trabajo lo importante es
que no ha sido para la gente, sino que ha sido codo a codo con la gente
y ese es el valor de este Programa. Son los vecinos y las vecinas quie-
nes han reconocido cuáles son los cambios que ellos quieren para su
barrio, cuáles son las obras más emblemáticas que los identifican, y por
eso digo que lo hemos hecho con ellos. Cuando uno hace una recupe-
ración de barrio o hace una recuperación para mejorar las ciudades, si
los vecinos que la habitan no juegan el rol primordial, esas obras o esos
cambios no tienen ningún sentido. Son más de cuatro mil vecinos los que
participan activamente en los casi 200 Consejos Vecinales de Desarro-
llo, promoviendo la acción comunitaria y la coordinación con los actores
institucionales, particularmente con el gobierno local y central.
El Programa nos desafió a innovar en una forma distinta de hacer po-
líticas públicas. Es así como por primera vez, junto con invertir en las
obras físicas, el Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo se atrevió a traba-
jar en el fortalecimiento del tejido social, experiencia que no teníamos y
que ha sido difícil, enriquecedora y, por cierto, un aprendizaje extraor-
dinario. Así es como hemos creado espacios privilegiados para la ex-
presión de la convivencia ciudadana y el desarrollo de una ciudad más
democrática y más inclusiva. Logramos modernizar la política urbana,
logramos llenarla con otros componentes. Por eso estamos en este for-
talecimiento de la legislación, incorporando variables ambientales y de
integración social en los instrumentos de planificación territorial.
22
The “I Love my Neighborhood” Program is a very good example of construct-
ing surroundings that offer quality of life, where social integration and citizen
participation have been crucial. We are progressing and making it possible for
deteriorated neighborhoods in Chile to become more dignified, more efficient,
and much nicer, but above all, they are starting to become a source of pride for
the families living in them. Families are becoming enchanted once again with
their neighborhoods and I believe that what has been important of this tremen-
dous work is that it hasn’t been for the people, but rather working with the
people, shoulder to shoulder, this is where the true value of the Program lies. It
has been the neighbors, both men and women, who have identified the changes
they want for their neighborhood, which emblematic works they identify with,
which is why I say we have done it together. When a neighborhood is being
recovered or a recovery is undertaken to improve a city, the changes that are
made are senseless if the neighbors that live in the neighborhood do not play
a vital and central role. More than 4,000 neighbors actively participated in the
almost 200 Neighborhood Development Councils, promoting community action
and institutional cooperation, especially with local and central government.
Today, we are firmly working in neighborhoods across the country. Each neigh-
borhood has a community that designs and makes decisions, being the main
actor of its own development and its own history. In each one of these neighbor-
hoods we see a different story of transformation, a positive change, from the
initial mistrust to a final reencounter: first, the neighbors with their history, then,
amongst themselves and, why not admit it? They also become reenchanted with
the State, start building up trust and creating networks, between you and us.
I believe all of this produces visible results. Not long ago, and also within the
scope of the Month of the Neighborhood, during the Seminar on Best Practices,
we saw how neighbors themselves presented their accomplishments and experi-
ences of the process of recuperating their neighborhoods.
23
En la actualidad, estamos trabajando decididamente en los barrios del
país y en cada uno de ellos existen comunidades que diseñan, deciden
y se convierten en protagonistas de su propio desarrollo y de su propia
historia. En cada uno de estos lugares vemos una historia distinta de
transformación, un cambio positivo, desde la desconfianza inicial que
se sentía, al reencuentro, primero de los vecinos con su historia, luego
entre ellos y, ¿por qué no decirlo? hasta reencantarse con el Estado y
empezar a crear las confianzas y las redes entre nosotros y ustedes. Y
creo que esto da frutos visibles. Recientemente, también en el marco
del Mes del Barrio, en el Seminario de Buenas Prácticas, vimos cómo
los propios vecinos presentaron sus logros y aprendizajes en el proceso
de recuperación iniciado en sus barrios.
24
It has been a beautiful experience and we’ve realized how important the lead-
ership and joint work between neighbors and technicians have been to imple-
ment these projects in common. I believe that every neighbor wanted his or her
project to win, not because they wanted to win individually as a neighborhood,
but because they wanted other neighborhoods to imitate this experience. They
also showed us how physical works only make sense when neighbors work on
them and make use of them by taking over public areas. Every time I inaugu-
rate a neighborhood, I tell the neighbors: “Take over your parks, take over your
neighborhoods, don’t let others take over areas that belong to you”, and they
look at me as if they’re saying: “This minister is a bit revolutionary”. Yes, you
have to take over your neighborhoods and make them your own, you have to
take over the parks and public areas that are yours; it’s the place where we go
to share and meet with others, it’s not a place we are going to allow others
to invade. It’s where we’re going to spend time, in the street, enjoying the
neighborhood life we all used to enjoy in some way or other, it’s about going
out, saying hello to neighbors, spending time together, and even sharing things
with each other.
We have talked with neighbors and we know that 90% of them like the place
where they live, and more than 85% also considers it his or her responsibility
to improve their surroundings. These figures let us know there is trust among
neighbors; in my opinion, that’s a major triumph, the fact that neighbors get
together, many times to fight with us, to get organized, to discuss and fight for
their space. But it is also a triumph that they feel responsible for their surround-
ings, and what is more important, that they love their neighborhood. This is
when the word neighborhood makes sense. The neighborhood has turned into
a place where, beyond its streets and houses, there’s a history that motivates
us to live in a community. We’ve placed every effort into the work of neighbor-
hoods because it is here where one learns how to be a citizen, where one learns
to trust, to become responsible, and one learns, above all, to share.
Having better neighborhoods is the first step to having better cities; efficient,
sustainable, safe and nice cities, with green areas and quality facilities. Certainly,
we still need to advance much more. We will continue to work towards narrow-
ing the gap of inequality, so that there are no second-class citizens and everyone
may have access to public areas and quality facilities. I always say this because
it upsets me terribly that in this same city there are neighborhoods with 25 square
meters of public green areas per person, while other neighborhoods don’t even
have half a square meter of green area for every person. It’s a tremendous injus-
tice and this is what we are trying to revert by recovering neighborhoods.
25
adquiere sentido. El barrio se ha convertido en ese lugar donde más
allá de sus calles y sus casas, existe una historia que nos motiva a vivir
en comunidad. Le hemos puesto esfuerzo al trabajo de barrio, porque
es en este lugar donde se aprende a ser ciudadano, donde se aprende
a confiar, se aprende a ser responsable, y se aprende, sobre todo, a
compartir.
Muchas gracias.
26
I believe that we will continue debating and sharing in this II International Fo-
rum, enriching ourselves with other points of view on social and urban policy,
exchanging experiences that lead to discussion and contribute to the develop-
ment of better neighborhood polices. This is what we have invited you to, and
also to participate in the creation of this new public policy on recovering neigh-
borhoods. We’ve dedicated an entire month to the neighborhood, precisely to
install it as public policy and ensure that it be included forever in the upcoming
budget law, and that it not be left up to a government, or a minister, to define
what is to be done in neighborhoods. We want it to become State policy, and
that the people themselves determine how and which neighborhoods will be
incorporated and recuperated in Chile.
Thank you.
27
TRANSFORMACIONES CULTURALES
Y SOCIALES, CAMINO AL BICENTENARIO
Manuel Antonio Garretón M. Es evidente que en estos 20 años posteriores a la dictadura, y los es-
Sociólogo Licenciado en la Pontificia Universidad tudios censales así lo demuestran, el país ha cambiado muy profunda-
Católica de Chile y Doctorado en l’École des mente. El bienestar de la población ha aumentado enormemente, y el
Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, París; Premio acceso a la vivienda de los sectores populares ha mejorado sustancial-
Nacional de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales mente. El país ha tenido un avance significativo en su capital cultural. El
(2007). Ha Sido Director y Decano de diversas dato que se conoce es que sólo el siete por ciento de los que estudian
instituciones académicas y Pofesor Invitado en en la universidad tiene padres profesionales universitarios, por lo tan-
universidades de Europa, América Latina y Estados
to, la movilidad que se ha producido, al menos en esta dimensión, es
Unidos. Actualmente es Profesor Titular del Depar-
fundamental. La disminución de la pobreza es un dato irrebatible, pues
tenemos hoy una pobreza del 13 por ciento y una indigencia del cinco
tamento de Sociología de la Universidad de Chile.
por ciento.
Participa activamente en el debate intelectual
socio-político en Chile y América Latina. Autor de Por otra parte, el ingreso de la mujer al mercado laboral es, probable-
más de cuarenta libros, entre autoría, coautoría, mente, una de las transformaciones más importantes realizadas en Chi-
ediciones, compilaciones y más de doscientos le: cerca de un 30 por ciento de los hogares tiene una mujer como jefa
artículos en revistas, traducidos a varias lenguas. de hogar. Sin embargo, el porcentaje de ingreso de la mujer al mercado
El más reciente “Del post-pinochetismo a la laboral sigue siendo muy bajo en relación a otros países de América
sociedad democrática. Política y globalización en
Latina.
el Bicentenario” A su vez, en la economía se percibe un aumento del sector servicios,
de los trabajadores por cuenta propia y de una cierta informalización,
lo que no siempre significa empobrecimiento. Pero en otros casos, la
informalización del trabajo sí implica la mantención de la desigualdad, y
si bien se ha reducido la pobreza, se puede decir que ha aumentado la
equidad, pero no ha mejorado la igualdad.
28
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS,
ROAD TO THE BICENTENARY
It is evident that in these 20 years since the dictatorship, and census studies Manuel Antonio Garreton M.
thus prove, the country has changed quite profoundly. The welfare of the popu- Sociologist, Bachelor in Sociology at Pontificia
lation has increased enormously and access to housing in the popular sectors Universidad Católica of Chile and PHD in Social
has improved substantially. The country has made significant advancement in Sciences at l’École des Hautes Études, Paris;
its cultural capital. Known data is that only seven percent of those studying in National Award in Humanities and Social Sciences
university have parents who are university trained professionals consequently, (2007). He has served as Director and Dean of
the mobility that it has produced, at least in this dimension, is fundamental. The various academic institutions and been Guest
reduction of poverty is an irrefutable fact, since today we have a poverty rate of Professor at Universities in Europe, Latin America
13 percent and an absolute poverty rate of five percent. and the United States.
women entering the labor market continues to be very low in comparison to in Chile and Latin America. Author of over
The final data that I deem essential to point out is the radical transformation of
the family reality, and that means that we can no longer speak of “the family”.
29
las vidas personales, la desigualdad destruye las vidas de países o de
agrupamientos colectivos.
30
When some say that we must strengthen the family as the basic unit of society,
one wonders “which family?” The friends of my children have al least four fami-
lies that is the central fact, many things that the family previously did, are done
today by “the families” to which the different persons belong.
The first of them is what Minister Patricia Poblete pointed out a while ago to
which deeper meaning must be given: the segmentation or fragmentation of the
society.
At the purely individual level – I will dwell on this point at this moment -, if
I have two or three families, what I have is a very segmented reality, where
parenthood and married life, for example, do not coincide, or coincide for some
and not for others.
This fragmentation occurs in any institution, for example, the University: From
eight universities which Chile had during the pre-dictatorship era, today there
exists something like 60, between traditional universities and many private ones
which without being entirely “universities”, have equalized access. Neverthe-
less, having a great opportunity in it, this is an absolutely segmented system,
which makes, for example, external social players have very different interests.
Some 30 years ago, one was able to speak about the student movement and
was able to say “the interests of students are these”. But today, the interests of
students from private universities are conflicting with the interests of the public
universities, and everything said to the contrary is pure rhetoric. Clearly, to give 1. Categorization according to income.
Each decile corresponds to 10% of
funding or grants to private universities means fortifying them in some way to national households sorted in ascen-
the detriment of the public university. Then, if it is that they are good leaders, ding order according to independent
household per capita income.
students from public universities are going to oppose loans or other benefits for
private universities.
What I mean to say is that we can examine each one of the categories, each of
the institutions in society and find these segmentation processes. For example,
one of the things that draw attention when analyzing the distribution of income
- beyond the huge difference between the rich and the poor, is the difference
within a certain decile1, in which we find a huge difference, that is, we have
advanced in all the points previously indicated, yet we are witnessing a more
segmented society.
31
Lo que quiero decir es que podemos examinar cada una de las cate-
gorías, cada una de las instituciones de la sociedad, y encontrar estos
procesos de segmentación. Por ejemplo, una de las cosas que llama la
atención cuando se analiza la distribución de ingresos, –más allá de la
1. Categorización a según ingresos. Cada
enorme diferencia entre ricos y pobres–, es la diferencia al interior de
decil corresponde al 10 por ciento de un determinado decil1, en el que encontramos un distanciamiento gran-
los hogares nacionales ordenados en
forma ascendente de acuerdo al ingre-
de, o sea, hemos avanzado en todos los puntos que señalamos anterior-
so percápita autónomo del hogar. mente, pero estamos en presencia de una sociedad más segmentada.
Esto tiene que ver con una segunda característica, que es lo que podría-
mos llamar la descategorización. Antes, uno podía analizar la sociedad
chilena, incluida la época de la dictadura militar, en términos de cate-
gorías sociales, y obviamente la categoría preferencial para analizarla
–porque este país era así–, era la categoría de clase. Entonces, podía-
mos distinguir lo que era “clase obrera”, “clase media”, los segmentos
al interior de ella, y las pautas de conducta de los individuos/as. Esas
pautas provenían de la pertenencia a categorías, ya fueran ocupacio-
nales o territoriales, y las más importantes eran las ocupacionales y las
económicas; y las categorías de clase o ideológicas: ser de izquierda,
de derecha, de centro; todo ello implicaba determinadas pautas valóri-
cas, de conducta, etc.
32
This has to do with a second characteristic, which is what we might call reclas-
sification. Previously, one was able to analyze the Chilean society, including the
era of the military dictatorship, in terms of social categories, and obviously the
preferential category for analysis- because the country was like that-, was the
class category. Next, we were able to distinguish what was “working class”,
“middle class”, the segments within it and the patterns of behavior of the in-
dividuals. These patterns originated from the membership categories, whether
occupational or territorial, and the most important were occupational and eco-
nomic; and class or ideological categories: to be left, right, center; it all implied
certain patterns of values, behavior, etc.
Now, if the principal survey in Chile says that 80 percent belongs to the middle
class, what it is saying is that there is no middle class, because it is middle
class between what other categories? What is below and what is above? So
then, when it is said what we can have today, is people in between and call
that “middle class” is frankly an absolute ignorance. What happens then is that
obviously we sell that idea. But most importantly is the sociological disappear-
ance of the middle class in Chile whose dream was “the big station wagon” for
streets that do not fit, or to go on vacations in Cancun.
There are two ways to look at individualization. One is positive, that is, the
individual exists only in relationship to the others, and to exist, he or she rec-
ognizes another who also wants to exist. The other is negative, and in this on
reclassification leads to a process of individualization in which the individual
is strictly a center of needs and interests in which “the other” is a problem.
My impression is that in individualization processes, today, there is a predomi-
33
desaparecimiento sociológico de la clase media en Chile cuyo sueño
era “la gran camioneta” para calles en las cuales no caben, o irse de
vacaciones a Cancún.
2. Una de las principales empresas de te- Ejemplo de esto es la propaganda de Telefónica2, en la que dice, fun-
lecomunicaciones de Chile, que en el damentalmente, “yo soy libre y mi libertad consiste en comunicarme
país cuenta con más de tres millones
de accesos a sus multiservicios. cuando quiero”, entonces si me llama alguien que está necesitado no
lo tomo en cuenta, porque quiero comunicarme sólo con quienes yo
quiero.
El último tema antes de hacer una reflexión más política, es que todos
estos procesos de individualización, categorización, segmentación y
mediatización de las relaciones, tienen su expresión en la ciudadanía.
34
nance of this latter type. We call it “non-subjective individualization”, not sub-
ject but selfish, and is a question of seeing the advertising, the publicity which
is what defines the contents, television programs, which are basically an ap-
peal to selfishness.
An example of this is Telefonica’s2 advertisement, in which it says, fundamen- 2. One of the principal telecommunica-
tions companies of Chile, which has
tally, “I am free and my freedom is to communicate when I want”, so then if over 3 million customer accesses to its
someone calls me that is in need I do not take him into account because I want multi-services.
to communicate only with whom I want.
The final theme before making a more political reflection, is that all these proc-
esses of individualization, classification, segmentation and mediatization of
relations, have their expression in the citizenship. It is a question of looking at
Santiago and realizing how many cities – have ghettos within them. And per-
haps the most important from the Program was not having made investments to
develop those neighborhoods, but to have given a sense of neighborhood which
had been destroyed, because the surveyors, according to what they indicated,
had to pass through five grilles to reach to persons that they had to interview
and when there are grilles there are no relations.
It means, then, that the sense of neighborhood is precisely the idea of repairing
a relationship, but where the problem remains pending is of one relationship
with the other, the cities. The fundamental theme of the XXI century will be the
rebuilding of cities as places not only of life and work, but as places where the
citizens are capable of taking decisions and that is a topic on which we are still
extremely far off, because another of the things that has not changed in Chile is
the institutional structure of the regional and local governments.
35
Es cuestión de mirar Santiago y darse cuenta de cuántas ciudades-
guetos hay dentro de ella. Y quizás lo más importante del Programa
no es haber hecho inversiones para desarrollar los barrios, sino haber
emitido una idea de barrio, que se había destruido, porque los encues-
tadores, según me señalaban, tenían que atravesar cinco rejas hasta
llegar a las personas que tenían que entrevistar y cuando hay rejas no
hay relaciones.
36
REFLECTIONS ON THE POLITICAL CORRELATION
OF THESE TRANSFORMATIONS
For example, the detachment and the reconstructions inside the political blocks
these last 20 years are sign of the end of the cycle, characterized by the exist-
ence of two huge untouchable blocks, with a great injustice towards the third
sector that was excluded.
37
democrático propiamente tal, tiene una situación democrática, tiene
elementos democráticos, pero se trata de un país cuya institucionalidad
completa es la herencia de una dictadura que consagra fundamental-
mente un empate político entre los que estaban a favor de la dictadu-
ra y los que estaban en contra. Pero sólo algunos de los que estaban
contra, porque otros quedan fuera. Y ese empate político consagrado
por el sistema electoral se repite en todas las grandes instituciones,
en la Corte Suprema, en el poder judicial, porque a sus miembros los
tiene que nombrar el Senado y el Senado está “mitad y mitad”, debido
al empate político.
Quiero dar un solo ejemplo, que sé que molesta, pero no me digan que
podemos llamar ejemplar a una democracia en la cual la Presidenta
de la República, hija de un general asesinado, ella misma torturada en
dictadura, tiene que nombrar a un juez que está de acuerdo con las
torturas, con las violaciones a los derechos humanos. Porque el empate
político consagra que hoy, haya que nombrar a un juez representante
de los intereses de la dictadura, y a un juez de los sectores democráti-
cos. Entonces, primer elemento: tenemos todavía una institucionalidad
heredada y, por lo tanto, una democracia incompleta.
3. Organización para la Cooperación y el El segundo pendiente es el tema del modelo económico. Nuestro ac-
Desarrollo Económicos.
tual modelo fue construido –como dice la OCDE3 en relación al sistema
educacional– para generar y reproducir desigualdades. De igual modo,
nuestro modelo económico es exactamente esto, hecho para generar
desigualdades.
De modo que, la apertura a una nueva época –un nuevo ciclo–, pasa
por dos cuestiones fundamentales: por un lado, una nueva instituciona-
lidad, y eso, guste o no guste, se llama nueva Constitución. Porque es
38
On the one hand, institutionality, which continues being the institutionality in-
herited from the dictatorship. Chile is not a country which has its own demo-
cratic regime as such, it has a democratic situation, it has democratic elements,
but it is a country whose complete institutionality is the legacy from a dicta-
torship which basically establishes a political stalemate between those who
were in favor of the dictatorship and those who were against. But only some of
those who were against since others are excluded. And that political stalemate
established by the electoral system is repeated in all major institutions, in the
Supreme Court, in the Judiciary, because they have to appoint the Senate and
the Senate is “half and half”, due to the political stalemate.
I wish to give just one example, which I know is troubling, but do not tell me
that we can be called a model of democracy in which the President of the
Republic, daughter of an assassinated General, herself tortured during the
dictatorship, has to appoint a judge that is in agreement with the tortures,
violations of human rights. Because the political stalemate establishes that
today a judge representing the interests of the dictatorship must be appoint-
ed along with a judge from democratic sectors. So then, first element: we
still have an inherited institutionality and as a consequence, an incomplete
democracy.
The second angle is the topic of economic model. Our present model was built 3. Organisation for Economic Coopera-
– as the OECD3 states in relation to the educational system- to generate and tion and Development
reproduce inequalities. Similarly, our economic model is exactly this, made to
generate inequalities.
With these two angles, the cycle has not been closed as such, but it would
seem to be that the players are exhausted and that the ideas and capabilities
to take the leap, or for a new project, are still contained.
So, opening to a new era – a new cycle- passes through two fundamental is-
sues: on the one hand, a new institutionality, and that, like it or not, is called a
new Constitution. It is a historic crime, - figuratively speaking -, to have called
the Constitutional Reform of 2005, Constitution of the XXI Century or Constitu-
tion 2005. It is a good reform, important, but totally inadequate, and note care-
fully, here is the crucial point: Why is it that all other countries that came out of
39
un crimen histórico, en sentido figurado, haber llamado, a la Reforma
Constitucional del año 2005, Constitución del siglo XXI, o Constitución
2005. Es una buena reforma, importante, pero totalmente insuficiente,
y fíjense bien, aquí hay un punto crucial: ¿por qué en todos los otros
países que salieron de una dictadura, ha habido asambleas constitu-
yentes?, porque el problema que se plantea con los procesos de globa-
lización es que desestructuraron a los países.
40
a dictatorship, has had constitutional assemblies? Because the problem that is
posed with globalization processes is that they destructured countries.
