Copyright by Erasmo Cantu, Jr. 2020 The Report Committee for Erasmo Cantu, Jr. Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Professional Report: Towards a Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy: Re-imagining the Plaza Egaña Neighbrohood in Santiago, Chile APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Gian Claudia Sciara, Supervisor Jake Wegmann Towards a Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy: Re-imagining the Plaza Egaña Neighborhood in Santiago, Chile by Erasmo Cantu, Jr. Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Community & Regional Planning The University of Texas at Austin May 2020 Acknowledgements Undertaking this master’s degree has been a truly life-changing experience and it would not have been possible to do without the support that I received from many people. I would like to firstly thank my supervisor, Prof. Gian Claudia Sciara, for the patient guidance, encouragement, and advice she has provided throughout my time writing this report. I have been extremely lucky to have a supervisor who cared so much about my work, and who responded to my questions and queries so promptly. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor, Prof. Jake Wegmann. He has been supportive since I shared my initial topic idea and I consider myself to be privileged to have him as a mentor. I gratefully acknowledge the funding received towards my travel to complete this report from the School of Architecture. I greatly appreciate the insights received through the collaborative work undertaken with Prof. Ernesto López-Morales at Universidad de Chile and Javier Ruiz-Tagle at Universidad Catolica de Chile during my fieldwork in Santiago. I must express my gratitude to Josselin, my partner, for her continued support and encouragement. I was continually amazed by her willingness to listen about my work for hours. Also, I wanted to give thanks for the patience of my mother and father who experienced all the ups and downs of my research. I am also very grateful to all Community & Regional Planning faculty, especially Prof. Michael Oden and Prof. Simon Atkinson who were always so helpful and provided me with their assistance throughout my professional report. iv Abstract Towards a Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy: Re-imagining the Plaza Egaña Neighborhood in Santiago, Chile Erasmo Cantu, Jr., MSCRP The University of Texas at Austin, 2020 Supervisor: Gian Claudia Sciara Local governments often promote urban redevelopment strategies to bring positive change to their neighborhoods. Despite their proven economic benefits, the urban redevelopment process often brings negative externalities that harm the social fabric of the neighborhoods. Studies have shown that many of urban planning’s current issues such as systematic displacement, gentrification, loss of social cohesion, and unaffordability, are consequences of urban redevelopment (Glass, 1968; Smith, 1986; Feinstein, 1994 and 2010). The goal of the report is to provide municipalities with a guidance on the urban redevelopment process by developing an equity-driven approach to redevelopment that balances economic growth with communal benefits. The report follows three strategies that are key in the implementation of a comprehensive urban redevelopment strategy: (1) Establishing Community Goals, (2) Understanding the Urban Economy, and (3) Regulatory Analysis. This discussion will be paired with a practical application of the strategies in the redeveloping neighborhood of Plaza Egaña in Santiago, Chile to illustrate the redevelopment process. The report will conclude by providing context-based policy recommendations to Plaza Egaña that mitigate the externalities caused by urban redevelopment. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Abstract ................................................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................1 Case Study: Plaza Egaña, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile .....................................................1 The Importance of Urban Redevelopment ..................................................................6 Theoretical underpinnings for a Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy ....7 Developing a Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy .................................8 A Place becomes a Case Study .................................................................................10 The Process for a Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy .........................11 Scope of Work ..........................................................................................................14 Chapter 2: Establishing Community Goals ..................................................................16 Introduction