With the military dictatorships and the transition to democracies, what hap-
pened is that the problem of reconstruction of relations between State and
Society remains present. That is to say, the challenge of rebuilding the na-
tional community. But the problem posed in Latin American society today, is
the rebuilding of the national community. This requires, first, to make an ethic
community. In the Chilean case, perhaps the central ethical element is Human
Rights – because it was what divided and destroyed relations in the country-, in
other countries it may be the indigenous or ethnic principle, or in others it may
be the principle of equality.
The rebuilding of a country, the rebuilding of relations between State and So-
ciety, means not only an ethical principle but also a political principle, namely,
establishing a political community. And for that, its base element may be a Con-
stitution. The reconstruction of relations between State and Society in a coun-
try implies establishing a socio-economic community, which in turn requires,
basically, the resolution of the problem of inequality.
This is then the task of the new cycle, the building of an ethical, political and
economic community. And here is where the question is presented that, in my
opinion, is interesting, which is the theme of this International Forum particu-
larly the Neighborhood Recovery Program. Because what you do is a process of
rebuilding of a community at the local level. My greatest concern is the relation
between the “micro” and the “macro” – we are no longer going to speak of
abstract and concrete- but how that reconstruction of the local community does
not end there; how reconstruction of the local community is linked with these
tasks of rebuilding institutionality, the socio-economic model and the role of the
State in the Bicentenary society.
41
Una cosa interesante en este proceso de recuperación de barrios, es
que hay al menos un elemento institucional nuevo. No se trata sólo de
la interrelación que se produce entre las agencias estatales y el muni-
cipio, sino de los Consejos Vecinales de Desarrollo. Mi pregunta es si
los Consejos Vecinales debieran ser voluntarios –que en algunas partes
existen y en otras partes no– o debieran ser obligatorios, y cuando digo
obligatorios quiero decir institucionalizados. El problema que tiene este
país, es que no tiene una ley de participación, como tuvo Bolivia, por
ejemplo. Entonces, estas instancias pueden desaparecer, puesto que
la tarea de un Consejo Vecinal es sólo discutir los temas que tienen que
ver con el barrio.
42
Is it possible to link the task of rebuilding the local community – fundamental
issue because if there is no wider society, there is no country - to the task of
rebuilding the national community today, in the Bicentenary era?
That is, in my opinion, the fundamental issue. It is not enough to think the
neighborhood. It is indispensable to think how that helps the reconstruction of
the policy, the reconstruction of the polis, and the polis is our country. That is
the great challenge, the great assignment that we have ahead.
43
PANEL 1
44
Políticas
de inclusión social
¿De qué manera se concibe una ciudad inclusiva? ¿Cuáles deben ser los elementos
estratégicos de una política de inclusión social? ¿En qué aportan las políticas urba-
nas al sentido de inclusión social en el territorio?
Estas son las preguntas que guiaron el debate sobre políticas públicas para la con-
strucción de ciudades más integradas y más democráticas.
City policies
and Social Inclusions
How is an inclusive city conceived? What should be the strategic elements of a social
inclusion policy? What do urban policies contribute to the sense of social inclusion
in the territory?
These are questions which guided the debate on public policies for the building of
more integrated and democratic cities.
45
PRESENTACIÓN
Alejandra Vio
Alejandra Vio Para iniciar el diálogo al que nos invita este Foro, quisiera hacer un poco
Secretaria Ejecutiva del Programa de Recuper- de historia y explicarles cuáles son los desafíos y temas que hoy nos con-
ación de Barrios del Ministerio de Vivienda y vocan. Cuando realizamos el primer Foro Internacional de Barrios en el
Urbanismo. año 2007, quisimos invitar a diversos países para que nos relataran y nos
contaran sus propias experiencias de recuperación en barrios, porque re-
cién estábamos iniciando este proceso en los 200 barrios del país.
Hoy día, con un poco más de experiencia, con algunos logros que mostrar
y, por cierto, con desafíos por delante, hemos querido centrar el debate de
este segundo Foro en dos grandes ejes: la construcción de la ciudadanía,
por un lado, y la regeneración urbana a escala barrial, por otro.
46
PRESENTATION
Alejandra Vio
To delve into this dialogue—the purpose of this Forum—I would like to tell Alejandra Vio
a brief story and explain the challenges and issues that bring us here today. Executive Secretary of Neighborhood Recovery
When we held the first International Neighborhood Forum in 2007, we wanted Program of Ministry of Housing and Urban
to invite several countries to enlighten us with their own neighborhood revitali- Development.
zation experiences since we were just beginning the process in 200 neighbor-
hoods in Chile.
Today, with a little more experience, some achievements under our belt and,
of course, challenges ahead, we want to center the debate of this second Fo-
rum on two core themes: Constructing citizenship and urban regeneration on a
neighborhood scale.
At present, the role that individuals play in building neighborhoods and sur-
roundings, exercising rights and duties, placing demands, contributing their
own visions of the city and regenerating on an urban and neighborhood scale
seems undeniable to us.
We are also certain that our cities have improved over the last two decades. Our
diagnostic is that today we are confronting new challenges, new and different
challenges, much more complex than before. We have been faced with an ad-
ditional challenge for this second Forum—that of opening the discussion up to
a diverse public to generate a beginning dialogue and counterpoint, regarding
both the presentations and questions that arise from these working groups.
The panel topic is an invitation to reflect on urban policy generation, but with
the challenge of social inclusion. In other words, of cities that not only pro-
vide enhanced access as well as communication and integration networks,
but also promote better possibilities for self-determination for the actors that
inhabit them.
47
EL SISTEMA DE PLANIFICACIÓN ALEMÁN - OPCIONES DE
ESTRUCTURAS DESCENTRALIZADAS PARA PROCESOS
EXITOSOS DE RENOVACIÓN URBANA
Stefan Böhm-Ott
48
THE GERMAN PLANNING REGIME - OPTIONS
OF DECENTRALIZED STRUCTURES FOR SUCCESFUL
PROCESSES OF URBAN RENEWAL
Stefan Böhm-Ott
49
teras principales y el desarrollo de los aeropuertos son temas centrales
del mismo. El Ministerio está relacionado con tres distritos, que forman
el segundo nivel uno. De ellos es Darmstadt, con su Asamblea de Plani-
ficación Regional, compuesta por delegados de los municipios. Al nivel
de dicha asamblea, se discutirá y aprobará el llamado Plan Regional.
Este Plan Regional concreta el plan de desarrollo estatal en los campos
de comercio menor, el desarrollo esperado de los habitantes y los em-
pleados de los municipios.
5. En español: Asociación de Planifica- Además, existen otras dos instituciones en el nivel local que forman el
ción Metropolitana.
tercer y cuarto nivel de la planificación. En la región de Rhein-Main,
está el Planungsverband Ballungsraum5 Frankfurt/Rhein-Main, el cual
es responsable del plan regional coordinado de utilización de suelo. Los
municipios, en tanto, se encargan de los planes locales que generan los
derechos para construir.
50
development plan in the fields of retail, the expected development of inhabit-
ants and employees in the municipalities.
Furthermore, there are two other institutions at the local level which make up
the third and fourth planning levels. In the Rhein-Main region, it is the Pla-
nungsverband Ballungsraum5 Frankfurt/Rhein-Main which is responsible for the 5. In English: Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Co-
nurbation Planning Association
regional coordinated land utilization plan. The municipalities, in the meanwhile,
are responsible for local plans which generate the right to build.
51
1. La organización de la región Rhein-Main
52
1. The organization of the Rhein-Main-Region
53
en este sentido. El principal problema en relación con las políticas re-
gionales es que no existe un liderazgo que guíe el desarrollo regional
en su totalidad, y que sea capaz de informar y conectar a los distintos
actores.
54
The second column is called “Rat der Region” (Regional Council), which was
created to somewhat guide the discussion of the main frameworks of regional
policy. A large number of mayors meet in this Council however in reality it does
not play the guiding role.
On the other hand, this institution develops different cooperation projects and
projects funded by the European Union or the Federal State. One central project
in the field of housing is “Interkommunale Plattform: Wohnen”, (Intercommunal
platform: housing). Twenty municipalities participate in this project to coordi-
nate their strategies and develop a common point of view on the development
of the housing market in the Rhein-Main-Region.
One central challenge in the Rhein-Main region is the monitoring of the resi-
dential market. There are 75 municipalities with different strategies to develop
this market. All must face the following issues:
Further, the results of the projects are to be integrated in the regional land use
plan to concretize the following aspects:
55
En la Plataforma Intercomunitaria donde participan 22 municipios,
han de desarrollarse estrategias comunes para enfrentarlas. Por con-
siguiente, se creó una base de datos común y talleres de trabajo en
conjunto con el objetivo de analizar características de los territorios y
producir conocimientos que se distribuirán y transferirán en la región.
56
· Assessment of land demand
The database will also be used to analyze future trends in housing and to de-
fine categories of potential spaces for housing in the region. “Interkommunale
Plattform: Wohnen” is connected with the regional headquarters of “Soziale
Stadt”6, the German program of urban renewal.
The Social City program has been operating since 1999. Today there are 563
areas all over Germany. In accordance with the German tradition of urban poli-
cies, municipalities play a fundamental role. They decide where a program area 6. Social City in English. Urban develo-
pment program launched in 1999 by
takes place and which places are “disadvantaged”. To start in a new area, the the Federal Ministry of Transport,
municipality must enact an ordinance. This is done to establish the spatial di- Housing and Urban Development
(BMVBS) with the aim of reducing
mensions. To submit an application to the Central State, the municipality must the growing socio-spatial polarization
prepare it with figures on the social structure, plans for the neighbourhood, a in German cities and to recover dete-
riorated neighborhoods. In addition
defined strategy and much more. to investment in the renovation and
reconstruction of buildings and public
The Central State approves or rejects applications sent by the local govern- areas, the program also aims to impro-
ve the quality of life of residents in the
ments. To be accepted, the application must develop detailed annual plans for neighborhood through educational
financing up to ten years. activities, health, and integration of
immigrants, among others.
Projects are financed in a shared manner by the municipalities, the Central
State (Länder) and the Federal State. Each partner has to contribute a third of
the total. Municipalities often try to support their contribution with money from
the Structural Funds of the European Union.
57
La idea principal del programa es crear estructuras sostenibles. En este
sentido, los procesos son de gran importancia. Deben definirse com-
plejos sistemas de participación en todas las áreas, con la integración
de la población inmigrante. La idea de Soziale Stadt, en este sentido, es
trabajar sobre el concepto de un área de acción socio-espacial, con la
activa participación de los residentes. En la mayoría existe un consejo
local que toma decisiones sobre estrategia, recursos, etc. De modo que
existe una doble estructura: por un lado están los habitantes y por el
otro, las políticas locales, que también tienen algo que decir sobre las
decisiones.
58
Another structural need is to develop so-called integrated action plans. The
idea is to integrate social and planning policies and the different professionals.
Social City is more than a project in which planners and architects come to-
gether to build a “nice” neighbourhood, rather it has the mission to change the
situation in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, which means developing projects
in the fields of local economy, youth policy etc. Therefore, the integrated action
plan is the place where these conflicts are discussed and decided. In contrast to
former german programs, where urban renewal was translated as restoration
of buildings, in this case it is about developing the neighbourhood as a whole.
Social City acts in different fields and seldom results in concentration. Prob-
ably in nearly every neighbourhood there are projects for children and youth,
employment, job training and local economy, immigrant policy, elderly people
etc. To develop projects in a wide range of aspects is an explicit directive of
the program.
Another important point relates to the beginning this speech. Social City com-
bines different levels of the State. The Central State (Länder), the Federal State
and the municipality must work together and implement budgets for the urban
renewal projects. The responsibility exists on each level and is a central subject
of governance. According to the german tradition, basic decisions are made at
the local level in the context of a national program.
59
Otro punto de importancia guarda relación con el comienzo de esta
charla. Soziale Stadt combina diferentes niveles del Estado. El Estado
Central (Länder), el Estado Federal, y el municipio deben trabajar en
conjunto y ejecutar presupuestos en los proyectos de renovación ur-
bana. La responsabilidad existe en cada nivel y es un tema central del
gobierno. Según la tradición alemana, las decisiones básicas se toman
en el nivel local en el contexto de un programa nacional.
60
4. Some Short Reflections on Urban Renewal Processes
The policy of urban renewal is faced with the early ideas of structural urban
sociologists like Manuel Castells. He analyzed the local level as the level where
social production and economic surplus is divided. The immediate nature of
the conflicts at the local level allows for identifying the local structure as a
central theme in addition to discussing relevant questions which arise from the
conflicts of the local class structure. In this sense, urban renewal processes can
be seen as a relevant point to build up a better society on a smaller scale. The
German example deepens the options which decentralized structures open.
61
POLÍTICAS DE CIUDAD E INCLUSIÓN SOCIAL
WILLIAM COBBETT
· El tercer aspecto tiene que ver con una tendencia demográfica, es de-
cir, el proceso de urbanización, que está cambiando el rostro de Asia
y África en estos momentos.
62
CITY POLICIES AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
WILLIAM COBBETT
The Experience of Cities Alliance Worldwide Cities advisor for Cities Alliance
· The Third aspect has to do with a demographic trend, that is, the process of
urbanization which is presently changing the face of Asia and Africa.
In the meantime, urbanization is historic, inevitable and occurs only once. That
is the reason why when I head to different parts of the world, the message lies
in understanding what occurs in Latin America, since what happens in Brazil,
Argentina, Chile and Mexico will provide important lessons for the transforma-
tions in Sub-Saharan and South Africa and Southeast Asia. The main challenge
is learning the positive or negative lesson that is produced in these global proc-
esses. For example, the majority of governments in Sub-Saharan Africa have a
negative view of the concept of urbanization. In considering urbanization as a
problem, they believe that it is a process that can be stopped through invest-
ment or by means of restructuring policies. It is our opinion that urbanization
63
o negativa que se produce en estos procesos globales. Por ejemplo, en
la mayoría de los gobiernos del África subsahariana existe una visión
negativa del concepto de urbanización. Al considerar la urbanización
como un problema, piensan que es un proceso que puede detenerse
por medio de la inversión o por medio de la reestructuración de las po-
líticas. Nosotros opinamos que la urbanización es la mejor oportunidad
para estructurar una economía de una vez por todas. De modo que se
producen conflictos alrededor del acceso a las ciudades, situación co-
mún en la política en el África subsahariana, y en el Sur y el Sudeste de
Asia. Existe un país en desarrollo que ha incorporado la urbanización en
sus estrategias económicas, como lo es China, y son las ciudades en el
este y en el litoral las que han impulsado dicha economía.
Esta mañana pensaba en los desafíos que se presentan con estos tres
procesos. Particularmente me refiero al contexto donde la urbanización
no fue llevada a cabo en una forma sostenible. Y hablo aquí específi-
camente como ciudadano de Sudáfrica, donde pasamos por un proce-
so de urbanización muy similar, teniendo en cuenta, por supuesto, la
llegada de la democracia en 1994. El primer desafío consiste en tratar
con las áreas menos desarrolladas existentes, que fueron creadas de-
bido a la mala administración del proceso de urbanización. De modo
que comenzamos con un déficit en ciudades como Nairobi, la capital
de Kenya, que presenta ya un 60 por ciento de barrios marginales. Y no
es que el proceso de urbanización no esté concluido en Kenya, aunque
el gobierno desearía lo contrario; así que el primer desafío es el déficit
existente.
64
is the best opportunity to structure an economy once and for all. So conflicts
are created around access to cities, a common situation in the policy of Sub-
Saharan Africa, and in the South and Southeast of Asia. There is a developing
country which has incorporated urbanization in its economic strategies, like
China, and the cities in the east and on the coast are the ones that have boosted
said economy.
This morning I thought about the challenges that these three processes present.
I am referring particularly to the context where urbanization was not carried
out in a sustainable manner. I am speaking here as a citizen of South Africa,
where we passed through a very similar urbanization process, taking into ac-
count, of course, the arrival of democracy in 1994. The first challenge involves
dealing with the least developed areas existing, which were created due to
poor administration of the urbanization process. So we began with a shortage
in cities such as Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, which already has 60 percent of
slums. It is not that the urbanization process is not completed in Kenya, even
though the government would wish otherwise, so then the first challenge is the
existing shortage.
Those are the challenges and in order to conquer them I will identify the follow-
ing requirements. The first is a challenge for national government and the city
government which must have a positive and clear vision on urbanization as a
process. The second is to get the institutional roles of the national government
and city government to work optimally together, something extremely difficult
and often a failure. Then, an important aspect for the national and also the city
government is the creation of policies in a trustworthy and consistent manner.
The same message year after year, budget after budget. Now I can expound on
many examples, but the more we examine the obstacles presented, the more I
recognize the non inclusion of working policies as a major difficulty.
65
de la ciudad, los cuales deben tener una visión positiva y clara sobre la
urbanización como un proceso. El segundo es conseguir que los roles
institucionales del gobierno nacional y de la ciudad trabajen óptimamen-
te en conjunto, algo extremadamente difícil y con frecuencia un fracaso.
Y luego, un aspecto importante para el gobierno nacional y también para
el de la ciudad, es la generación de políticas en una forma confiable y
consistente. El mismo mensaje año tras año, presupuesto tras presu-
puesto. Ahora puedo explayarme sobre muchos ejemplos, pero mien-
tras más examinamos los obstáculos que se presentan, más identifico la
no inclusión de políticas de trabajo como la mayor dificultad.
Algunos casos
66
The problem has much to do with the reintegration of the city and its develop-
ment, which also involves the entire country, working collectively. We think
about the usual difficulties for successful policies, and normally you hear peo-
ple talk about resources, finances and budget. Instead I would put forward that
the only major obstacle there is against the development of successful policies
is the negative attitude of public authorities towards its country’s poor. If the
elites, if society starts off assuming that the poor are a problem its policies will
have a problem. To many of the governments we deal with, the poor are not of
the slightest interest to them. I maintain that to change this perspective would
be the only difference of major importance in facilitating the optimal develop-
ment of policies.
Some Cases
There are very few successful examples in the world. There have been sig-
nificant cases where we have noticed great changes in policies at the national
level. This is a reality in Brazil, in Morocco, in South Africa, in India at present
and also in China. They are not similar examples, they are extremely different.
If I examine two countries that I know relatively well, like Brazil and South
Africa, there are two systems that were changed by popular pressure. In fact,
the transformation of South Africa is well known and led to the drafting the
Constitution again. In the case of Brazil, not only did we see a change in the
Constitution, but also the introduction of legislations that would protect the
rights of the poor in the city. We regard this legislation as one of the most
important ones at the international level in this aspect. In South Africa, there
were governments that over the decades dedicated much time, money and re-
sources trying to separate cities and persons, at an enormous financial, social
and individual cost. So, when I am asked which countries are doing a good job
in upgrading slums, I can point out with certainty the processes that are taking
place in Brazil. However, the reality is that, what Brazil is doing now, is what
was not done 30 years ago and the same may be said about South Africa. So
these are lessons for countries that are still urbanizing. The reconstruction of
cities in South Africa and Brazil is being carried out in the most inefficient man-
ner and at the highest costs. The reason is that everything must be done again,
with the population already established.
This is a message that countries need to understand, like India, which is in the
full process of urbanization and where a national program with an enormous
amount of resources called the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission has
67
internacional en este aspecto. En Sudáfrica, existieron gobiernos que
durante décadas dedicaron mucho tiempo, dinero y recursos para tra-
tar de separar a las ciudades y a las personas, con un costo financiero,
social e individual enorme. Así que cuando me preguntan cuáles son
los países que están haciendo un buen trabajo para mejorar los barrios
marginales, puedo señalar con seguridad los procesos que se desa-
rrollan en Brasil. Pero la realidad es que, lo que Brasil está haciendo
ahora, es lo que no hizo hace 30 años. Y se puede decir lo mismo de
Sudáfrica. De modo que esas son las lecciones para los países que aún
están urbanizándose. La reconstrucción de ciudades en Sudáfrica y en
Brasil se está realizando de la manera más ineficiente y con los costos
más altos. La causa es que se debe hacer todo nuevamente, con la po-
blación ya establecida.
68
been introduced. It basically involves large cities having to accept certain policy
reforms in order to receive very important financial resources from the central
government. The program began with the 65 largest cities. In the case of Brazil,
we must expedite the Growth Acceleration Program, which considers an un-
precedented level of investment in cities around the country both for economic
development as for upgrading of slums. In Thailand, there is a national program
of integration that is similar to the Neighborhood Recovery Program developed
here. It requires negotiation between communities and local government on
issues such as lands, services and access.
In this way, permit me to conclude by identifying some of the basic lessons that
we have learnt from these experiences in different parts of the world.
· When the government fails with formal methods, lesson we can clearly see
in South Africa and Brazil, informal methods emerge. In other words, if the
local authority does not hand over lands, people will find other ways to obtain
them, the same with water, electricity or protection. So then, if the govern-
ment ignores certain areas of the city, there are consequences that will be
presented in governmental balance sooner or later. In this way, the first les-
son is to change the relationship between public authority and citizens. This
takes time; it cannot become a good government from one minute to the next
if during the last three decades it tried to chase people away from the city.
· The second lesson, very clear from our international experience, is that in
order to make fundamental changes, public authority or the national govern-
ment must go beyond projects. It is necessary to consider the city as a whole,
and this was, in many ways, the greatest struggle in South Africa; to redefine
the city as an organism, without separating it into its black and white compo-
nents. In other words, the city’s problems cannot be resolved in small areas
throughout the same. As we say to governments: if 20, 30 or 40 percent of its
city is a slum, the problem is not of said neighborhood, it is of the entire city.
· The next lesson - although I already mentioned it, I wish to reiterate – is the
importance of constant and repetitive actions over time. The redesign of a
city the size of Santiago or Johannesburg, or which is beginning to be done
in Bombay, is something that will take one or two decades of constant and
repetitive actions with a clear vision; that is, beyond certain electoral cycles,
which tend to be the most difficult challenge.
69
manera, la primera lección es cambiar la relación entre la autoridad
pública y los ciudadanos. Esto toma tiempo, no se puede llegar a ser
un buen gobierno de un momento a otro si durante las últimas tres
décadas se intentó alejar a la gente de la ciudad.
70
same citizens. Certainly, one of the lessons that South Africa imparts to us, is
that if you have a highly responsible and receptive government, there is a dan-
ger that governments tend to ignore, and it is that they can do too much and
doing so take away the decision making power of the citizens. Thus to achieve
balance between what public authority does and what the same community
does is absolutely essential.
· The fifth lesson is, logically, the ever present importance of examining in-
stitutional agreements, establishing corresponding roles and responsibilities.
Governmental affairs are completely essential for the success of policies.
· Next, the sixth lesson, which really should have been the first, is the impor-
tance of knowledge on behalf of public domain. In many cities that we know
and have visited, the mayor does not know his city at all. And in many others
that we know, the slums know much more than the mayor does about his city.
In many cities, slums are not on the map and this would give emphasis to the
importance of a national or local debate on the future of the city, something
which should not happen in secret.
· The final point that I would like to highlight is the importance of the concept of
citizenship, of the ordinary citizen, the relationship it forms with the city due
to the differences in the treatment of authorities towards various groups of
persons in the same city, which are what keeps it divided.
71
En muchas ciudades que conocemos y hemos visitado, el alcalde no
conoce su ciudad en lo absoluto. Y en muchas otras que conocemos,
los barrios marginales conocen mucho más que el alcalde sobre su
ciudad. En muchas ciudades los barrios marginales no están en el
mapa, y esto daría énfasis a la importancia de un debate nacional
o local sobre el futuro de la ciudad, algo que no debería ocurrir en
secreto.
72
73
LA EXPERIENCIA CHILENA EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE
POLÍTICAS DE CIUDAD E INCLUSIÓN SOCIAL
Luis Eduardo Bresciani Dada la condición internacional de este seminario, la primera pregunta
Arquitecto de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de que uno debe hacerse es: ¿Qué aporte hemos hecho, como gobierno de
Chile; Master en Diseño Urbano de la Universidad Chile, al debate internacional sobre recuperación de barrios?
de Harvard, EE.UU. En el año 2000, asume como
Para responderla, no tendría sentido hacer una presentación sobre lo
Asesor y Secretario Ejecutivo de la Reforma
que estamos haciendo sólo en esa materia, pues este encuentro y el
Urbana en el Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo
Mes del Barrio son, justamente, para debatir y mostrar nuestros avan-
de Chile, y en el 2002 es nombrado Secretario
ces en políticas relacionadas con el tema. Deberíamos destacar tam-
Regional Ministerial de Vivienda y Urbanismo de
bién, cómo el Programa de Recuperación de Barrios, “Quiero mi Barrio”
la Región Metropolitana de Santiago. Desde me-
no solamente alimenta, sino que además está cambiando el enfoque
diados de 2003, a la fecha, es Jefe de la División
global de las políticas urbanas y habitacionales del Estado.
de Desarrollo Urbano del Ministerio de Vivienda
de la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Pontificia Hasta hace algunos años, estábamos convencidos de que las buenas
Universidad Católica de Chile. políticas urbanas sólo se construían desde el Estado para responder
a las demandas, es decir, se partía por formular la política, luego se
diseñaban los programas que la materializarían y luego se implementa-
ban. Sin embargo, uno de los aprendizajes que hemos hecho es que las
políticas urbanas exitosas no se construyen de esa forma tan directa de
arriba hacia abajo, sino que se construyen más bien –y así hemos trata-
do de hacerlo en los últimos años– desde la comunidad, su liderazgo y
nuestra capacidad de aprendizaje.
74
THE CHILEAN EXPERIENCE IN THE BUILDING OF CITY POLICIES
AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
Given the international status of this seminar, the first question that one should Luis Eduardo Bresciani
ask is: What contribution have we made, as the Government of Chile, to the Architect of the Pontifical Catholic University of
international debate on the recovery of neighborhoods? Chile; holds a Master’s degree in Urban Design
global focus of urban and housing policies of the State. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of the
The best urban policies emerged from local innovations, from the ability to
listen, from the pilot experiences, from the programs that give the opportunity
to learn.
Therefore, what I am going to present does not refer to the achievements that
we have attained in the Neighborhood Recovery Program, but refers to the chal-
lenges of consolidating experiences and the learning processes for the long
term urban policies. Because to achieve it requires consensuses, it requires
75
Por lo tanto, lo que voy a presentar no se refiere a los logros que he-
mos alcanzado en el Programa de Recuperación de Barrios, sino que
se refiere a los desafíos de consolidar las experiencias y los aprendi-
zajes para las políticas urbanas de largo plazo. Porque para lograrlo
se requieren consensos, se requiere establecer visiones comunes, que
comprometan a los convencidos, pero por sobre todo a otros actores
políticos y privados más distantes de estos problemas.
No puede haber ciudad con gente igual, y por lo tanto no puede existir
una real ciudad cuando la construimos sobre la base de barrios y co-
munas homogéneas en sus estratos sociales y grupos culturales. Lo
que construye una buena ciudad es, justamente, la diferencia, la hete-
rogeneidad y los espacios urbanos que permiten que esa heterogenei-
dad se manifieste, se genere y se convierta en sociedad, interacción y
desarrollo.
76
establishing common visions that commit to the conviction, but above all to
other political and private players more distant from these problems.
I will speak then not of a government program, but of a new vision raised in
these four years respecting issues that were not in public discourse, like urban
regeneration and social integration, but which today are on all urban agendas.
An Integrated City
Aristotle said that “a city is comprised of different types of men; similar people
cannot make a city exist”.
There cannot be a city with similar people, and therefore there cannot be a real
city when we are building on the basis of homogeneous neighborhoods and
municipalities in their social strata and cultural groups. What builds a good city
is, precisely, the difference, the heterogeneity and urban areas that allow that
heterogeneity to be manifested, created and converted in society, interaction
and development.
From this notion and four basic assumptions, we have built our integration poli-
cies:
Firstly, that social cohesion is not only a goal, but is also a basic condition for
sustainable urban development. It is fundamental to integrate the issues of
social cohesion into urban public policies and not deal with them independently
from social policies.
Thirdly, welfare policies that only transfer resources to the most vulnerable
without integrating them socially and urban-wise, do not solve the problems
of exclusion and stigmatization. This conviction has led to the adjustment of
many of the Ministry’s housing programs, such as the Housing Solidarity Fund,
and on urban matter, the Neighborhood Recovery Program and the Participatory
Paving Program.
77
vado a la modificación de muchos programas del ministerio en materia
habitacional, como los Fondos Solidarios de Vivienda o, en materia ur-
bana, como el Programa de Recuperación de Barrios y el Programa de
Pavimentación Participativa.
Cinco tendencias
78
So then: How are our Chilean and Latin American cities doing with regards to
these challenges? Is social segregation a general problem? What trends are
we facing?
Five Trends
We can mention at least five trends that are presented in our cities today and
which we must take into account in order to formulate appropriate policies
without starting from wrong assumptions.
First, segregation and the problems of social cohesion are more severe in the
metropolitan areas, and are not yet a general problem in all Chilean cities.
Therefore, territorialized and specific instruments are needed for the metro-
politan areas, different from those actions in cities with smaller populations.
If we examine the case of Santiago, the location of the I and II quintiles of the
population1 by census tracts, that is to say, 40 percent of the poorest Chileans, 1. Each quintile corresponds to 20 per-
cent of the national population accor-
show high levels of concentration, with large sectors in the west and the south ding to the per capita income of the
of the city, where more than 80 percent of the population is poor or from high- household, quintile I being the lowest
income (Around 106 US per capita.
risk sectors. 1US:$500)
As much as we have achieved better standards in the matter of access to services, 2. Ernst Griffin and Larry Ford. “A mo-
del of Latin American city Structure”
housing and poverty reduction, Santiago continues to have characteristics similar (1980). In it they propose a model
for analyzing Latin American cities
to many other Latin American cities, as represented in the Griffin and Ford Model2, characterized by a dominant elite re-
with the classic cone of high income and highly segregated popular sectors. sidential area and a business point in
combination with degraded residential
Second, segregation, even though it has lost massiveness, it has concentrated. zones, distant from the city center.
If we view Santiago’s segregation map in 1992, this had major segregation, with
extensive zones of poverty in the north, like Renca and Huechuraba, and zones
in the south. But after ten years, in 2002, even though the segregation situation
is no longer massive, there are municipalities that show a minor presence of
quintile I, with a growing expulsion and replacement of the poorest by middle
class sectors and a greater concentration and exclusion of the poor in the south,
represented in the emblematic case of Bajos de Mena: El Volcán, in Puente Alto.
The Neighborhood Recovery Program is the public recognition of this grave con-
centration of social deterioration, segregation and physical degradation, such
as shown in the selection of the neighborhoods that we are assisting through
this Program. Although we are proud of our housing policies and the extensive
access to housing, we are also taking care of their adverse effects in the past.
Today we can set new challenges for recovery and urban quality, because we
have already solved the problem of quantity and precarious housing.
79
Segundo, que la segregación, aunque ha perdido masividad, se ha con-
centrado. Si vemos el mapa de segregación de Santiago de 1992, éste pre-
sentaba mayor segregación, con amplios sectores de pobreza en el norte,
como Renca y Huechuraba, y en sectores del sur. Pero luego de diez años,
en el 2002, si bien la condición de segregación ya no es masiva, hay co-
munas que muestran una menor presencia del quintil I, con una creciente
expulsión y reemplazo de los más pobres por sectores de clase media y
una mayor concentración y exclusión de los pobres en el sur, representa-
do en el caso emblemático de Bajos de Mena: El Volcán, en Puente Alto.
80
Thirdly, another marked trend is inequality in the access and availability of ur-
ban public goods. It is a case of lack of equity and not only the lack of access to
services or to housing. The urban inequality tends to worsen exclusion and gen-
erate violence in our cities. It is a severe problem which in cities like Santiago,
territories with high urban quality, like the eastern zone, coexist with extensive
segregated zones with insufficient quantity and quality of public goods, as oc-
curs in Puente Alto or La Pintana. We can understand the differences in access
to private goods, determined by the per capita income of persons, but it is unac-
ceptable that access to public goods have such grave differences, as this does
not depend on the market but on public policies.
One of the most dramatic cases is that of Iquique. During the 1990’s, this city
had an implicit policy of expulsion and promoting tourism and an image aimed
at entertainment, and not for resolving the problems of social housing or access
to the most popular sectors. This was resolved through the establishment of
social housing outside of the city, in Alto Hospicio.
Finally, the fifth trend, less present in Chile but enormous in Latin America, is
the growing formalization of irregular settlements or slums, a topic that we
have successfully tackled in Chile through the “Chile Neighborhood Program”,
today through the Campsites Helpline. In this case, a change in the focal point
from re-location to strategies for establishment, reorganization and institution-
alization of these settlements is evident. They are not “irregular” places that
need to be “sanitized” they are places that must be reinserted into the social
and urban fabric. The most outstanding examples are in cities like Rio de Janei-
ro in Brazil, with the Favelas Barrio programs, or Medellín in Colombia, with its
neighborhood recovery strategies. In the Chilean case, we have tried to do the
same, on a much smaller scale, to change the re-location policies for policies
aimed at strengthening these settlements and improving their living conditions.
81
normas y restricciones que excluyen viviendas sociales o sectores
populares.
Uno de los casos más dramáticos es el de Iquique. Esta ciudad tuvo du-
rante la década de los 90 una política implícita de expulsión y fomento
al turismo y a una imagen destinada al entretenimiento, y no a resolver
los problemas de viviendas sociales o de acceso de los sectores más
populares. Esto se resolvió a través de la localización de viviendas so-
ciales fuera de la ciudad, en Alto Hospicio.
Por lo tanto, ante realidades tan masivas como las que vemos en luga-
res como Guayas, Ecuador, o Caracas, Venezuela, no se puede atender
con políticas de erradicación o saneamiento, sino con políticas de for-
talecimiento de la organización y de localización, que reconozcan estos
espacios urbanos. Como alguien mencionaba, no están en los mapas,
pero son parte fundamental de las ciudades.
82
re-location or clean-up policies, but with policies for strengthening the organi-
zation and establishment, which recognizes these urban areas. As someone
mentioned, they are not on the maps, but are a fundamental part of the cities.
From the aforementioned concepts, we have built an urban vision that seeks to
integrate three complementary approaches:
The first is based on the construction of the “right to the city” concept, which is
not only the right of access to urban land, but the right of all citizens to have guar-
antees of equality in the availability of public goods. Urban public goods are pro-
vided by the State, are not dependent on the economic ability of each person. This
new approach places emphasis on the equitable access to integrated locations,
services, environmental quality, transportation and quality urban public areas. The
city is a right, it is not merely a benefit, and that must be part of public policies.
83
son los que provee el Estado, no los que dependen de la capacidad
económica de cada persona. Este nuevo enfoque pone énfasis en el
acceso equitativo a localizaciones integradas, servicios, calidad am-
biental, transporte y espacios públicos urbanos de calidad. La ciudad
es un derecho, no es simplemente un beneficio, y eso debe ser parte de
las políticas públicas.
84
Learning from the Neighborhoods
From these new approaches of public action in the neighborhoods and cities,
we have learnt that the best and sustainable urban policies are built from bot-
tom to top. We have discovered that the keys were not only in the physical
recovery; the keys are in empowering persons, building cohesive communities
and in social integration processes, in order to build a more united society.
That the focus must not be only on reducing urban housing shortages, but
also in strengthening the community and its resources, so that it allows the
neighborhood to be recovered, integrated to the city and even to respond to the
changes that the cities are experiencing.
Finally, that we understand that leadership of the solutions and urban projects
cannot be only in the State: leadership must be in the community. As State
we must fulfill a role of facilitators of a process in which the community itself,
through good programs and laws, allows it to build what it requires. If those
who have higher incomes and actively defend their neighborhoods and quality
of life, taking decisions or influencing what occurs in their urban surrounding,
why cant the vulnerable communities, with help from the State, do the same?
85
Aprendizajes desde los barrios
Que el foco no debe estar solamente en reducir los déficit urbanos y ha-
bitacionales, sino también en fortalecer a la comunidad y su capital so-
cial, de modo que le permita recuperar su barrio, integrarse a la ciudad,
e incluso responder a los cambios que las ciudades están teniendo.
86
87
LA EXPERIENCIA PARAGUAYA EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN
DE POLÍTICAS DE CIUDAD E INCLUSIÓN SOCIAL
GERARDO ROLÓN
Paraguaya de la Industria de la Construcción. Para darles un ejemplo, mi país tiene una deforestación, en 40 años, del
95 por ciento de sus reservas forestales. Es lo que hemos heredado en
un proceso de economía de producción masiva de productos agrícolas
–Paraguay es el cuarto productor y exportador mundial de soja trans-
génica– lo que ha provocado la expulsión de las poblaciones naturales
–los sectores rurales, sobre todo– a las áreas urbanas, en un proceso
de urbanización no planificada.
88
THE PARAGUAYAN EXPERIENCE IN THE BUILDING
OF CITY POLICIES AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
GERARDO ROLÓN
It is indeed a pleasure for me to be at this very important event. It is true that I al- Gerardo Rolón
ways tell my Chilean colleagues that we have a healthy envy of Chile, in regards Architect, National University of Asuncion.
to the development of social programs. Paradoxically, we achieved the resto- President of the Paraguay´s National Housing
ration of democracy in the same year, but in 20 years we have had disparate Council. Expert in Theory and Public Policies. He
developments. While you reduced poverty substantially, we have doubled it. has participated in several seminars related to
89
En Paraguay, la palabra planificar es casi desconocida; queremos
revertir esa situación. Este proceso de urbanización agresiva, de ex-
pulsión de las poblaciones rurales, de asentamientos y hacinamientos
rodeando las grandes ciudades de Paraguay en condiciones infrahu-
manas, significa una duplicación sustantiva de la problemática para los
municipios y para los gobiernos regionales.
Así, estos grandes desafíos son los que nos encontramos cuando par-
timos en la institución, que nació con muy buenos auspicios, pero que
también ha caído en la manipulación, en la politización, en el cliente-
lismo político, producto, justamente, de este déficit habitacional muy
pronunciado.
90
When the government of the Patriotic Alliance for Change confers me with
the challenge of establishing housing policies in Paraguay – another word not
known in my country and still less in the National Housing Commission (Co-
navi)-, from the decision of comrade President Fernando Lugo, I said to him:
your government has three challenges; land, housing and work. If we manage
to solve these three large issues, I believe we can regain that transition that
somehow was distorted.
Land, because Paraguay has one of the most pronounced indices, along with
Brazil, of concentration of lands. Three percent of the population has in their
hands 85% of the lands cultivated in the country, for which, comprehensive
agrarian reform is an urgency which cannot be postponed and is, in fact, in-
cluded in the plan of the Government of the Patriotic Alliance for Change.
And work, because it is a constant of all countries more so for those in the
third world. In Paraguay, a job means approximately ten thousand dollars, and
foreign investment is insufficient to generate these conditions. Besides this,
we have a population and economy that is primarily based on agrohusbandry,
which, because of being highly mechanized does not generate opportunities for
the people. We thus have an underemployment rate of approximately 20% -
very serious -, for an economically active population that is not very numerous.
Thus, these are the great challenges we found when we began at the institu-
tion, which came into existence under very good auspices, but that has also
fallen into manipulation, politicization, political clientelism, an exact result of
this very pronounced housing shortage.
So we began a process to regain the transition which deviated, back in 99, also
with much pressure, because the citizens, deprived of hope, place all their hope
in the government of the Patriotic Alliance for Change, but want the changes to
be immediate. At six months, at a year that this government already demands
changes, with just cause perhaps, but the structures of the central government
are absolutely inadequate to provide immediate responses to the long neglect-
ed needs of the Paraguayan population.
What I want to share with you are some general guidelines that we are going
to develop, in the context of an institutional transformation, precisely, from two
laws that are being approved by Parliament: one which creates the National
Housing Fund, (Fonavi) recently confirmed, and the other which creates the Na-
91
De modo que iniciamos un proceso para retomar la transición que se
desvió, allá por el año 99, también con mucha presión, porque la ciuda-
danía, desesperanzada, deposita toda su esperanza en el gobierno de
la Alianza Patriótica para el Cambio, pero quiere que los cambios sean
inmediatos. A los seis meses, a un año de gobierno, ésta ya exige cam-
bios, con justa razón quizás, pero las estructuras del gobierno central
son absolutamente insuficientes para dar respuestas inmediatas a las
necesidades tanto tiempo postergadas de la población paraguaya.
92
tional Housing Secretariat. Although you do not believe, this institution has no
rank not even as secretariat; it is barely a decentralized entity, dependent of
the Ministry of Finance. And when we see the levels of financing for housing,
speaking in terms of percentage, we have levels of investment of the State in
housing policy, very inferior- with all due respect – to countries such as El Sal-
vador, Guatemala or others that are in a worse situation than ours.
Nevertheless, we say that the attention of the Paraguayan State over all these
long years have been practically null in regards to housing problems, if one
looks comparatively at the shortage, that is to say, the demand versus the in-
stitutional response.
An example to explain the magnitude is this last problem, the bi-national trea-
ties, which should mean to Paraguay, more than 3 billion 600 million dollars,
with which, I suppose, there would be no poverty in my country, Paraguay re-
ceives 250 million dollars a year, only from Argentina and Brazil. This has hints
of immorality for our neighbors that also claim socialism. For that reason, when
I meet with my socialist colleagues, I tell them: “comrade, what kind of social-
ism is it that your wealth is based on my poverty?” Then, to my friend Lula and
my colleague Cristina1 we tend to sort of remind them that their will must be
marked by concrete facts, not only by speeches.
1. Refers to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and
Cristina Fernández, Presidents of Bra-
Returning to the foregoing, starting with these common elements of the center zil and Argentina, respectively.
and leftist parties, we have Conavi as the lead agency for housing policy, and
it is that which should find housing solutions, with little resources and an in-
stitutionality, let us say, very doubtful. The social policy of the government in
93
independiente; la recuperación de la soberanía nacional, que ha sido
soslayada sistemáticamente por gobiernos que la han entregado o han
lucrado con ella.
Este gabinete social tiene al Conavi como uno de sus principales com-
ponentes, habida cuenta de la mano de obra y bienestar que se puede
generar a partir del tema vivienda. Lo que se está elaborando en los pro-
gramas, tiene como principal eje el Programa “Paraguay solidario”2, el
2. El Programa “Paraguay Solidario”,
cual es el emblema del gobierno de la Alianza Patriótica para el Cambio.
parecido al sistema “Chile Solidario”
se caracteriza por la identificación de Considerando la multisectoralidad o las particularidades de los terri-
territorios sociales, en los cuales el go- torios, geográfica y socialmente hablando, tenemos realidades muy
bierno desplegará sus intervenciones
de manera integral, según las caracte- diversas en las comunidades del Paraguay. Mi país se divide en dos
rísticas y necesidades de la población regiones: una Oriental, otra Occidental. La Occidental es prácticamente
establecida en los mismos.
94
Paraguay, aims to work together with various branches of Government, through
a recently formed social cabinet. This social cabinet is working, incidentally,
with much collaboration from the Chilean government, on several missions, and
we are exceedingly thankful, not to mention the collaboration with the Ministry
of Housing and Urban Development, already for several years working together
to come up something that is intended to be the heritage that we wish to leave
in this administration: sustainable housing policy and sustainable for Paraguay,
starting with very clear concepts of institutionality and adequate financing to
tackle the shortage.
This social cabinet has Conavi as one of its principal components, considering the
manpower and welfare that can be generated from the matter of housing. What
is being developed in the programs have the “Paraguay Solidario”2 Program as the
main axis, which is the symbol of the Patriotic Alliance for Change government.
2. The “Paraguay Solidario” Program, si-
Considering the multisectorality or peculiarities of the territories, geographically milar to the “Chile Solidario” system
is characterized by the identification
and socially speaking, we have very diverse realities in the communities in Para- of social territories, in which the Go-
guay. My country is divided into two regions: one Eastern, the other Western. vernment will unfold its interventions
in a comprehensive manner according
The Western region is practically desert in the Great Chaco territory – Alto, Bajo to the characteristics and needs of the
and Medio Chaco, on the border with Bolivia-, where although it is true we have population established in them.
productive communities, we have a very small population, very neglected in ba-
sic services. And we also have the presence of settlers, especially Mennonites,
Germans, Canadians, and Mexicans that are forging the greatness of our coun-
try, cultivating the land; but besides it is an extensive zone for livestock produc-
tion with very large properties that have been traditionally present in the Chaco.
On the other hand, the majority of the population, I would say 90 percent, is in
the Eastern Region, which, in turn has its peculiarities. The entire area border-
ing with Brazil has a very important penetration of Brazilians, with some 250
thousand inhabitants called Brasiguayos, mostly soybean cultivators, which
means that the Paraguayan sovereignty is considerably compromised. Then,
what we are aiming for with the implementation of social territories is to par-
ticularize each region and to give the needed responses according to the pecu-
liarities of those territories.
Of six million inhabitants, we have around one million three hundred thousand
residing in urban areas; five percent in Asunción, 30 percent in the urban cen-
tral area and the remainder also in urban zones. There has been a very rapid
process of urbanization because of the agricultural issue and above all be-
95
desértica en el gran territorio chaqueño –Alto, Bajo y Medio Chaco, en
la frontera con Bolivia–, donde si bien es cierto hay comunidades pro-
ductivas, tenemos muy poca población, muy desatendida en los servi-
cios básicos. Y tenemos también la presencia de colonos, especialmen-
te menonitas, alemanes, canadienses, mexicanos, que están forjando la
grandeza de la patria, cultivando la tierra; pero además es una amplia
zona de producción ganadera, con grandes latifundios que tradicional-
mente han tenido presencia en el Chaco.
96
cause the countryside is no longer profitable for the traditional rural popula-
tion who see their opportunities for family income, including daily sustenance,
diminished.
And in the midst of this context, Conavi intends to establish some very particu-
lar schemes to break the vicious circle of extreme poverty and the profit that
the leaders would obtain from this issue. For example, the system of self-help
housing, which has had considerable success in Paraguay from very concrete
examples already realized – above all with the organized civil society, NGOs,
municipalities-, and we intend to replicate it insofar as we can. For that we need
legal instruments, the National Housing Fund – which had been mentioned and
which has been recently approved-, a law for cooperatives that could permit a
greater boost in the area of cooperation and some strategic lines for reducing
urban poverty and the strengthening of neighborhoods.
In order to carry this out, aside from continuing to attend to the housing short-
age with solutions that are already taking place, in these eight months we
have been revitalizing the participation of Conavi’s neighborhood committees –
which had been practically abandoned – in order to channel the various actions
of the Commission and other State organizations in such a way that these aids
really reach their targets.
In that sense, strategic alliances, public and private, are fundamental in carry-
ing out these actions, because the State alone does not have the capacity to
97
en la toma de sus propias decisiones. Se trata de solucionar algunas
problemáticas: la pobreza, la inseguridad; la insalubridad en los asenta-
mientos; la inaccesibilidad a los ingresos económicos mínimos de esta
población de 40 por ciento de pobres, para poder subsistir a diario. Los
pobres extremos, el 20 por ciento de ellos –alrededor de un millón de
personas– no percibe un dólar por día para subsistir, o sea que la mag-
nitud de la tragedia es enorme.
98
duly attend to this tremendous need. Some legal instruments that we have to
promote to allow this, like the Law on the Administration of Cooperatives and
the Housing Fund (Fonavi) which we are carrying out, also need some particular
annexes; and the Fonavi law has already been achieved.
The objectives are: to reduce extreme poverty in urban areas; strengthen and
consolidate villages built by Conavi in the Metropolitan area. Conavi has al-
ways built villages, and around them the urban fabric has developed, although
not orderly, but have been like seeds that have facilitated the expansion of
urban areas.
Even though it is true, on not having a housing policy in Paraguay much less a
housing policy for the moment we cannot speak specifically of “city policies”.
One of the strategic lines that we want to pursue is the prioritization of organ-
ized groups, through cooperatives or associations with self-help systems, in
order to ensure the program’s sustainability and the improvement of the popu-
lation’s socio-economic levels.
Once again, the cooperative model works turns out to be a fairly replicable mod-
el, given its success as much in quality as in accessibility for the people, in the
framework of a participatory and democratic system, which promotes planned
organization, the recovery of Conavi villages, improvement of neighborhoods
and their houses, and the strengthening of neighborhood committees.
We believe the adoption of the instrument creating the National Housing Sec-
retariat, which will come to put some order in regards to the actions of the
State in attending to the shortage, will also bring the possibility of systema-
tized planning, a situation that has not been present for a long time. That is an
institutional challenge that Conavi has, through its budget, its technical person-
nel, its officials, we are working on the inside of the same so that the process
of Conavi’s reconversion to “Habitar” is the quickest and least traumatic as
possible.
We are also very committed to the participation of local governments and re-
gional governments, and for them we have already signed a series of agree-
ments with municipalities and provincial governments with the aim that the
next actions of Conavi be agreed with them, so that subsequent attention to
these settlements would be institutionally structured. This is because of what
has traditionally occurred where neither the municipality knew that a settle-
ment was being built, whether by Conavi or by the Social Action Secretariat,
much less the Provincial Government. That is to say, there had been a total ig-
99
Si bien es cierto que al no existir en Paraguay una política habitacional
ni mucho menos una política de vivienda, por el momento no podemos
hablar específicamente de “políticas de ciudad”. Una de las líneas es-
tratégicas que queremos seguir es la priorización a grupos organizados,
a través de cooperativas o asociaciones con sistemas de autoayuda,
para asegurar la sostenibilidad del programa y el mejoramiento de los
niveles socioeconómicos de la población.
100
norance and, afterwards, they were left with the problem of providing services,
public transport, school, health, education, which had not been contemplated
at all at the time of making the decision to establish such and such settlement.
That we want to avoid in this administration and for that reason we are working
very closely with the municipalities and provincial governments.
The issue of building citizenship also has a fundamental value for us, because if
the vicious scheme of manipulation of the people has had success over such a
long time, it is due precisely to the absence of citizenship and citizen participa-
tion in decision making. Both the central government and we, as an institution,
and part of the Patriotic Alliance, are very committed that the people be the
ones that make their decisions by consensus, in a democratic plan.
Conavi Programs
The CEPRA Program, which is the Agrarian Reform Commission, is also a gov-
ernment program. We say that even though this is not Agrarian Reform, it is an
emergency plan which takes housing solutions to the rural population, starting
with an improvement of their habitat, of their houses. It has been a participa-
tory process even the housing design has been a result of a consensus by the
people who are going to be beneficiaries of the program.
Today, we are already beginning this program which in its first phase will bring
a thousand housing solutions to four of the country’s poorest departments.
That is to say, our preferential option for the poor is evident in decision mak-
ing, regarding where it is necessary to bring the solutions. The Mercosur ODA
Program is also from the Mercosur Structural Fund for sectors with extreme
poverty in border areas and is in the process of being executed, with a very
specific component, precisely, of citizen participation, with citizens’ equipment.
That is to say, the different urban plans contemplate community equipment,
so that community or neighborhood organizations are organized and actively
functioning.
101
El tema de construcción de ciudadanía para nosotros también tiene un
valor fundamental, porque si el esquema perverso de manipulación de
la gente ha tenido éxito tanto tiempo, es justamente por falta de ciuda-
danía y participación ciudadana en la toma de decisiones. Y tanto el
gobierno central como nosotros, como institución, y parte de la Alianza
Patriótica, apostamos mucho a que la gente sea la que tome sus deci-
siones en consenso, en un esquema democrático.
102
in process. We are about to inaugurate blocks, cooperative buildings in neigh-
borhoods in Asuncion and the difference in quality is notable. The self-help
cooperative system builds practically at the same price of the State, and the
process of participation has its principal value in the quality of the housing
solution, the quality of the materials and the participation of work coopera-
tives; that is to say, members of the cooperative are the same who make the
houses with the owners. So this system has that social “plus” which we are
seeking in the Conavi programs, also from the production of materials, so that
there are cooperatives for production of construction materials that are part of
these programs.
Economical houses are plans that Conavi have carried out since the 90’s, also
with dissimilar results – it must be said-. Probably, Chile has also had some
of this. There were housing programs what came through other financial enti-
ties, but that in Paraguay had some positive results, but the majority negative,
because the funds for financing housing were transferred to intermediate fi-
nancial entities and all failed. Finally, Conavi had to absorb the debt and until
now we are negotiating the bankruptcies of these entities in order for us to take
charge of these housing groups.
There are programs for the middle class, with direct credit for purchase, financ-
ing, expansion or repair of houses. Some housing blocks have mortgage-credit
– about which we have already spoken – and an agreement with the Yacyretá-
Binational Entity , very interesting, to which we are giving much attention. The
Yacyreta zone belongs to a power company at the border with Argentina, in
the south, and has an impact in the area of the city of Encarnación, that has
some one thousand five hundred to two thousand families that are going to be
displaced due to the reservoir of the dam and which has not had a solution. The
central government has called on Conavi to take charge of this and we are in
the process of carrying out this agreement with housing solutions.
These are some houses from the re-settlement zone for social groups, fisher-
men, wineskin makers, businessmen from the lower areas, that are going to
103
gurar bloques, edificios de cooperativas en barrios de Asunción y es
notoria la diferencia de calidad. El sistema de autoayuda cooperativo
construye prácticamente al mismo precio que el Estado, y el proceso
de participación tiene su principal valor en la calidad de la solución
habitacional, la calidad de los materiales y la participación de coopera-
tivas de trabajo; es decir, los cooperativistas son los mismos que hacen
las viviendas con los propietarios. De manera que este sistema tiene
ese “plus” social que nosotros buscamos en los programas del Conavi,
también a partir de la producción de materiales, de manera que exis-
ten cooperativas de producción de materiales de construcción que son
parte de estos programas.
Están los programas para la clase media, con crédito directo para
compra, financiamiento, ampliación o refacción de viviendas. Algunos
bloques de vivienda tienen crédito hipotecario –del que ya habíamos
hablado– y un convenio con la Entidad Binacional Yacyretá, muy intere-
sante, a la que estamos prestando mucha atención. La zona de Yacyre-
tá corresponde a una empresa eléctrica en la frontera con Argentina,
en el sur, y tiene un impacto en la zona de la ciudad de Encarnación, que
cuenta con unas mil 500 a dos mil familias que van a ser desplazadas
por el embalse de la represa y que no han tenido solución. El gobierno
104
be flooded and whose solution we must also carry out, in the surroundings of
Encarnación.
This is only a summary of what we are doing in Paraguay, in this new era that
we are living in since we took over the Institution. I was saying to them that
the office is more of a burden but we have received it with pleasure as a social
commitment, because our administration is based precisely on social commit-
ment, transparency and austerity in the management of public affairs.
So we hope to meet next year and to tell you that the housing shortage in my
country is declining substantially and that poverty also is going down substan-
tially; and that the cities are being built as planned and with the participation
of the people.
105
central ha llamado al Conavi a hacerse cargo de esto y estamos en pro-
ceso de llevar adelante este convenio con soluciones habitacionales.
106
107
PANEL 2
108
Regeneración Urban
urbana Regeneration
a escala at the
barrial Neighborhood
Scale
Los conflictos urbanos y su mayor visi- Urban conflicts and increased visibility
bilidad en el actual contexto, exigen ser in the actual context need to be estab-
instalados en la agenda pública, para el lished in the public agenda, for the de-
desarrollo de políticas de regeneración velopment of urban regeneration poli-
urbana. cies.
¿Qué tipo de Estado se requiere para What type of State is required to de-
desarrollar una planificación urbana velop urban regeneration planning for
de regeneración barrial?, ¿Cuáles son neighborhoods? What are the core ele-
los ejes de esa planificación urbana?, ments of that urban planning? Who are
¿Quiénes son los actores fundamentales the fundamental players in the devel-
en el desarrollo de la planificación ur- opment of urban planning? And what
bana?, ¿Cuál debiera ser relación entre should be the relation between State,
Estado, mercado y sociedad civil en la market and civil society in the build-
construcción de un barrio y una ciudad ing of a neighborhood and an inclusive
inclusiva? city?
109
PRESENTACIÓN
MORIN CONTRERAS
Morin Contreras
Seremi de Vivienda y Urbanismo de la Sexta Las experiencias que presentaremos a continuación provienen de dife-
Región del Libertador Bernardo O´Higgins rentes partes del mundo, pero tienen en común el barrio como escala
de intervención. Alberto Paranhos desde su trabajo en el Programa de
las Naciones Unidas para los Asentamientos Humanos, ONU-Hábitat,
nos hablará de los desafíos de América Latina, que si bien presenta un
alto grado de urbanización y descentralización, es una región que toda-
vía presenta altos índices de informalidad, segregación, precariedad y
pobreza, lo que complejiza las tareas de recuperación y renovación de
barrios, especialmente cuando éstas no están asociadas a los compro-
misos y responsabilidad de las personas en la toma de decisiones.
110
PRESENTATION
MORIN CONTRERAS
The experiences that we are about to present come from different corners of the Morin Contreras
world, but they share the common factor of using neighborhoods as the scale Head of Regional Department of Housing and
for intervention. Alberto Paranhos, who works with the United Nations Human Urban Planning. O´Higgins Region
Settlements Program called UN-Habitat, will talk with us about the challenges
of Latin America, a region that possesses a high degree of urbanization and
decentralization but still presents a high rate of informality, segregation, insta-
bility and poverty, a reality that complicates the tasks of neighborhood recovery
and renewal, especially when these tasks are not associated with the commit-
ments and responsibilities of those in charge of decision-making.
Germany's Michael Peterek will tell us about the beginnings of an urban policy
on a neighborhood scale and the reasons for its success, where the principal
goal was to generate attractive and integrated neighborhoods with public spac-
es and areas for social encounters, areas that are built with active participation
by residents.
Chile's Alejandra Vio will discuss the challenges and achievements of her
country's Neighborhood Recovery Program, an urban program that is 100% par-
ticipative that had to maneuver the issue of family individualism and focus its
energies on building a collective project that manages to spark community rela-
tions and construction of works that enable people to come together.
Lastly, Carlos Pisoni from Argentina will tell us about the experiences of the
Neighborhood Improvement Program that tackled large areas of that Andean
nation. The program was developed with the main priority of building houses
without integrating them to the urban fabric.
111
CINCO PRINCIPIOS DE PLANIFICACIÓN PARA EL DESARROLLO
DE DISTRITOS URBANOS EXITOSOS - EJEMPLOS RECIENTES
EN ALEMANIA
MICHAEL PETEREK
experiencia en proyectos de cooperación inter- ¿Cuáles son las perspectivas y potenciales para el desarrollo de distri-
nacional, en investigaciones y cursos nacionales tos urbanos integrados?
e internacionales relacionados con proyectos de
¿Cómo es posible que el desarrollo urbano pueda crear las bases para
planificación urbana y regional.
una ciudad social y democrática con iguales oportunidades para to-
dos?
112
FIVE PLANNING PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL URBAN DISTRICT
DEVELOPMENT - RECENT EXAMPLES FROM GERMANY
MICHAEL PETEREK
My contribution to this Second International Forum will focus on contemporary Michael Peterek
challenges for the planning and development of integrated urban districts. I am Architect of the Aachen Technical University and
going to illustrate these issues with some recent examples of district develop- the University of Berlin; PhD in Urban Develop-
ment in Germany. ment from the Karlsruhe University. Since 2000
Which are the perspectives and potentials of an integrated urban district de- the same University. He has developed extensive
113
El punto de partida: Una ciudad desintegrada
Durante mucho tiempo, casi todas las ciudades alemanas han sido de-
terminadas por una expansión únicamente cuantitativa de sus áreas
urbanizadas. Esto tuvo relación con un cambio importante en la escala:
de paisajes urbanos delimitados a ciudades-regiones casi sin límites.
114
The starting point: a disintegrated city
For a long time, almost all cities in Germany have been determined by a merely
quantitative expansion of their urbanised areas. These developments were
related to an important change of scale: from delimited cityscapes to almost
unlimited city-regions.
The effects are widely known: suburbanisation and extensive urban sprawl,
mono-functional zoning of our cities, leading to a physical, functional and so-
cial separation of their single constitutive parts. On the one hand, there are
mono-functional residential zones, strictly divided under the terms of the spe-
cific socio-economical status of their inhabitants, and on the other hand, there
are equally mono-functional areas zoned for business and industries, too. The
result is a disintegrated city that falls apart into different zones, sectors and
partitions, creating an increasing necessity of connecting individual automobile
mobility to make the city work at least. To sum up, this disintegrated city is not
a sustainable form of urban living at all.
At the same time, urban societies are subject to enormous changes today, fac-
ing novel and so far unbeknown demographic, social, ecological and economic
challenges – like the ageing of society, smaller and much more diversified
household typologies – well beyond the traditional nuclear families –, an in-
creasing immigration and with it cultural differentiation in our cities, severe
ecological and economic constraints and others. These transformations make
the enhancement of new forms and models of collective living in urban socie-
ties necessary. The scale of urban districts can be helpful for these purposes.
Hence the development and recovery of attractive and integrated city dis-
tricts has become a central objective of national urban development policies
in Germany. Strengthening and stabilisation of decentralised, poly-nuclear city
districts and integrated neighbourhoods offering all necessary facilities for
our everyday life – including housing, jobs, services, culture, education – can
consolidate the cities as a whole. In doing so, integrated district development 1. City in which more than 80% of the
population living urban area.
ties in with the qualities of the traditional “European City”1, like urban density,
functional mix, and social integration.
In recent years, a variety of projects and diverse district typologies have been
involved in such programmes of active district renewal and development. The
115
vicios, cultura, educación– puede consolidar a las ciudades en su to-
talidad. Al hacerlo, el desarrollo de distritos integrados se enlaza con
1. Concepto que se refiere a una socie- las cualidades de la “ciudad europea”1 tradicional, como su densidad
dad muy urbanizada, donde más del
80 por ciento de la población vive en urbana, combinación de funciones e integración social.
núcleos urbanos.
En años recientes, una serie de proyectos y diversas tipologías de dis-
tritos han sido parte de los programas de renovación y desarrollo activo
de los distritos. El programa nacional Ciudad Social, que se centra en
los distritos más pobres, con un enfoque tanto espacial como social
y económico, es de gran importancia en este contexto, y será tratado
como parte de otro aporte a esta conferencia. En términos generales, la
mayoría de los proyectos de hoy para el desarrollo de distritos, puede
clasificarse según las siguientes tres categorías:
En todos los casos, las autoridades locales tienen mucho que decir en
los procesos de desarrollo, junto con los actores del ámbito profesional,
así como los grupos relevantes de residentes locales. A continuación,
deseo ilustrar cinco principios básicos de planificación, esenciales
para el desarrollo de distritos urbanos exitosos y sostenibles.
· Renewal of old and historical districts and neighbourhoods, in many cases dat-
ing from the industrial period of the second half of the 19th century.
· Contemporary brownfield developments, i.e. areas which have lost their previ-
ous role and functions (for example previous industrial or military sites) and
require a fundamental regeneration – probably the largest potentials for a
sustainable and integrated urban development in the future.
In all cases, the local authorities are a major stakeholder in the development
processes, together with the actors from the professional domain as well as
relevant groups from the local residents. In the following, I want to illustrate
five basic planning principles that are constitutive for successful and sustain-
able urban district development.
117
Los distritos existentes, que son homogéneos y tienen un solo tipo de
estructura, hoy en día deben ser enriquecidos con funciones comple-
mentarias y una diversificación de la disponibilidad de viviendas. De
este modo, la diversidad tipológica y funcional puede ser un posible
prerrequisito para la diversidad e integración social.
118
Today in the district of Vauban, we find a deliberate plurality of housing forms
and units, of occupancies, of plot sizes, of architectural typologies and appear-
ances, of open and collective spaces etc. (fig. 2). The housing models include
among others options for collective building-groups, for cooperatives, for alter-
native and self-organised housing initiatives, for student housing.
119
Un tercer ejemplo de revitalización de un área urbana existente es el
muy reciente proyecto de transformación del distrito Lyoner Straße en
Frankfurt am Main. En este caso, una zona de oficinas que sigue siendo
monofuncional hasta el día de hoy, será convertida en un distrito urba-
no integrado y de múltiples usos para tres mil nuevos residentes. Entre
las medidas del proyecto se cuentan la destrucción de edificios de ofi-
cinas, la transformación de oficinas en edificios de departamentos, la
construcción e integración de nuevas instalaciones habitacionales y el
desarrollo de infraestructura social y cultural, espacios abiertos y áreas
verdes.
120
For a long time, the public spaces in-between the buildings of our cities have
just been residual spaces, leftover spaces, incidental results of the urban de-
velopment. Nowadays, the upgrading of public spaces and the improvement of
their physical and social qualities has become a major concern for sustainable
district development. Public spaces are those areas that can effectively be de-
veloped and controlled by public authorities, as they are not subject to private
discretion or property.
In Tübingen, old and new developments are combined around a new public dis-
trict square which is car-free and surrounded by gastronomic and commercial
infrastructure on the ground floor (fig. 5).
By creating dense, diversified and mixed-use urban facilities (see above, plan-
ning principle 1) as well as attractive public spaces (see principle 2), we can
121
En Tübingen, se combinan antiguas y nuevas urbanizaciones alrededor
de una nueva plaza pública libre de automóviles, rodeada de instalacio-
nes para la gastronomía y el comercio en el primer piso (fig. 5).
Siguiendo el lema “las calles son para las personas, no para los au-
tomóviles”, se ha reducido el tráfico en la mayoría de las calles resi-
denciales de Friburgo-Vauban. Se permite que los automóviles ingresen
para carga y descarga, pero no para estacionarse (fig. 6). En la totalidad
Figura 5:
del distrito existen estacionamientos centralizados y también instala-
Plaza del distrito de Südstadt, Tübingen.
District square in Südstadt Tübingen. ciones para compartir automóviles, además de un nuevo tranvía hacia
el centro, con una frecuencia de entre cinco y diez minutos (fig. 7).
122
reduce the effects of an “enforced” mobility (to other places and districts). This
will support the development of “districts of short distances”.
By doing so, individual automobile mobility will not have any longer sole prior-
ity in the planning and development of urban districts. Instead of that, traffic-
calmed public spaces will be created in which all traffic participants (pedestri-
ans, cyclists, and car-users) have the same rights. At the same time, an efficient
public transport network has to be established to link the “districts of short
distances” with the centre and other places of urban relevance.
Under the lines of the motto “Streets are for people, not for cars”, in Freiburg-
Vauban most of the residential streets have been traffic-calmed, cars are al- Figura 6:
lowed to enter for loading and unloading, but not to park (fig. 6). Within the Calles con poco tráfico en Friburgo -
Vauban.
overall district, centralised parking garages are provided as well as car sharing Traffic-calmed streets in Freiburg-Vauban
facilities and a new tramway to the centre, with a five to ten minutes’ fre-
quency (fig. 7).
The streets can thus become an environment for social contacts and communi-
cation again, for children, for neighbours, improving the quality of living. At the
same, the reduced standard of road development saves on the overall amount
of land and settlement area consumption.
In the city of Frankfurt a pilot project on “Local Mobility” has been started in the
19th century Nordend district. The intention is to create a better environment
for local mobility (pedestrians and cyclists) by a participatory approach where
local residents are involved in site visits, field mapping, identification of defi-
ciencies and potentials as well the development and implementation of a first
set of experimental traffic-calming measures.
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De este modo, las calles pueden volver a convertirse en un entorno para
los contactos y la comunicación social, para los niños y los vecinos, con
lo cual se mejora la calidad de vida. Al mismo tiempo, el estándar redu-
cido de construcción de caminos es un ahorro en la cantidad total de
terreno ocupado y en el uso del área de asentamiento.
124
· Sustainable energy concepts, such as improved thermal insulation, low and
zero-energy houses, even plus-energy houses (producing more energy they
need, for instance by solar roof panels), decentralised block heat and power
plants.
On the one hand, for such purposes well-organised residents’ groups and civil
associations are of primordial importance. On the other hand, the local munici-
pality has to play a major role in activating and coordinating such participatory
initiatives, which often is a quite new role for local authorities: to support civil
groups and initiatives, to moderate processes, and at the same time, to moni-
tor the compliance with primal quality standards. For both sides, the citizens
and the authorities, an absolute reliability on stipulated regulations and agree-
ments is a crucial element of the process.
125
· Conceptos de movilidad innovadores y eficientes, como opciones para
compartir vehículos y un transporte público atractivo.
126
· Marketing and public relations.
· Cultural events.
The physical reference point for all these activities has since long been the
community centre at the central district square. At times, the initiatives have
been supported by a full-time office team, which was externally financed by
the city of Freiburg and some additional national and European funding. Such a
support by local politics and administration is essential for an effective public
participation.
Figura 10:
Successful urban districts are districts for all Infiltración de aguas pluviales en
Vauban.
Successful and sustainable urban districts are by no means districts for just Rainwater and surface water infiltration
one single social, economic or cultural section or group of society. Successful in Vauban.
districts are districts for all: for old and young, for women and men, for native
and migrants. As exposed at the beginning, the principles of a precise separa-
tion of different needs, functions, or zones within the city and the districts are
a thing of the past. Instead of that, integration and multidimensionality are
requested today. And that is what the here presented districts and case studies
try to implement.
Hence a successful district of the future will be an urban district for all groups
and all generations. The illustrated principles of sustainable planning inure to
the benefit of all groups within our cities.
127
ocasiones, las iniciativas han recibido el apoyo de un equipo técnico de
tiempo completo, financiado externamente por la ciudad de Friburgo,
más algunos otros aportes nacionales y europeos. Este apoyo por parte
de la política y administración local es esencial para una participación
pública efectiva.
128
129
LA EXPERIENCIA DEL PROGRAMA DE RECUPERACIÓN
DE BARRIOS DE CHILE
ALEJANDRA VIO
Alejandra Vio Hay dos aspectos fundamentales respecto del contexto desde el cual
Asistente Social, Licenciada en Servicio Social surge el Programa de Recuperación de Barrios, “Quiero mi Barrio” en
de la Universidad Santo Tomás; Magíster (c) Chile. Uno tiene relación con las transformaciones urbanas y sociales
en Políticas Sociales y Gestión Local de la que se han venido desarrollando en las dos últimas décadas. Éstos son,
Universidad ARCIS, Diplomada en Salud Mental por una parte, el avance en la superación de las necesidades urbanas
de la Universidad Santo Tomás; con estudios de básicas, tal como lo mencionó la Ministra Patricia Poblete en su dis-
especialización en Vivienda Social del Instituto curso de apertura, principalmente en el ámbito de la vivienda, donde
de La Vivienda de la Universidad de Chile. Se hemos reducido en casi un 50 por ciento el déficit habitacional. Por otra
ha desempeñado como encargada Nacional del
parte, está la convocatoria de la Presidenta Michelle Bachelet, para
Programa Fondo Solidario de Vivienda, para el
hacer de su gobierno un gobierno más cercano a la gente, que trabaja
Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo, y como
de la mano con el ciudadano.
Gerente de Vivienda de la Ilustre Municipalidad de Estos dos aspectos nos llevaron el año 2006 a vivir un cambio de pa-
Peñalolén. Desde principios de 2009 es la Secre- radigma al interior del Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo, reflejado
taria Ejecutiva del Programa de Recuperación de en la política sectorial que ha invitado a construir la ciudad desde los
Barrios, uno de los proyectos más ambiciosos de barrios y desde los ciudadanos, asumiendo que el trabajo a escala ba-
las políticas sociales del Ministerio de Vivienda y rrial requiere abordar las múltiples dimensiones del territorio. No sólo
Urbanismo de Chile. se trata de mejorar sus condiciones físicas, sino también de avanzar
en el sentido de lo público, entendido como el derecho que tenemos
como ciudadanos y ciudadanas a hacer uso de los bienes públicos y a
entender la importancia de la convivencia comunitaria y de la identidad
de los vecinos con su barrio.
130
THE EXPERIENCE OF CHILE´S NEIGHBORHOOD
RECOVERY PROGRAM
ALEJANDRA VIO
There are two fundamental aspects fueling the Neighborhood Recovery Pro- Alejandra Vio
gram “I Love my Neighborhood”, in Chile. The first is related to urban and social Social Worker, Bachelor’s degree in Social Work
transformations that have developed over the last two decades. These transfor- from the Santo Tomas University; Master’s (c)
mations are due, in part, to advances made in overcoming basic urban needs as in Social Policies and Local Administration from
Minister Poblete mentioned in the opening speech, mainly in the area of hous- Universidad ARCIS (ARCIS University), Diploma in
ing where we have reduced our housing shortage by nearly 50%. The second Mental Health from the Santo Tomas University;
is the proposal made by President Michelle Bachelet for her administration to specialized studies in Social Housing from the
work more closely with the people and to work hand-in-hand with its citizens. University of Chile’s Institute of Housing. She has
zens to use public spaces, based on the importance of community harmony and most ambitious projects of the Ministry of Housing
the identity of neighbors working together. and Urban Development of Chile’s social policies.
This is the atmosphere into which the Neighborhood Recovery Program was
born, proposed as a way of improving the quality of life among residents in
neighborhoods that suffer from issues of urban deterioration and social vul-
nerability. The program is designed for organizing a cooperative process that
recovers public spaces and urban family environments, strengthens social rela-
tions and promotes social integration within neighborhoods.
To tackle the challenge, the operating model was designed in three phases.
Phase one involves bringing neighbors together to define comprehensive ur-
131
de los espacios públicos y de los entornos urbanos de las familias, junto
con fortalecer las relaciones sociales y propiciar barrios más integra-
dos socialmente.
132
ban recovery proposals. Execution involves a diagnostic survey and cooperative
workshops, it promotes community action and it makes up the Neighborhood
Development Council in each neighborhood. This organization is aimed at unit-
ing the largest possible number of participants from the neighborhood in order
to carry forward a collective recovery project. The group then draws up a Neigh-
borhood Contract detailing the works and initiatives that the neighborhood has
identified as priorities which will be carried out within the framework of the
Program. Following, the group establishes the amount of investment needed
and the contract is signed by a representative of the Neighborhood Develop-
ment Council, the local mayor and the Regional Department of Ministry of
Housing and Urban Development (Seremi) in each area. We feel that because
of this instrument, we can assert that we have generated a new relationship
between the State and its citizens - one that recognizes the legal rights of all
neighborhood residents.
The second phase involves carrying out the works that were prioritized in the
Neighborhood Contract, which are considered part of a Works Management
Plan. This phase also calls for execution of the social initiatives defined in the
Social Management Plan, where the principal goal is to strengthen neighbor-
hood leadership and abilities with an eye to lending sustainability to the recov-
ery process and helping neighbors take ownership of their works.
Another important aspect of the second phase is undoubtedly the task of car-
rying out initiatives in scenarios where multiple sectors are involved - in other
words, executing activities or actions where our presence competes with ac-
tions by other public institutions. This is why we recognize that the Housing
Ministry is one of several actors that play a role in neighborhood recovery and
we have worked to coordinate with the presence of other organizations. One
example is the work we have performed alongside the Ministry of Culture, the
Public Security branch of the Ministry of the Interior and the Telecommunica-
tions Ministry, along with other organizations that have also been strategic
partners. It hasn't been easy, however, because other institutions don't neces-
sarily share the same goals and deadlines that we've established.
The third phase wraps up intervention and evaluation. Before closing, we work
with the Neighborhood Councils on a Future Agenda which is a plan for devel-
oping the neighborhood in the mid- and long-term once the Program is finished.
The Future Agenda is a construction that aims to provide sustainability to the
process that was started and sustainability to each of the works that were built
in the neighborhood. This phase includes a process that encourages neighbors
to take responsibility for their own development. This is a task we are studying
133
La tercera fase es la de cierre de la intervención y de evaluación. An-
tes del cierre se trabaja con los Consejos Vecinales en una Agenda
Futura, que es un plan de desarrollo barrial de mediano y largo plazo a
desarollar una vez concluido el Programa. Esta Agenda Futura es una
construcción que se plantea para dar sustentabilidad al proceso inicia-
do y sostenibilidad a cada una de las obras que se han construido en
el barrio. Esta fase incluye un proceso en el que los vecinos tienen que
hacerse cargo de su propio desarrollo. Ese es un trabajo que estamos
enfrentando hoy día, para posteriormente hacer la evaluación y el se-
guimiento de cómo marcha esta agenda.
Las alianzas con otros servicios públicos se desarrollan tanto desde los
niveles locales y regionales, como desde el nivel nacional.
134
today in order to make evaluations at a later date and observe the progress of
the agenda.
There is also a Technical Board and Committee on a national level. The Board
offers strategic guidance for implementing the Program and the Committee
evaluates projects with wider scope and makes decisions about the Program's
development through the country. The Executive Office also works on a na-
tional level by managing and establishing policy guidelines and implementing
the Program and working with all Regional Department of Housing and Urban
Development Ministry.
Alliances with other public services are developed on a local, regional and na-
tional level.
At this point I would like to tell you about the selection process and how we
settled on the 200 neighborhoods that make up the body of the Program. The
process involved the Housing and Urban Development Ministry, regional gov-
ernments and the municipalities from Chile's 15 regions that came together in
regional committees throughout the country. To be prioritized by the Regional
Committee, the neighborhoods were required to exist in communities with
more than 70,000 residents or be part of suburban cities with a population of
more than 100,000 people. Communities were also given consideration if more
135
Quisiera ahora contarles cómo fue el proceso de selección de los 200
barrios que conforman el universo del Programa. Este fue un proceso
que involucró al Ministerio, a los gobiernos regionales y a los municipios
de las 15 regiones, reunidos en mesas regionales en todo el país. Para
ser priorizados por las Mesas Regionales, los barrios debían estar en
comunas con más de 70 mil habitantes o en aquellas que forman parte
de ciudades conurbadas con una población de 100 mil y más personas.
Se consideró, además, aquellas comunas que tenían más de un 10 por
ciento de personas pobres. Habiendo definido el universo de comunas,
se seleccionaron los barrios de al menos una comuna por región, que
presentaran deterioro físico o vulnerabilidad social. Es así como hoy
día estamos trabajando en 200 barrios, en las 15 regiones del país, en
80 comunas a nivel nacional, con un promedio de cobertura de 500 mil
habitantes y 127 mil viviendas.
Hoy quisiera compartir con ustedes algunos de los resultados que he-
mos sistematizado a nivel nacional respecto de ese proceso. Es posible
observar que los barrios identificados muestran un cierto grado de con-
solidación. Se trata de barrios con familias en ciclos de vida avanzados
o en decrecimiento. Más del 40 por ciento de las familias son nucleares
compuestas por ambos padres y un 10 por ciento de los casos corres-
ponde a hogares unipersonales, principalmente un adulto mayor. Esta
diversidad hace que tengamos demandas diferenciadas respecto de
las obras: las familias jóvenes que quieren plazas, juegos infantiles y
jardines infantiles, y las familias más adultas que quieren espacios de
encuentro comunitario como sedes sociales. Para hacer coincidir am-
bos intereses hoy destacan los espacios multipropósitos con el fin de
que todos se sientan acogidos.
136
than 10% of the population lived in poverty. With the community criteria estab-
lished, neighborhoods were chosen from at least one community per region that
demonstrated physical deterioration or social vulnerability. The result is that to-
day we are working in 200 neighborhoods in all 15 regions of the country, in 80
communities on a national level, with a presence in the lives of approximately
500,000 residents and in 127,000 homes.
Once the neighborhoods from each region were chosen, our Neighborhood
Teams arrived at each location. In this process, we discovered a high diversity
that was visible not only from region to region but in each neighborhood. When
a team of professionals arrives, we are first interested in finding out who the
residents are and what the neighborhood is like. To get our answer, we use a
diagnostic survey.
Today I'd like to share with you some of the results we've drawn up on a na-
tional level as a result of this process. A degree of consolidation was visible
across the neighborhoods that we identified. These neighborhoods are home to
families that are in advanced cycles of life or families that are growing smaller.
Over 40% of the families are nuclear and include both parents while some 10%
of the residences are home to a single person, in most cases an elderly person.
This diversity indicates that we have a demanding task at hand: young families
want squares, playground toys and preschools while older families want areas
for community gatherings such as social centers. In order for both interests
to harmonize, these areas now accommodate multi-functional spaces so that
everyone feels at home.
In our survey, when we asked the neighbors how they would evaluate their homes
and surroundings, housing received more positive notes than the neighborhood
but even so, neither received an average evaluation higher than 5 on a scale of 1
to 7. The same occurred when judging the perception of security in public spaces,
where only social centers - areas that the community has identified as meeting
points - were rated higher than 4. Elsewhere in the survey, we noted that residents
felt a low degree of commitment by their neighbors to care for cleanliness and
security in public spaces around the neighborhood: 80% stated that their neigh-
bors care very little or not at all for keeping public spaces clean. There was also
a negative perception regarding environmental problems associated with trash
heaps, animal control and noise pollution but even so, 90% of neighbors recognize
that the residents themselves are responsible for taking care of their environment.
Also in the survey, we determined that 75% of neighbors acknowledge that they
speak regularly or occasionally with their closest neighbors and over 95% stated
that they count on at least 1 family in the neighborhood in case of emergency.
137
siete. Lo mismo ocurre con la percepción de seguridad en el espacio
público, en la que sólo las sedes sociales obtienen una nota superior a
cuatro; este es un espacio relevado por la comunidad en tanto punto de
encuentro. Por otro lado, nos llamó la atención la baja percepción de
compromiso que declaran los vecinos en relación a sus pares respecto
del cuidado, limpieza y seguridad de los espacios públicos del barrio: el
80 por ciento declara que sus vecinos cuidan poco o nada la limpieza de
los espacios públicos. Por otra parte, existe una alta percepción sobre
los problemas ambientales asociados a microbasurales, a control de
animales, contaminación acústica, pero así también el 90 por ciento de
los vecinos reconoce que son ellos mismos los responsables de cuidar
su entorno. En otro ámbito, un 75 por ciento de los vecinos reconoce
que conversa normalmente o a veces con sus vecinos más cercanos
y más de 95 por ciento declara contar con alguna familia del barrio en
caso de necesidad.
138
At the beginning of the intervention, we also discovered that - in their free time
- neighbors mainly partake of individual activities, and very few activities are
developed with others or in a community setting. The most frequented spaces
in the neighborhood are the markets and the streets. Neighbors also reported
that they see their neighborhood in a more positive light than they feel others
who do not live there must see it. This tells us about neighborhoods and resi-
dents who feel stigmatized by where they live.
Just three years after the Program's launch, I want to tell you about the major
accomplishments the Ministry feels it has achieved. We have seen important
results in motivating the community to meet up regularly, and organizations are
taking a more active role by creating new spaces for participation in their neigh-
borhoods. Neighbors are becoming organized, participating, voting and taking
a democratic approach in their decision-making. Children are playing outdoors.
Spaces are different and have a distinct feel.
Comparatively speaking, participation has gained speed. One of the people that
we interviewed in a focus group said: "The Program supports and will con-
tinue to support actions that motivate neighbors to participate and organize.
It has caused them to gain a new interest in the people and the place where
they live, has helped them realize the depth of what they can accomplish with
their knowledge and with the right tools. If everyone takes part, everyone will
become a steward, everyone will help make sure that it is cared for over time,
and because of this it will be a collective task." A larger number of players are
taking part in a variety of ways. Some regions boast Neighborhood Develop-
ment Councils made up of children only and other regions host Councils made
up of adolescents. Today, people have become involved and aren't necessarily
part of any neighborhood organization. In Chile, organization on a local level
is composed of neighborhood association and many of these were discredited
several years ago for a perceived political association or because they were not
139
las organizaciones van tomando un rol más activo, generándose nuevos
espacios de participación al interior del barrio. Los vecinos se organi-
zan, participan, votan, hay un ejercicio democrático respecto de sus
decisiones. Los niños se toman la calle, juegan, hay un espacio distinto,
un ambiente distinto.
140
democratic enough or simply because they still have the same members they've
always had. This is precisely why we will try to use the Program to move ahead
and take a step forward and call for all organizations and neighbors to form
Neighborhood Development Councils which will be perceived as a more diversi-
fied institution that incorporates a broader array of players.
In the realm of managing Neighborhood Contracts, I can tell you that 117 So-
cial Management Plans and 180 Works Management Plans are underway with
participation from neighbors who have also played an active part in overseeing
execution of the works. These are the people who exercise supervisory control
over the works that are most important to them.
141
tas de vecinos al inicio del Programa nos reclamaron por sentirse “pa-
sadas a llevar”, pero la realidad nos ha demostrado a nosotros y a ellos,
que el Consejo Vecinal es un espacio amplio, de hecho, hoy día sus
presidentes o vicepresidentes son también presidentes de la junta de
vecinos, situación que se da en un 30 por ciento de los Consejos. Se han
formado comisiones de trabajo al interior de los consejos. Hay algunos
que tienen comisiones de medioambiente, de comunicación, de seguri-
dad, y lo importante es que estas comisiones no sólo están integradas
por los miembros de los Consejos Vecinales de Desarrollo, sino que
han sido capaces de involucrar a otros vecinos que por sus temáticas
se han sentido motivados a participar. Creemos, efectivamente, que el
Consejo Vecinal ha sido un detonador de un trabajo más colaborativo,
porque sus integrantes sin duda han puesto su energía, sus ganas, su
capacidad de dialogar, de ponerse de acuerdo y negociar, en pro de un
proyecto colectivo. Por lo tanto, vamos transitando desde lo individual a
lo colectivo, hemos salido de la casa al barrio.
Sobre otros aspectos de la gestión, que tienen que ver con los Contra-
tos de Barrio, les puedo contar que se están ejecutando 117 Planes de
Gestión Social y 180 Planes de Gestión de Obras con participación de
los vecinos, que han participado también activamente en el monitoreo
de la ejecución de sus obras. Son ellos los que ejercen un control fisca-
lizador de aquellas obras más importantes para ellos.
142
with neighbors, guide the process and become involved on a human level. They
generate a unique closeness between the Neighborhood Team and the commu-
nity, working in conjunction with daily tasks without telling what to do. Second,
we feel that the Neighborhood Contract is an element that lends substance and
coherence to what we've wanted to achieve - namely, that people observe a
sense of responsibility on behalf of the institution and don't feel that we are
going to abandon them. The Neighborhood Contract is signed - as we said -
by the Neighborhood Development Council, Housing and Urban Development
Ministry representatives and also by local authorities. And lastly, we feel that
we have been making resolute advances into abstract territory through social
initiative because we have provided tools and elements so that Neighborhood
Association - as organizations - can move forward with new leaders. There
is a growing appreciation of social issues as a symbol of recovery and that is
because neighbors say that today they relate better, because they are inter-
ested in local activities and they feel that their neighborhoods have improved
considerably with less sense of the segregation they previously felt. One person
from Villa Portales said, "I think that the worksmanagment plan will help bring
a lot of social projects to fruition in the community, they will make neighbors
love and care for this community much more, and they will help public spaces
become beautiful areas where neighbors can admire and enjoy the lovely place
where they live."
To wrap up, I would like to list some of the key learning points we experienced
while implementing the Program which have aided in the development and con-
solidation of a public policy at a neighborhood level.
The first is that it's important to understand that the oldest neighborhoods are
in the worst shape and need to undergo a process of recovery or regeneration
in public spaces and of community equipment. But there are other neighbor-
hoods that are newer and younger that claim to be part of a city. This issue
means that a public policy must have great flexibility in adapting to different
types of neighborhoods. As we saw previously, some neighborhoods are also
a mixture of varying family cycles, which means that many variables must be
taken into consideration when it comes times to propose a public policy. Local
resources must also be taken into account when improvements are expected
to take place.
143
y esto tiene que ver con que los vecinos y vecinas dicen que hoy se
conocen más entre ellos, que hay interés por las cosas que se hacen en
el barrio y además perciben que sus barrios han mejorado notablemen-
te, que han ido reduciendo la percepción de segregación que tenían.
Aquí hay una persona de la Villa Portales que dice: “Creo que las obras
físicas a realizar permitirán que se concreten dentro de la villa muchos
proyectos sociales, también que los vecinos quieran y cuiden esta villa
mucho más, que los espacios públicos vuelvan a ser hermosos lugares
para que los vecinos admiren y disfruten del bello lugar donde viven”.
144
- both work and social - has been a variable in all aspects of our management.
We have recognized the fact that neighborhood recovery is much more than
meeting the terms of a Neighborhood Contract. Today we understand that em-
powering neighbors - especially local leaders - is the very thing that will lend
sustainability to the process that has begun. We are also certain that we must
provide tools that will help the entire intervention be sustainable over time - not
just from a point of view of the works because the works will stay where they
are, but also from a perspective of the commitment and involvement so the
community can actually take ownership of the works and become empowered
by them.
The third point is to understand that neighborhoods are dynamic areas that
bring together different players, services and expectations and this factor has
prompted us to approach intervention in an innovative way. We have recog-
nized the need to tackle urban problems in neighborhoods from every possible
angle. By doing so, coordination between players and the creation of alliances
has allowed us to offer more alternatives and integral solutions. The multi-
sector issue is undoubtedly one of the policy's largest challenges and we still
have a long way to go in that arena since not all public institutions take on
their challenges at a neighborhood level which causes difficulty in coordinating
services when working on site.
The fourth learning point has been the challenge posed by the city agenda that
the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning is developing, which involves un-
derstanding the dynamic of the relationship among local areas. In that sense,
solid housing, friendly neighborhoods and integrated cities are all part of the
same line of work. This makes it fundamental to take a look at each of the dif-
ferent levels while developing integral recovery proposals.
The fifth point is to understand that we must ally ourselves with the municipal-
ity in this process, that it isn't possible to begin a renovation process if it isn't
part of a community strategy. These people know the other residents and what
they need; they are the people with community development plans; they are the
ones who formulate a community strategy. When we do not work with the mu-
nicipalities through a coordinated and mutual strategy, the neighborhood will
not become incorporated into the community because it creates - or rather, the
Program is capable of creating - segregation from within the community where
there is no common thread tying it together.
Another point is that neighborhood work is performed by people and with peo-
ple, and the recovery process demands an array of abilities and capacities from
145
El tercer punto es comprender a los barrios como territorios dinámicos
donde confluyen actores, servicios y expectativas, y esto nos ha obli-
gado a innovar en la intervención. Hemos hecho un reconocimiento a la
necesidad de abordar las problemáticas urbanas de los barrios desde la
mayor cantidad de aristas posibles. Así, la coordinación entre actores y
la generación de alianzas no sólo nos ha permitido ofrecer más alterna-
tivas y respuestas integrales. Sin duda, la multisectorialidad es uno de
los grandes desafíos de la política, y en ella nos queda aún mucho por
avanzar, porque no toda la institucionalidad pública aborda su trabajo
desde la escala barrial, y eso impide que efectivamente podamos tener
a los servicios coordinados trabajando en terreno.
Como cuarto punto, está el desafío que nos plantea la agenda ciudad
que estamos desarrollando como Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo, y
es entender la dinámica de los territorios en relación con los otros. Así,
viviendas dignas, barrios amables y ciudades integradas, son parte de
una misma línea de trabajo. Por ello la mirada entre las distintas esca-
las resulta fundamental para el desarrollo de propuestas integrales de
recuperación.
146
the professionals who work there. Today there are more than 1,000 profession-
als working in the Program, which has posed an enormous challenge and been
a boundless learning tool for everyone involved. Thinking about a policy from
the neighborhood level also means thinking about training professionals with
specific tools in order to tackle the challenge of transformation.
And lastly, we have learned that recovery as a city policy is an opportunity for
social inclusion. Recovering a neighborhood also means transforming the city
itself.
147
Hemos aprendido que la recuperación de un barrio es también construir
ciudadanía, que hay que seguir avanzando en esta forma de hacer ciu-
dad de comunidad en comunidad, con un rol activo de los vecinos no
sólo en la definición de las propuestas, sino también en la concreción
de éstas.
Muchas gracias.
148
149
REGENERACIÓN URBANA A ESCALA BARRIAL: LA EXPERIENCIA
DEL PROGRAMA DE MEJORAMIENTO DE BARRIOS (PROMEBA)
DE ARGENTINA
CARLOS A. PISONI
Carlos Adrián Pisoni Buenas tardes a todos y a todas, quiero agradecer especialmente la po-
Arquitecto de la Universidad de Buenos Aires; sibilidad de compartir la reflexión sobre regeneración urbana a escala
Master en Control de Políticas Sociales del barrial, al Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo de Chile, Cities Alliance
Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública y a GTZ, y en particular, al Programa de Recuperación de Barrios, de
(INAP); Instituto para el Desarrollo Empresarial de Chile.
la Argentina (IDEA); Facultad Latinoamericana de
Como primera consideración, quiero destacar la riqueza y energía
Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) y Poder Ciudadano;
transmitida por los distintos actores comprometidos, por funcionarios,
con estudios de Maestría en Hábitat y Vivienda de
especialistas, académicos y, especialmente, por las organizaciones y
la Universidad de Mar del Plata, Argentina. En el los pobladores en la búsqueda de repuestas a una tarea tan compleja.
año 2006 se desempeñó como Subsecretario de
de la Vivienda de la Provincia de Buenos Aires y Es oportuno recordar que hasta la década del 60, en el marco de los
Director del Postgrado Hábitat y Pobreza Urbana Estados de Bienestar, se desarrollaron políticas que en éste, nuestro
en la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la campo del hábitat con restricciones, proveían viviendas masivamente,
Universidad de Buenos Aires. obedeciendo al mandato de la época, con el Estado cumpliendo el rol
de garante de una vivienda digna.
150
URBAN REGENERATION AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM (PROMEBA) OF ARGENTINA
CARLOS A. PISONI
Good afternoon everyone, I wish to especially thank the Ministry of Housing Carlos Adrian Pisoni
and Urban Development of Chile, Cities Alliance and GTZ, and particularly, the Architect of the University of Buenos Aires;
Neighborhood Recovery Program of Chile, for the opportunity to share the re- Master’s degree in Monitoring of Social Policies
flection on urban regeneration at the neighborhood scale. from the National Institute for Public Administra-
It is appropriate to recall that up to the 1960’s, in the framework of Welfare Buenos Aires. Presently, he is Administrator
States, policies were formulated which in this, our field of habitat with restric- General of the Institute of Housing of the Province
tions, were providing mass housings, obeying the mandate of the era with the of Buenos Aires and Director of the Postgraduate
State fulfilling the role of guarantor of dignified housing. course in Habitat and Urban Poverty in the Faculty
151
uno de nosotros nos cabe la responsabilidad y el compromiso de apor-
tar en nuestros países todo el imaginario y la creatividad, con el fin de
consolidar estrategias que nos permitan afrontar esta realidad con los
recursos posibles –no los necesarios– a efectos de obtener los mayo-
res y/o mejores resultados.
Sin embargo, avanzado ya el primer decenio del nuevo siglo, los indica-
dores actuales pronostican que a los actuales mil millones de habitan-
tes en asentamientos en el mundo, se sumarán 400 millones más para
el año 2020, y que asimismo más de tres mil millones vivirán en barrios
insalubres sin servicios básicos.
152
According to what was expressed, I think it is important to highlight that at the
beginning of this century, the United Nations Organizations (UNO), proposed
as Millennium Goals “To significantly improve the lives of 100 million slum
dwellers by the year 2020” as well as “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking water”.
However, now, late in the first decade of the new century, present indicators
predict that by the year 2020, 400 million more will be added to the current bil-
lion inhabitants in settlements worldwide, and also that more than three billion
will live in unsanitary neighborhoods without basic services.
In relation to Latin America, even though it does not represent the poorest con-
tinent, it is considered as the most unequal and inequitable.
Wide sections of the population are prevented from accessing, in equal op-
portunities, the different gamut of services offered by the cities. Extensive ter-
ritories emerge as expression of urban poverty.
With the factors indicated, the Federal Program for Housing Construction was
created as of 2003, which proposed to construct 200,000 houses. This Program
represented the most ambitious plan that our country has planned, with the
exception of the first Peronist presidency of the previous century, in the 1940’s.
In its formulation, the main objective was to generate employment confronting
the high unemployment rate which rose to almost 40 percent of the working
population, in a context of undercapitalized businesses, without working capi-
tal, producers of raw materials without demand that guided the responses to
be reached.
153
objetivo central fue el de generar empleo enfrentando la alta tasa de
desocupación que ascendía a casi el 40 por ciento de la población acti-
va, en un contexto de empresas descapitalizadas, sin capital de trabajo,
productoras de insumos sin demanda, que direccionaron las respues-
tas a alcanzar.
154
in the region, like Colombia and Brazil. This restriction resulted in many of the
macro-housing complexes built of one thousand five hundred or more houses
not being integrated into the pre-existing urban grid, finding them scattered
over the territory.
When Promeba was established in our country, the only program that was un-
1. Chile Barrio, of the Ministry of
der way in Latin America was the Chile Barrio1, which was a standard for us at Housing and Urban Development of
that time. Even though the first months were difficult, since the challenge was Chile, came into existence in 1996
within the framework of the National
to resolve the problem through a program formulated without acknowledging Program for Poverty Reductions with
local peculiarities – which we characterized as “canned” – and to establish it the objective of resolving the situation
of families that lived in precarious
in an absolutely opposite reality. It was very complicated because it was the settlements.
context of deregulation and privatization, in an Argentina in which the State
was absent, in which the users would disappear for the clients to appear and,
furthermore, residents of the most neglected sectors were not of interest to the
new managers of privatized infrastructure services.
In that context, although the model contained all the disciplines, inclusive of
social problems, the complexity was not to perform the intervention, but that
our concern, very difficult, was the so-called “day after”: once the work was
inaugurated and the ribbons cut, after each family took possession of their new
house, the challenge was how those families could resolve their sustainability.
At that point, the model could have become a perverse formula if the ben-
eficiaries could not meet the cost of the infrastructure in dealing with private
155
difíciles, ya que el desafío era resolver la problemática a través de un
programa formulado sin reconocer las particularidades locales - lo que
nosotros, caracterizamos como “enlatado”- e instalarlo en una realidad
absolutamente contraria. Fue muy complejo porque era el contexto de
la desregularización y de la privatización, en una Argentina en la que
el Estado estaba ausente, en la que desaparecieron los usuarios para
aparecer los clientes y, además, en la que los habitantes de los secto-
res más postergados no eran de interés para a los nuevos gerentes de
los servicios de infraestructura privatizados.
156
sectors that were not concerned about them and that electricity, gas, water
and sewage bills were going to arrive punctually. The difficulty, then, was how
these families could resolve the situation.
In Argentina, there is no social tariff applied to the entire country because even
though there is a National Constitution, there are also provincial constitutions,
which determine that the provinces may not adhere to what is stated in the Na-
tional Constitution. What was related was one of the strong difficulties which
Promeba had, program which presently has consolidated, enjoys good health,
has in its assets around 250 neighborhoods completed, and the same amount
of neighborhoods in execution.
Nevertheless, in this brief summary I would like to highlight also, as part of this
joint reflection, the weaknesses of this management model, which has been
successful on small and/or medium-sized localities, where its impact is strong
and where it may be reproduced. But, for example, in metropolitan areas like
the Conurbano Bonaerense, each neighborhood in which it is executed is like a
drop of water in an ocean, thus it does not produce an impact or feedback, and
dilutes the scope of its action. In addition, in some cases conflicting situations
arise in the treatment of their borders and in relation to consolidated neighbor-
hoods, inhabited by middle class and new poor. This situation affects hundreds
of thousands of families that have built their houses in a way that specialists
call self-constructed houses along with two or three generations, during 25 or
30 years and which, lamentably, in the framework of policies implemented,
have never found a response to their demands, beacuse this level resolves their
housing problem without assistance from the State. On the other hand, the
State has strongly channeled its action on the most fragile sectors, but there
is that strip which has received practically no support and that subsists with
157
ficultades fuertes que tuvo el Promeba, programa que en la actualidad
se ha consolidado, goza de buena salud, tiene en su haber alrededor de
250 barrios finalizados, e igual cantidad de barrios en ejecución.
158
difficulties, with problems of maintenance and/or completion of their houses.
Regarding the provision of services, the foregoing implies the need to re-direct
the public policies implemented, incorporating this segment of society, a fight
that some of us are giving from our work fronts day after day and which is part
of the imagination with which we are facing this task.
159
REGENERACIÓN A ESCALA BARRIAL: LECCIONES APRENDIDAS
Y DESAFÍOS PARA LA REGIÓN.
LA EXPERIENCIA DEL TRABAJO DEL PROGRAMA ONU HABITAT1
ALBERTO PARANHOS
Alberto Parahnos El Programa de las Naciones Unidas para los Asentamientos Humanos,
Oficial Principal en Asentamientos Humanos de ONU-Hábitat2, es la agencia de las Naciones Unidas que actúa como
ONU-Hábitat/ Oficina Regional para América punto focal para la Ciudad y la Vivienda. ONU-Hábitat coordina el moni-
Latina y el Caribe, con sede en Río de Janeiro, toreo del cumplimiento de la Meta 11 de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del
Brasil. Economista de la Universidad Federal Milenio, que los países miembros adoptaron en el año 2000, y que de-
de Paraná, Curitiba, Brasil. Con estudios de termina “mejorar hasta el 2020 las condiciones de vida de por lo menos
postgrado en Economía del Desarrollo Urbano, 100 millones de habitantes de asentamientos precarios”.
en la Universidad de París-I Pantheón-Sorbonne.
Asimismo, ONU-Hábitat apoya a los gobiernos nacionales y locales en
Se ha desempeñado como Asesor Especial de la la implementación del Derecho a la Vivienda Digna y a la Ciudad, in-
Presidencia en el IPPUC – Instituto Municipal de cluida la formulación, implementación y evaluación de las políticas, los
Investigación y Planificación Urbana, Municipali- programas y las iniciativas que concurren para que toda la población,
dad de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil; Consultor Interna- especialmente sus segmentos más pobres y vulnerables, alcancen
cional para ONU-Hábitat y para el Programa de esos derechos.
las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo en Quito,
En Chile, en el marco del Programa de Recuperación de Barrios –Quiero
Ecuador. Fue Secretario Ejecutivo del Foro Mundial
mi Barrio– del Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo (Minvu), ONU-Há-
de Ciudades; Evento Preparatorio Urbano de la
bitat aporta su experiencia regional y mundial al programa de apoyo
Conferencia de la ONU para el Medio Ambiente técnico liderado por la Agencia de cooperación técnica –GTZ– dentro
y el Desarrollo (Conferencia de Río de Janeiro, de la donación que el Minvu recibió de Cities Alliances.
1992).
Es dentro de esas perspectivas que ONU-Hábitat se presenta en este
Panel.
160
REGENERATION AT COMMUNITY LEVEL: LESSONS LEARNED
AND CHALLENGES FOR THE REGION.
WORKING EXPERIENCE OF THE UN-HABITAT PROGRAM1
ALBERTO PARANHOS
The United Nations Human Settlements Program, UN Habitat, is the United Alberto Parahnos
Nations agency which acts a focal point for City and Home. UN-Habitat co- Senior Officer in UN Human Settlements
ordinates the monitoring of compliance with Objective 11 of the Millennium Program (UN-Habitat)/Regional Office for Latin
Development Goals adopted by member states in 2000 which determined to America and the Caribbean (ROLAC), based in
“improve the living conditions of at least 100 million inhabitants of insecure Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Economist of the Federal
settlements.” University of Prana, Curtiba, Brazil. Postgraduate
The Latin American and Caribbean region is known for three characteristics
which distinguish it from developing regions:
a) Firstly, it is the region with the highest level of urbanization as all its coun- 1. Through the Latin America and Ca-
ribbean Regional Office, ROLAC.
tries have a level of urbanization (namely, the amount of the population liv-
161
a) Por un lado, es la región con mayor grado de urbanización, ya que
todos sus países tienen una tasa de urbanización (es decir, cantidad
de población viviendo en asentamientos urbanos) superior a un 50
por ciento; en algunos países, esa tasa hasta supera el 70 por ciento
y más.
162
ing in urban settlements) over 50%; in some countries, this level reaches
70% or more.
c) Thirdly, it is regrettably the region with the widest gap in terms of social
inclusion, namely, the region with the largest socioeconomic inequality and
disparities in terms of access to wealth, essential social services, security of
housing tenure and the “right to the city”.
Therefore the main challenge for our region’s countries and cities is how to take
advantage of the urbanization process and decentralization strategies progres-
sively to lessen this gap in social inclusion.
All the region’s medium and large cities show at least 30% levels of informal-
ity, instability or poverty. This is reflected on the ground mainly in the form of
disadvantaged districts, shanties and privation of every kind. It is important
to stress that the three aforementioned factors are not synonymous: poverty
is closer to the idea of income and wages, while insecurity is more linked to
a shortcoming in urban and social services and informality is seen as related
to a lack of legal guarantees in general. In most cases, the three concepts are
encountered together, especially in shanties and camps.
However, there are various exceptions, for example, certain tenements in cen-
tral areas where there is informality in housing tenure and some overcrowd-
ing, but these buildings remain within the city with access to its services and
amenities and their inhabitants are not usually the city’s poorest. Dwellings in
good condition which occupy environmental conservation areas and for which
reason cannot be legalized are another case and so there is informality. The
same process of regeneration is not always associated with these three as-
pects at the same time as we shall see later.
Regarding the outlines of political ideology that also characterize the region, it
is notable that national and/or local governments that call themselves “right-
ist” remain guided by two key words, “order” and “market”; but it has been
shown that the market is incapable of lessening these gaps given the asym-
163
edificaciones suelen estar dentro de la ciudad, con acceso a sus servi-
cios y equipamientos, y sus habitantes no están habitualmente entre los
más pobres de la ciudad. Otro caso podrían ser las viviendas de buen
estándar que ocupan áreas de conservación ambiental y por esa razón
no pueden ser legalizadas, y por ende hay informalidad. El mismo proce-
so de regeneración no siempre está asociado a esas tres dimensiones
en forma simultánea, como se verá más adelante.
En tanto, los gobiernos que se dicen “de izquierda” se orientan por las
palabras clave “derechos” y “equidad”, pero no tienen claro cuánto
cuesta implementar estos derechos ni cómo se obtienen los recursos
para ello; asimismo, no queda totalmente claro qué compromisos y
deberes están asociados a los derechos, como una contrapartida de
simetrías.
164
metry in access to the same by the players involved. As for “order”, the various
legal norms lack the logical grounding or technical and economic justification
for it to exist, rendering it obsolescent or to be treated with no respect, which
helps discredit this legal framework as a normative platform.
Meanwhile, governments which call themselves “leftist” are guided by the key
words “rights” and “fairness”, but are unclear how much it will cost to imple-
ment these rights even if they obtain the resources; at the same time, it is not
totally clear that commitments and duties are associated with rights, like a kind
of alignment in symmetry.
The great majority of governments have parted ways with these more ideologi-
cal points of view, but are starting to adopt more pragmatic attitudes in view
of the large number of priorities and necessities along with the lack of financial
resources to deal with them together. However, a somewhat clinical outlook
still endures when it comes to formulating policies and programs, whether
because of budget constraints in their execution or the tradition of seeking
concrete results before upcoming elections.
The great challenges for the region will not be resolved in the short term. We
already have a goodly number of good initiatives and good government policies.
We must now make a leap in quality to transform these into state policies,
achieving better continuity in the same until we end the shortfall or insecurity
that motivated it and ensuring it lasts through successive governments. How
can we achieve this progress and political maturity?
165
¿Por qué barrios deteriorados?
166
Why slums?
Some started out that way but progressively worsened because of inadequate
or insufficient maintenance or a total lack of care. In this case, regeneration
means trying to reclaim the community, especially public places and ameni-
ties.
Finally, there are those communities which sprang up informally, whether be-
cause of the lack of choices offered by the market or government programs for
the poorest or most vulnerable families.
In these cases, most notable is the bad placement of the settlements with rela-
tion to the city.
This is explained by economics, principally the cost of land, and also by the
clinical view of those promoting settlement, as once moved in, families will
spend even more money every day on travelling to work, school and health
centers and on other essential matters. In these cases, regeneration is really
“generation” because it is about filling in what is missing in the settlement to
make it into a conventional neighborhood.
It should be pointed out at this moment in the debate that there are two levels
of intervention on the ground: the community level and the city level.
167
Hay que destacar, en este momento del debate, la existencia de dos
escalas de intervención territorial: la escala del barrio y la escala de la
ciudad.
Reconocer esta situación y darle alta prioridad entre las iniciativas del
gobierno es una gran lección que Chile aporta al mundo: no se trata
168
on this level, neighbors have to explore, negotiate and agree on a plan that ful-
fils their needs, taking into account all personal attributes (age, gender, ethnic-
ity, capabilities, skills etc.). There is participatory democracy, which must take
place within a process whereby the population educates itself, forms opinions,
weighs up its commitments and possibilities, evaluates the consequences of
the choices it makes and finally decides on its priorities and action plan.
The city level already involves other kinds of needs and amenities given the
city is not merely the sum of all its communities. There are other dimensions
to consider, generally associated with production, protecting the environment,
public management, the links between other instances of public administra-
tion, including international competencies and opportunities. At this level, it
is representative democracy which must act to ensure the participation of the
population and the legitimization of negotiations and decisions.
Each of these ground levels is in a constant state of interaction with the other
so that each form of democratic participation enriches the other rather than
invalidating it. But each level and form of participation has a central purpose,
advantages and limitations.
It is important to stress that Chile has always made large investments in build-
ing housing solutions, succeeding in eliminating the quantitative housing defi-
cit. However, in this process it has not always been possible to “build the city”,
namely, to deal correctly with other aspects of urban life outside the home:
moreover, the same type of housing solutions that quickly eliminated the deficit
now demands another sort of investment, in a physical sense as much as any
other.
Recognizing this situation and giving it high priority among government initia-
tives was a great lesson Chile taught the world: it is not simply a question of
building floors, walls and roofs but of providing opportunities for personal and
family self-improvement within “urban” spaces that are truly urbanized and
include basic services, social amenities and good land management.
The high political priority afforded this program is acknowledged in the first
Neighborhood Contract signed by the President as symbolic evidence of that
priority.
169
simplemente de construir pisos, paredes y techos, sino de ofrecer opor-
tunidades de superación personal y familiar dentro de espacios llama-
dos “urbanos” que sean realmente urbanizados, incluyendo servicios
básicos, equipamientos sociales y buena gestión territorial.
· Así como ocurrió con otras iniciativas similares en la región, hay una
buena relación costo-beneficio en los resultados alcanzados, tanto en
satisfacción de la población atendida como en la visibilidad de la ini-
ciativa, lo que atrae a nuevos socios y aliados.
Los programas de gobierno que alcanzan mucho éxito, como éste, ter-
minan provocando una especie de “celos políticos” por parte de los
gobiernos siguientes, porque quedan demasiado vinculados al gobier-
no que los implementó, dejando una huella muy visible. Es como si fra-
casaran por exceso de éxito.
170
· Substantial investments in technical support, community mobilization, sys-
temizing information, process documentation and programmatic coordination,
which demand a high level of financial resources and technical time funded
by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development as a government program.
Government programs such as this which have achieved great success end up
causing a kind of “political jealousy” on the part of succeeding governments
because they remain too linked to the administration which implemented them,
leaving a very visible footprint. It is as if they failed through an excess of success.
With the will to deliver the goods so that this jump in quality can be achieved,
we will now sketch some outlines arising from similar regional initiatives which
began as pilot programs but which were not duplicated on a large scale.
171
Una alternativa política para asegurar su sostenibilidad es dar un salto
cualitativo y transformarlo en Política de Estado por medio de un marco
legal que trascienda el período administrativo del gobierno que lo lanzó,
de manera que siga su curso hasta que se elimine la carencia o vulne-
rabilidad que provocó la formulación de dicha política. Por supuesto,
cada nuevo período político-administrativo incorporará sus propias
prioridades temáticas y territoriales, ajustando la Política de Estado al
nuevo contexto nacional e internacional en el cual será implementada,
pero ya la prioridad programática estará asegurada.
Con el ánimo de entregar insumos para que se alcance este salto de cali-
dad, se indican a continuación algunos lineamientos derivados de las lec-
ciones aprendidas desde otras iniciativas similares en la región, que em-
pezaron como programas-piloto pero no se replicaron en forma masiva.
172
b) The population concerned will always request new investments after acquir-
ing the basics; it is important to define which levels of service and quality of
urban life will be addressed by the program as a priority and which will have
to enter a complementary “marked for development” phase under normal
conditions which mesh with other themes and communities.
d) There has been a lot of investment in promoting the concept of the “right to the
city” but it might be necessary to make an equal effort to promote the “com-
mitments and duties of citizens to the city” as a mirror image of those rights.
e) The relevant petitions from Minvu and the communities are already known
and are being put into action by the operations of community recovery; but
what about other instances such as local governments, civil society organi-
zations and the formal private and producing sector? In the days when the
panel was sitting, there was a lot of participation by Neighborhood Develop-
ment Council members but we did not see many local government repre-
sentatives.
g) The new production of dwellings of social interest could lead to the pri-
oritization of territorial placement and not a solution to housing, such as
re-densification, reusing existing structures and buildings etc.
h) Globalization is a process which affects many companies and cities, but its
impacts are not symmetrical or fair in all cases: it is fanciful to think that a
173
barrial; pero ¿y otras instancias: gobiernos locales, organizaciones
de la sociedad civil, sector privado y productivo formal? En los días
del panel, hubo mucha participación de miembros de los Consejos
Vecinales de Desarrollo, pero no se vieron muchos representantes
de gobiernos comunales.
174
particular place has the same conditions and opportunities to be “global”:
therefore, local governments must attend first to the routine requests of
neighbors and try to maximize the local mobility of human and financial re-
sources.
j) Rationalizing investment costs is not to just to look for the lowest amount of
money possible for the type of investment but to seek out the greatest impact
upon it.
Finally, as we learned from the startup of technical support teams in the com-
munities, potential is not limited to technical or political knowledge but de-
pends mainly on skills and competencies which are not passed on or taught rou-
tinely at universities. The job of technical support in the process of regenerating
communities implies a discriminating and committed combination of science,
creativity and art, the last two of which are usually of greater importance than
the first.
175
y regionales entre todos los actores públicos, privados y comunita-
rios es una opción mandataria por explorarse;
176
177
MESAS
BOARDS
178
Las cuatro Mesas de Trabajo fueron con- Four Working Boards were created as a
cebidas como un espacio de discusión forum for transverse and open discus-
transversal y abierto, a fin de contribuir sion, in order to contribute to the nation-
al debate nacional sobre los procesos de al debate on the recovery processes in:
recuperación en: · The challenge of social inclusion
· El desafío de la inclusión social · The contribution of planning and urban
· El aporte de la planificación y el de- development in the building of inclu-
sarrollo urbano en la construcción de sive cities
ciudades inclusivas · Towards a cities policy with the citizens
· Hacia una política de ciudades con el · Urban regeneration at the neighbor-
ciudadano hood scale in Europe and Latin Ameri-
· Regeneración urbana a escala barrial ca: similarities and common challenges
en América Latina y Europa: semejan-
zas y desafíos comunes
179
EL DESAFÍO DE LA INCLUSIÓN SOCIAL EN EL TERRITORIO
Esta mesa de trabajo –que centró principalmente su reflexión sobre cuáles son
los ejes de una planificación urbana inclusiva y cuál debiera ser la relación
entre Estado, mercado y sociedad civil en la construcción de una ciudad que
incorpore a sus habitantes– estuvo encabezada por Nelson Morales, encargado
de la gestión intersectorial y Claudia Bustos, encargada del Área de Estudios,
ambos del Programa de Recuperación de Barrios del Ministerio de Vivienda y
Urbanismo (Minvu). Participaron también profesionales de barrios de las regio-
nes de Valparaíso y Metropolitana.
180
THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL INCLUSION IN OUTLYING AREAS
This round table – where the principal focus was to reflect upon the core points
of inclusive urban planning which must be the relationship between the state,
the market and civil society while building a city that incorporates all residents
– was led by Nelson Morales, head of inter-sector management, and by Claudia
Bustos, head of Area Studies, both of whom work in the Neighborhood Recov-
ery Program of Ministry of Housing and Development (Minvu). Participants also
included professionals from neighborhoods in the Valparaíso and Metropolitan
regions.
The round table took place the evening of Wednesday, May 6 in the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Quinta Normal.
We are especially grateful to all of the panel members and the public that
attended. The following text is a look at the discussion points, questions and
comments.
We also want to thank Mónica Bustos, Soledad González, Verónica Tapia and
Ondina Collao, professionals of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment who systematized the information of the Working Boards.
181
Durante las últimas décadas América Latina ha experimentado una
serie de transformaciones asociadas a un nuevo orden económico,
social, político y cultural. La liberalización de los mercados y la reinser-
ción competitiva a la economía mundial, como disposiciones del actual
modelo de desarrollo, han dejado vacíos notorios en materia social y
efectos socio-territoriales de gran importancia.
182
In recent decades, Latin America has experienced a series of transfor-
mations associated with a new economic, social, political and cultural
order. Freer markets, a new competitive position in the global economy
and the arrangement of the current development model have left marked
voids in social areas along with significant socio-territorial effects.
“Urban policy must work to correct and reduce the effects of social transfor-
mation in the structures of integration, which has an impact on citizens and
the way that urban spaces are distributed.”
183
sidenta Michelle Bachelet de un gobierno más cercano a la gente. Estos
aspectos han marcado un cambio de la política sectorial, cambio que
tiene como eje el fortalecimiento de la inclusión social, mediante una
serie de premisas: en primer lugar, el tránsito desde la preocupación
por déficit habitacional a la preocupación por las condiciones urbanas
del barrio y de la ciudad; en segundo lugar, el paso desde políticas ur-
banas para ciudadanos homogéneos, hacia políticas integradoras de
la diversidad de actores que están presentes en el territorio; en tercer
lugar, el paso de un enfoque en las carencias a otro centrado en los
potenciales que tienen los activos comunitarios; y, finalmente, el trán-
sito desde el liderazgo estatal a uno que apunta a los ciudadanos como
constructores del espacio urbano.
Por otro lado, la realidad urbana que definía el contexto de inicio del
Programa se caracterizaba al menos por cuatro elementos: la dualiza-
ción socioespacial del sistema de ciudades; la imagen de una ciudad
fragmentada socialmente; el proceso de degradación de los barrios; y
la pérdida del sentimiento de comunidad.
184
transition from worrying about a housing deficit to worrying about urban
conditions in the neighborhood and the city; secondly, the move from
urban policies for similar groups of citizens toward policies that inte-
grate the diverse players present in the area; third, moving away from a
focus on what's missing and toward a focus on the potential of commu-
nity assets; and finally, the transition from state leadership to a form of
leadership that helps residents become the builders of urban spaces.
On the other hand, the urban reality that defined the stage at the begin-
ning of the program was characterized by at least four elements: the
dual nature of socio-spatial development within city networks, the im-
age of a socially fragmented city, the deterioration of neighborhoods,
and the loss of community spirit.
“One of the lessons learned from the works we’ve developed on a neighbor-
hood scale is that we must understand inclusion and exclusion as a structur-
al phenomenon that has been associated with transformation which affects
different integration structures within a society, the economy, employment,
culture, the family, and also in the community environment. When dealing
with these transformations, we need to initiate a positive cycle of new rela-
tions with the state, the market and civil society.”
185
la institucionalidad pública al servicio de las necesidades de las perso-
nas, y por otra, profundizar los niveles legítimos de representatividad en
la sociedad civil.
186
the areas; and civil society, which is understood to be an exercise in
citizen rights and duties.
187
EL APORTE DE LA PLANIFICACIÓN Y EL DESARROLLO URBANO A
LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE CIUDADES INCLUSIVAS
Esta mesa de trabajo –que centró principalmente su reflexión sobre cuáles son
las políticas y mecanismos actuales para generar ciudades inclusivas e inte-
gradas socialmente– estuvo encabezada por Luis Eduardo Bresciani, Jefe de
División de Desarrollo Urbano del Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo de Chile
y William Cobbett, Consejero senior de Cities Alliance en Washington D.C. Par-
ticiparon como panelistas invitados: Alfredo Rodríguez, Director de Sur Profe-
sionales; Francisco Knapps, arquitecto del Consejo Nacional de la Vivienda de
Paraguay. En ella participaron también profesionales de barrios de la región
Metropolitana, Valparaíso, Bio Bio y de O’Higgins.
188
PLANNING SUPPORT AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN BUILDING
INCLUSIVE CITIES
This panel was held on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 6 in the Con-
temporary Arts Museum in Quinta Normal.
189
La política y planificación urbana debe plantearse nuevos desafíos, que
apunten no sólo a la regulación del territorio, sino también a la gestión
de un desarrollo urbano que promueva la construcción democrática de
la ciudad y la sostenibilidad de su crecimiento, y que impulse la cohe-
sión social.
Sin embargo, para que una ciudad logre soportar una aproximación
flexible para abordar su territorio se requerirán condiciones de gober-
nabilidad con énfasis en la administración metropolitana, lo que se con-
vertirá en uno de los temas claves de la planificación, en particular en
el caso de América Latina. Desde esta perspectiva, el caso de Latino-
américa muestra debilidades de gobernabilidad metropolitana debido
190
Urban policy and planning must set itself new challenges aimed not only
at land regulation but also the management of urban development that
promotes democratic city-building and its growth sustainability and ad-
vances social cohesion.
Urban planning must reflect the social context in which it develops with
the goal of changing the landscape in a consensual and sharing way
with a clear vision of development and include the expectations of its
citizens. For this, the definition of objectives, timescales, methodolo-
gies, instruments and players are essential elements in building inclu-
sive cities.
191
a la conformación de ciudades funcionalmente divididas entre muchas
autoridades, sin conseguir un manejo funcional único de la ciudad.
De acuerdo con esta lógica, para William Cobbett existen ciertas fun-
ciones que necesariamente tendrían que ser metropolitanas, como por
ejemplo, el transporte o la disposición de basuras. Según Cobett, la ver-
dadera respuesta sería diferenciar ente dos conceptos básicos: Uno
es la descentralización, entendida como las funciones que se dan a los
niveles más bajos de la administración, y el otro, la subsidiaridad, con-
cepto según el cual se descentraliza hacia los niveles más bajos, pero
con efectividad, en tanto que no se puede descentralizar demasiado
abajo en la cadena administrativa.
192
“Effective city policies are integrated, ones that combine and view proc-
esses holistically, that don’t see cities as physical entities to be planned in
terms of infrastructure but as social, economic, environmental processes,
and this requires policies that work together.”
According to this logic, for William Cobbett there are certain functions
that are of metropolitan necessity, for example, transport or waste dis-
posal. According to Cobbett, the real answer is to differentiate between
two basic concepts: decentralization, understood as the lowest level
functions the administration engages in and subsidiarity, a concept ac-
cording to which there is decentralization towards the lowest levels but
which is effective insofar as it is not possible to decentralize too low
down the administrative chain.
“Municipalities need a lot of support, not only in the sense of granting them
allocations and powers, because they have them – but in changing the very
mentality of administrators and planners who believe that the city is built
from the drawing board up, whereas in fact there are economic aspects,
and it must be stressed that for an integrated city, where participation is
vital - and this means negotiation - minimum consensus must be sought in
order to reach agreements.”
193
de cambiar la mentalidad misma de los intendentes y de los planifi-
cadores, que creen que la ciudad se hace en el tablero, por el con-
trario, hay aspectos económicos, hay que velar por la integralidad
de la ciudad, donde la participación es vital, y entendida ésta como
negociación, buscar mínimos consensos para llegar a acuerdos”.
194
This is a fundamental part of the discussion when we are talking about inclu-
sion, but also when speaking of democratization and decentralization, where
the role of national government is to define minimum standards and provide
protection so that discrimination is not reintroduced at local level.
Regarding social inclusion, it has been stated that the Neighborhood Recov-
ery Program, which has been implemented during the government of President
Bachelet, has been a good bet on this dream of equality - which has been
around since the decade of the 90s onwards - insofar as it has started proc-
esses of democratic recovery. However, social cohesion, inclusion and equal-
ity continue to be topics rooted in the urban landscape that best characterize
cities. Even more so, in the context of Latin America and a society that faces
problems of segmentation and fragmentation, cities are looking for fragmentary
answers as well given that the challenge of social cohesion or inclusion from
an integrated policy is very difficult when it comes from only one ministry. In
Chile’s case, this is undoubtedly a pending issue, above all when we are talking
about an eminently sartorial and centralized ministry.
However, even if this reality can be seen in practice, we must be clear that
social integration has to be achieved at city level. Therefore the question is how
to empower cities so they are not simply national government administrators
but also have discretionary power over the implementation of national policy
at local level.
Here we could say one of the best results of the Neighborhood Recovery Pro-
gram in Chile has probably neither been the physical nor necessarily the com-
munities created but the change in policy focus and the building of basic con-
sensus which will promote a certain linear stability over the next few years.
195
que favorecerán durante los próximos años una cierta estabilidad en
una línea.
196
These definitions have arisen from deliberation, deliberation not arising from
central level but from those who have been directly involved in participation in
neighborhoods in which they work. This means residents, professionals, consult-
ants, who have been developing experiences in matters such as citizens’ security
or the integration of social and physical policies.
This shows without a doubt that the question being posed is yet more complex
and has to do with what adequate institutionalism is and what the levels of
community participation or empowerment to manage integrated and sustainable
urban policies are as the policies that are most effective in the city are those
which seek integration in their affairs, those which combine and view processes
holistically and do not see the city as a physical entity to be planned only in terms
of its infrastructure but look at cities as social, economic and environmental proc-
esses, and this requires policies that work together.
From this perspective, it is clear that an integrated view is needed which focuses
beyond public assets, which is the city we all live in, the land, the infrastructure,
public space, but also, in the case of the most vulnerable sectors, that values pri-
vate assets as they represent a move towards entering society, becoming part of
our heritage. This is not about valuing them just because they deliver or subsidize
access to private assets but because –from social inclusion– they allow access
to other asserts insofar as families feel integrated into society, with assets and
a property.
From this, another question arises: what are the local government policies and
regulations that allow all the players, in particular the poorest, to have access to
the land and economic markets in the city?
Another vital factor has to do with participation, which in most cases is not the
exact term for what occurs in some cities, as when there are different competing
interests for city space, what really happens is negotiation amongst the players.
The most precise reality is that when different people sit down at a table to
reach agreement, they are people with different interests negotiating for their
own interests.
Here we can talk of three players: state, civil society and market, each with dif-
ferent views about the area and it is necessary first to establish common ground
for negotiation. To begin with, planning needs from the word go to build an im-
age of the target city. From here, it will become necessary to define certain lev-
els because when residents are speaking of certain shortcomings, the market
is going to be talking about profitability and the city about solving integrated
197
ciudad que todos habitamos, el suelo, la infraestructura, el espacio pú-
blico, sino que, en el caso de los sectores más vulnerables, que valore
los bienes privados, en tanto promueven un salto hacia el ingreso a la
sociedad, se convierten en un patrimonio. No se trata de valorizarlos
por el sólo hecho de entregar o subsidiar el acceso a bienes privados,
sino porque –desde la inclusión social– permiten el acceso a otros bie-
nes, en la medida que las familias se sienten integradas a la sociedad
con un bien y una propiedad.
A partir de aquí surge otra pregunta: ¿cuáles son las políticas y regula-
ciones del gobierno local que permiten que todos los actores, en par-
ticular los más pobres, tengan acceso a los mercados de suelo, y los
mercados económicos en la ciudad?
Otro elemento vital tiene que ver con la participación, que en la mayoría
de los casos no es el término exacto para lo que sucede en algunas
ciudades, ya que cuando hay diferentes intereses compitiendo por el
espacio en la ciudad, lo que ocurre realmente es una negociación entre
actores. La realidad más precisa es que cuando se sientan diferentes
personas en una mesa a ponerse de acuerdo, se sientan personas con
diferentes intereses, negociando por sus propios intereses.
198
problems and a methodology of participation is indispensable when sitting down at
a table to begin the participation process.
There is a need for a common language around which to begin the conversation
about the area, defining a common viewpoint, understanding how I will affect
someone else in my decision, trying to understand and define what is the heritage
of the area we are trying to rescue or take care of.
Therefore, in the face of the skills and abilities of planners, one of the challenges
for the state and local government will be to create conditions so distinct interests
can be addressed inside the city. But we have to understand that participation,
negotiation, implies compromise, implies change and that not everyone is or will
remain in agreement all the time. And here the empowerment of civil society, as
subject and counterpart of any intervention, is fundamental, bearing in mind that
the population, which is the counterpart, is a subject which must be given answers.
In this sense, the process of building the Neighborhood Recovery Program has en-
tailed a lesson in how to participate, to learn how to listen and relate to each other.
Participation has developed as a new concept, where a vision of the collective
takes precedence, where we strive for a plurality of players in the area in a common
project. This includes two fundamental elements: knowing how to listen and learn-
ing how to empower, which means not only having the best professionals but also
building abilities amongst residents in a process of understanding my rights but my
obligations as well and that in understanding my obligations, I have to understand
the rights of others.
In this way, a challenge was issued as to how, under these new conditions, we
should think about and design planning, opening up discussion from the offer to
the substantive incorporation of the request, to the flexibility of institutional instru-
ments. In this way, more specialized planning will be achieved, on one hand, with
the idea of an integrated city and on the other, with the interests of citizens with
respect to their areas.
As a consequence, in Chile’s case, probably one of the greatest challenges for the
future is an important reform to public institutions both in aspects of citizens’ partici-
pation and more efficient mechanisms to encourage it such as strengthening urban
institutions, in particular metropolitan governments with the goal of improving the ef-
ficiency of actions necessary to achieve state action in the environmental landscape.
199
plica que no todos estén o queden conformes todo el tiempo. Y aquí
el empoderamiento de la sociedad civil, como sujeto y contraparte de
cualquier intervención es fundamental, entendiendo que el poblador,
que es contraparte, es un sujeto al cual hay que darle respuestas.
200
201
HACIA LA GENERACIÓN DE UNA POLÍTICA DE CIUDADES
CON EL CIUDADANO
Esta mesa de trabajo –que centró principalmente su reflexión sobre cómo los
ciudadanos participan en el proceso de construcción y gestión de la ciudad–
fue encabezada por Nelson Morales, encargado de la gestión intersectorial del
Programa de Recuperación de Barrios del Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo,
(Minvu) y Carlos Pisoni, Arquitecto de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Master
en Control de Políticas Sociales de Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública
(INAP). Participaron también profesionales de barrios de las regiones de Anto-
fagasta, O´Higgins y Metropolitana.
202
TOWARDS BUILDING A POLICY OF CITIES WITH THE CITIZEN
This panel was held on the afternoon of Thursday, May 7 in the Contemporary
Arts Museum in Quinta Normal.
We would especially like to thank all the panelists and members of the public
who attended. The following text is a careful systematization of their speeches,
questions and comments.
We also want to thank Mónica Bustos, Soledad González, Verónica Tapia and
Ondina Collao, professionals of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment who systematized the information of the Working Boards.
203
La ciudad, desde la polis griega, ha sido entendida como el territorio y el
espacio donde los ciudadanos toman decisiones y viven en comunidad.
De esta manera, en su sentido más profundo, la ciudad guarda la ga-
rantía de ser un espacio público, un espacio de encuentro heterogéneo
donde la suma de los individuos se encarna como un colectivo, en la
que más que usuarios de la ciudad se expresan hombres y mujeres que
interactúan en y con la ciudad.
Desde esa perspectiva, por una parte, los ciudadanos son entendidos,
no como objetos de la política urbana, sino como sujetos que intervie-
nen en la construcción y gestión de la ciudad. Por otra parte, el espa-
cio público pasa a constituirse en el espacio político donde se sitúa el
ejercicio real del derecho a la ciudad, para discutir, deliberar y decidir
respecto de esa ciudad en la que vivimos y de aquella en la que nos
gustaría vivir.
204
The city, from the Greek polis, has been understood as the land and
space where citizens take decisions and live in community. In this way,
in its most profound sense, the city guarantees to remain a public space,
a space for heterogeneous meeting where the sum of its individuals is
personified as a collective in which men and women express them-
selves and interact in and with the city more than just being users of it.
From this perspective, on one hand citizens are understood not as ob-
jects of urban policy but as subjects that take part in the building and
management of the city. On the other, public space is moving towards
becoming political space, where the real power of the right to the city is
found, to discuss, deliberate and decide about this city in which we live
and would like to live.
In this way, urban policy faces a new challenge: to move away from an
environment of housing and neighborhood towards a city atmosphere
with a focus on collective building and transforming the area. With this
new focus, one of the fundamental strategic pillars will be the promo-
tion and search for bigger and better levels of citizen participation.
205
estratégicos fundamentales de la política urbana será la promoción y
búsqueda de mayores y mejores niveles de participación ciudadana.
206
feeling of neighborhood and cultural identity with the place where they
live and from there, in the way that better levels of confidence and or-
ganization build up, it makes it even easier to bond with the surround-
ings and finally, with the city.
As a result, the first lesson the Program taught shows that the motor, the
fundamental energy in starting a process of regenerating a neighbor-
hood, is history, regaining a neighborhood image, the idea of a shared
community project, which clearly contains those elements of participa-
tion, of belonging, of identity and neighborhood pride.
The next step will thus be the actual makeup of this neighborhood com-
munity. In effect, when we speak of “community”, we are talking about
the bonds that exist between others who share the same surroundings,
the identity that develops in this coexistence and what unites and iden-
tifies one with the other, what is held in common and perhaps as yet
undiscovered, what people see in a workshop, on a training course, or
when they see someone with a banner, fighting for the same thing. From
this moment, there is common ground, a relationship with the environ-
ment that is now at the service of the people, remembering that we are
social beings, that we form bonds, alliances and share a common con-
cern.
207
Se inicia así, de esta manera, el proceso de recuperación o consolida-
ción de la organización social, que comienza a defender sus derechos,
a luchar por tener un lugar de reunión, no sólo para asambleas barria-
les, sino también para el desarrollo de las actividades culturales u otras
que necesite la comunidad, estimulando cada vez más su sentido de
pertenencia. Al mismo tiempo, el proceso va permitiendo el desarrollo
y la consolidación de la autoestima de esa comunidad, lo que colabo-
rará en el mantenimiento de los espacios comunes, en el desarrollo del
sentimiento de orgullo por ese proceso de construcción, por las cosas
que se van logrando, hasta que dicha comunidad comience caminar
por sí misma, cuando su nivel de organización sea sustentable, auto-
suficiente.
208
the feeling of pride in this building process, for the things that are being
achieved until the said community begins to stand on its own two feet,
when its level of organization becomes sustainable, self-sufficient.
“One of the morals of the processes of participation and the rise in pro de-
fense groupings is that the theme of the city is no longer technical but one
that is openly and publicly debated.”
Panel member
209
de lograr un determinado objetivo; no obstante, otros afortunadamente
han continuado en el tiempo y son precisamente aquellos que se han
preguntado por el tipo de ciudad que sueñan, por el tipo barrio en el que
desean vivir, y han comenzado a autocapacitarse, constituyéndose en
protagonistas de su proyecto.
210
drawing up of an urban policy as the expression of a wished-for city and
the steps that must follow to move towards it and make it happen. From
an institutional point of view, the wished-for city question establishes a
clear objective, the concrete form in which we can make real this idea
of a more integrated, more inclusive city.
Along the same lines, if we analyze the demands of the new citizens’
movements, it is also necessary to address the question of what kind of
society is wanted and what city policy has to be implemented to solve a
complex of citizens’ problems such as segregation and fragmentation to
make effective the idea of equality for all citizens.
211
Aparece, en este momento, la necesidad de definir los mecanismos
previos para que los territorios puedan desarrollar gestiones partici-
pativas. Y para hablar de una política de gestión urbana se requiere
definir previamente las condiciones y mecanismos más adecuados de
participación. En esa perspectiva, el Estado debe desarrollar una políti-
ca flexible hacia el gobierno local, que entregue lineamientos mínimos
para guiar el quehacer ciudadano.
212
There is no doubt of the need to work hard to make sure the social capi-
tal produced by this participative dynamic carries on functioning with-
out state presence. It is a question of citizens, that is to say, of the com-
munity, driving itself forward and leading the way in building the city
213
REGENERACIÓN URBANA A ESCALA BARRIAL EN EUROPA Y
AMÉRICA LATINA: SEMEJANZAS Y DESAFÍOS COMUNES
214
URBAN REGENERATION AT NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL IN
EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA: SIMILARITIES AND COMMON
CHALLENGES
This panel was held on the afternoon of Thursday, May 7 at the Contemporary
Arts Museum in Quinta Normal.
We would especially like to thank the panelists and members of the public
who attended. The following text is a careful systematization of their speeches,
questions and comments.
We also want to thank Mónica Bustos, Soledad González, Verónica Tapia and
Ondina Collao, professionals of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment who systematized the information of the Working Boards.
215
A partir del establecimiento de semejanzas o desafíos comunes entre
las experiencias de Europa y América Latina, la motivación del análisis
parte de un nuevo énfasis al abordar la ciudad, poniendo su foco en
recuperar la mirada barrial a partir del trabajo en el espacio público y la
reactivación de la vida comunitaria.
Por otra parte, queda de manifiesto que las ciudades han cambiado –en
el curso de procesos de urbanización acelerados e irreversibles–, y con
ello, han cambiado los barrios, dando origen a una alta heterogeneidad
y diversidad de situaciones. Las dinámicas de la urbanización de las
ciudades, promovidas por la intensificación del proceso de globaliza-
ción, así como los cambios culturales que caracterizan la vida contem-
poránea, han tensionado la existencia de unidades territoriales social y
culturalmente integradas. De este modo, encontramos, tanto en Améri-
ca Latina como en Europa, diversas políticas de regeneración, recupe-
ración o generación de barrios que responden al desafío de la inclusión
social, así como al de las políticas de ciudad.
216
From a basis of establishing similarities and common challenges be-
tween the experiences of Europe and Latin America, the motivation
behind the analysis is part of a new emphasis on approaching the city
that focuses on recovering the neighborhood view by working in public
space and reactivating community life.
However, there are some common factors that appear in almost all defi-
nitions of neighborhood. It can also be said that everyone has his or her
own definition of neighborhood, which makes it more complex because
particular viewpoints take in many themes and obviously fit with distinct
perspectives.
On the other hand, it is clear that cities have changed - during the course
of accelerated and irreversible urbanization processes - and with this,
neighborhoods have changed, causing a high level of homogeneity and
situational diversity. The dynamics of city urbanization, prompted by
the intensification of the globalization process as well as the cultural
changes that characterize contemporary life, have placed the existence
of socially and culturally integrated territorial units under stress. In this
way, we found - both in Latin America and Europe - diverse policies of
regeneration, recovery or generation of neighborhoods which rise to
the challenge of social inclusion as well as city policies.
217
barrio, puesto que los mismos problemas no siempre son resueltos con
los mismos métodos y recursos.
Ya sabemos que hay distintos tipos de barrios. Por ello, es muy impor-
tante discutir primero sobre nuestra idea de ciudad, porque muchas
veces, cuando se define un barrio para ser intervenido, existe la ten-
218
From this point of view, the German experience of neighborhood regen-
eration, even if it faces very distinct problems - such as the immigrant
population or the existence of neighborhoods that undergo processes of
eviction while the population is decreasing - has some elements in com-
mon with the Chilean experience as far as the objectives, guidelines,
many activities and its relationship with the community are concerned.
We already know there are distinct types of neighborhood. For this rea-
son, it is very important to discuss first our idea of city because often
when we define a neighborhood to be intervened, there is a tendency
to focus on the specific social pathology of that neighborhood when
the solution to this pathology will sometimes resolve a problem in the
city, away from the neighborhood. In this sense, in defining solutions
for a neighborhood which will permit the generation of productive capi-
tal and economic sustainability for its inhabitants, it is fundamental to
219
dencia a centrar la mirada en la patología social específica de ese ba-
rrio, cuando la solución a esa patología pasa tal vez por resolver un
problema de la ciudad, al margen del barrio. En ese sentido, al definir
las soluciones para un barrio, que permitan generar capital productivo
y sustentabilidad económica a sus habitantes, será fundamental exami-
nar las “externalidades positivas”, las ventajas que existen en el entor-
no y las oportunidades que entrega la ciudad.
220
examine the “positive externalities”, the advantages there are in the
surroundings and the opportunities the city brings.
“We tend to generalize, but each neighborhood has its own individuality and
the question one should probably ask is how we build a neighborhood policy
in which the various actors all play different roles”.
221
¿cómo construimos una política de regeneración de barrios, en el
cual juegan distintos papeles los distintos actores?”.
222
comply with strategic criteria, where public and private interest is also
taken into account. That is to say, neighborhood development must not
just be cosmetic but imply efficient control and distribution of capital.
In the European tradition, control, supervision or oversight of urban de-
velopment have rightly been very important. And in this sense, it is also
very important that both the municipality at local political level and the
neighborhood at the lower, politically legitimate level, have many skills
and abilities.
Another aspect is the informal economy to the extent that it allows the
neighborhood to develop its own economic system that promotes sta-
bilization. In this environment, participation predominantly by women in
the social system has been proposed as it is precisely they who sustain
the processes of social development within the neighborhood, playing
a key role.
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que se encuentran en el barrio, incorporándolas al proceso de planifi-
cación urbana o desarrollo urbano.
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Sustainability of intervention is another basic strategic line among ef-
forts being made to regenerate neighborhoods. In this case, the impor-
tant thing is to consider the participation of residents in design as a way
of ensuring the future maintenance of the neighborhood through citi-
zens adopting and identifying with public space. From this point of view,
it is equally essential to ensure there is great diversity both in functional
structure and the types of housing, lifestyles, habits and economic ac-
tivities because greater diversity in these areas also means greater
economic and social diversity, which in turn guarantees neighborhood
stability.
A third point refers to the need, in every process that takes place in the
neighborhood, of including local players as sustainers of positive devel-
opment, which means promoting the creation of a neighborhood identity
that in turn results in more sustainability and stability.
Finally, we can say that this global vision reflects a deeper reality: for
urban development policy, the priority is to work from the neighborhood
and with the city. We must focus work on the neighborhood and its re-
generation, no matter which type of neighborhood we are talking about,
simply taking into account the goal of integrated development which
guarantees the development of more sustainable cities that are truly
democratic.
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PALABRAS
DE CIERRE
CLOSING
REMARKS
226
“Del Programa de Recuperación de “From the Neighborhood Recovery Pro-
Barrios, así como de los debates que gram, as well as the debates that we
hemos podido tener a partir de él, es- have been able to have from it, we hope
peramos sacar los elementos para la to extract the elements for building a
construcción de una nueva política de new urban development policy for Chile,
desarrollo urbano para Chile, que nos which will allow us to effectively trans-
permita efectivamente transformar las form cities and to advance, most of all,
ciudades y avanzar, sobre todo, en la social inclusion in the strengthening
inclusión social, en el fortalecimiento of democracy and in the discovery of a
de la democracia y en el descubrimien- new relationship between the State and
to de una nueva relación entre el Estado the citizenry”.
y la ciudadanía”.
Paulina Saball
Paulina Saball Undersecretary of Housing
and Urban Development.
Subsecretaria de Vivienda y Urbanismo.
Closing II International
Cierre II Foro Internacional
Neighborhood Recovery Forum.
de Recuperación de Barrios.
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DISCURSO DE CIERRE DEL II FORO INTERNACIONAL DE
RECUPERACIÓN DE BARRIOS
PAULINA SABALL
Para nosotros, este foro constituye, sin duda alguna, un evento muy
especial. En primer lugar, porque es una iniciativa que se desarrolla
al amparo de un Programa nuevo, que nos ha abierto un sinnúmero de
oportunidades, que ha venido a remecer nuestra institucionalidad, que
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II INTERNATIONAL NEIGHBORHOD RECOVERY FORUM
CLOSING SPEECH
PAULINA SABALL
This forum has been, without a doubt, a very special event for us. In the first
place, because it is an initiative that was developed under a new Program. It
has opened up a whole new set of opportunities, stirring up our institutional-
ism, with many learning experiences, successes, and also tensions, emotions,
questions, and discoveries. It is also a special event because, once more, we
were able to confirm the response, support and solidarity of national and inter-
national institutions that have already walked part of this road and are willing
to share their experience with us.
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ha estado lleno de aprendizajes, de éxitos, y también de tensiones, emo-
ciones, interrogantes y descubrimientos. Es también un evento especial
porque, una vez más, constatamos la acogida, el apoyo y la solidaridad
de instituciones nacionales e internacionales, que ya han recorrido un
camino en esta materia y que están dispuestas a compartir sus ense-
ñanzas con nosotros.
Pero es un evento especial, sobre todo, por un hecho que nos llena de
satisfacción, y permítannos enorgullecernos de ello. En el primer Foro
Internacional que realizamos en el año 2007, nos centramos en conocer
y revisar experiencias de recuperación de barrios implementadas en
diferentes países. Hoy, en este segundo Foro, no sólo hemos podido
escuchar, sino también hemos podido participar, exponiendo nuestros
aprendizajes, nuestras preguntas y nuestras tensiones, a partir de la
experiencia corta, pero importante, del Programa de recuperción de
Barrios “Quiero mi Barrio”. Ya es significativo y emocionante que este
segundo Foro Internacional se realice en el marco del Mes del Barrio.
Es primera vez que desarrollamos una iniciativa de este tipo en Chile.
Es, en efecto, nuestro primer Mes del Barrio. Es la primera vez que le
asignamos este nombre, este espacio en el tiempo, esta cantidad de
energía, y esta comunidad de intereses a la idea de barrio. Y la verdad
es que este mes, que ha tenido a las comunas involucradas en activi-
dades importantes, va a ser clausurado el sábado con una fiesta, en
cada una de las regiones del país donde se desarrolla el Programa, a
la cual están invitados las señoras y señores ministros, subsecretarios,
intendentes, gobernadores. Esto no tiene importancia desde el punto
de vista protocolar, sino desde el punto de vista de que es el Gobierno
de Chile, y no solamente el Ministerio de Vivienda y Urbanismo, quien
asume a los barrios como parte central de las políticas públicas y de la
participación de los ciudadanos.
Sin duda alguna, el debate de estos días ha sido un debate rico en plan-
teamientos y pródigo en el reconocimiento de la diversidad de expe-
riencias y resultados. Por cierto, no es éste el momento ni la hora para
volver sobre lo conversado, y mucho menos para intentar reproducir
los planteamientos de los expositores. Sería inútil y muy pretencioso de
mi parte. Simplemente, al participar de esta clausura y junto con agra-
decer, quisiera retomar algunos de los temas y retos que han surgido,
y que he podido seguir, lamentablemente no de manera directa, sino
leyendo las exposiciones y las conversaciones que aquí ocurrieron.
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But, above all, this event is special because of a fact that fills us with sat-
isfaction and pride. Last year, in the 1st International Forum, we focused on
hearing and reviewing experiences on neighborhood recoveries that had been
implemented in different countries. Today, in this 2nd Forum, not only were
we able to listen, but also to participate, explain and share our learning ex-
periences, our questions and our tensions, based on our short but important
experience with the “I Love my Neighborhood” Program. It is also significant
and emotive that this II International Forum is being held during the Month
of the Neighborhood. This is the first time we have developed an initiative
of this kind in Chile. It is, in effect, our first Month of the Neighborhood. It is
the first time we have given it this name, this space in time, this amount of
energy, and this community of interests, to the idea of neighborhood. And the
truth is that this month, which has had the communities involved in important
activities, will have a closing ceremony this Saturday ending with a party
in each region of the country where the program has been implemented, to
be attended by ministers, deputy secretaries, intendents and governors. This
protocol is not important in itself but rather the fact that it is the Government
of Chile, and not only the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, that is
including neighborhoods as a central part of public policies and the participa-
tion of citizens.
There’s no doubt about it – the debate generated these days has been wealthy
in proposals and generous in acknowledging the diversity of experiences and
results. It’s true that this is not the moment to repeat what was talked about
and much less try to reproduce the proposals of the presentators. It would be
useless and very pretentious of me. But as part of this closing ceremony I would
simply like to say a few words on the main issues and challenges that were
mentioned and I have been able to follow, unfortunately not in person, but by
reading the presentations and conversations that took place here.
In first place, I’d like to highlight a subject that was mentioned again and again
these two days, and has to do with social inclusion as a central theme in urban
policies. We have begun to realize that it is not enough to reduce socio-spatial
segregation, that it is not enough to bring neighborhoods closer to city cent-
ers. It seems that social inclusion has more to do with equal opportunities,
democracy, appreciating diversity, on how we establish and ensure every man
and woman the same rights. And from that point of view, social inclusion in the
urban realm leads us to topics such as the provision and quality of services,
the forms of participation in city governments, and a series of other issues that
simply go beyond where a house or a neighborhood should be located.
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En primer lugar, quiero destacar un tema que ha sido recurrente en las
conversaciones de estos dos días, y que tiene que ver con la inclusión
social como un eje relevante en las políticas urbanas. Empezamos a
asimilar que no basta con reducir la segregación socio-espacial, que
no basta con acercar los barrios a los centros de las ciudades. Parece
que la inclusión social se acerca más a la igualdad de oportunidades,
se acerca más a la democracia, se acerca más a la valoración de la
diversidad, al cómo establecemos y garantizamos a todos y a todas
derechos similares. Y desde este punto de vista, la inclusión social en
materia urbana nos lleva a temas como la provisión y calidad de los ser-
vicios, las formas de participación en el gobierno de las ciudades, y un
conjunto de otros asuntos que van más allá de ver simplemente dónde
se ubica una casa o un barrio.
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A second topic I’d like to bring up is the importance of placing public goods in
the center of public policies. The Minister, Patrica Poblete, said it in her inau-
gural speech: we have placed important emphasis on polices that give access
to housing. There is phrase which is so well-known and typical of Chile, which
is “the dream of owning your own house”. But it seems that, somehow, we are
being challenged to broaden our outlook. Today it is not the same for the State
to simply guarantee the right to own a house, but rather the State to guarantee
every citizen, man and woman, to live with dignity in a city and in a country. It
seems that both concepts are different and they broaden our universe, and to this
end, they imply that it does not suffice anymore to only guarantee a house. Today
we want to talk about neighborhoods and cities because this where public goods
are found, namely in its connectivity, transportation, air quality, public areas, par-
ticipation, safety; a series of goods that transcend the window and door of one’s
own house, and has to do with citizenship, with identity and with common good.
So, the result is that the value of urban planning is not anymore just an academic ex-
ercise, that translates the different uses of a territory, but rather a profoundly demo-
cratic exercise, of dialogue between actors, outlooks, interests, cultures and histo-
ries, to seek the best way possible to live in one territory. It is the value of diversity,
respect and acknowledging differences. Diversity in geography, climate, culture,
age, and religion. But, if there is one thing that characterizes neighborhoods and
cities it is precisely their wealth in diversity. And by simply acknowledging, learning
and establishing relations with others who are different from ourselves who teach
us something different, enriches each one of its inhabitants. The challenge of multi-
sectorality, then, is not anymore a simple utopistic challenge, but rather a necessity,
because sectorality as the only point of view leads to division, partiality and impov-
erishment. A multisectoral perspective is necessary and indispensable because it is
the only one that respects and protects a citizen’s life integrally – which is not sec-
toral, but much more complex –, and because it fosters the capacities and strengths
as the only solid base to face problems, challenges and tensions.
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tenemos que enfrentarnos a otro tema, cuál es el rol de los ciudadanos
y ciudadanas dotados de derechos, pero también de obligaciones y de-
beres; la importancia de su protagonismo; la necesidad de que se escu-
che su voz, no sólo en la elección de sus representantes, sino también
en la gestión cotidiana de las políticas.
234
This also leads us to another issue, one of community governments. From our
position as the central government, this subject is often complex, but I believe
this is not a reason to elude it. On the contrary, it’s necessary to talk about it.
The role of community governments leads to recurrent conversations, as with
the subject on decentralization; but it also leads to very auspicious conversa-
tions, such as the topic on territorial planning, and how public policies adapt to
the reality of a territory. And to an even more interesting subject in a democrat-
ic government, which is the respect for political differences between central
and communal governments: how they are compatible and how they respect
each other, when both have been elected by the people, and therefore both are
valuable because they are representative.
Now that this interesting forum is coming to a close, I think that many experi-
ences and challenges have been presented, which no doubt, appeal to a new
form of making cities, to appreciate the intervention of neighborhoods, but I
believe they especially appeal to the strengthening of social networks, to the
coexistence and need to rescue – and highlight – the civic condition of each one
of the neighbors of our neighborhoods.
For us, for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the “I Love my
Neighborhood” Program has been an intense learning experience in recovering
vulnerable neighborhoods, but it has also fundamentally served to re-examine
our policies and sectoral priorities. We hope to be able to reap from this Pro-
gram and the debates that evolved from it the elements that will allow us to
construct new policies on urban development in Chile, to make progress on is-
sues related to social inclusion, strengthening democracy and revealing a new
relationship between the state and citizens.
I would like to thank once again the generosity of the panelists in sharing their
knowledge; I want to thank the participation of the neighbors, men and women,
of the 200 neighborhoods of this Program, who have been the main actors in
this process; and I want to extend a special thanks to each and every one of the
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Otro tema recurrente en las conversaciones, es la relación entre las
obras de infraestructura, el bienestar de las personas, las redes socia-
les, los símbolos y la cultura. Y parece, entonces, que al momento de
plantearse las transformaciones en la calidad de vida de los barrios vul-
nerables, no basta con resolver el tema del farol, el escaño, el papelero
y el árbol. Parece que se requiere algo más. Parece que la energía y la
fuerza de encender las luminarias, de arreglar las veredas y mejorar las
calzadas, están en el uso que los habitantes le dan a esos espacios y en
el que le darán a futuro, cuando hayan sido remozados.
Muchas gracias.
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professionals who work on the Neighborhood Recovery Program of the Ministry
of Housing and Urban Development, who have worked hard to give Chile a
new public policy to improve neighborhoods and bring their inhabitants closer
together.
Thank you.
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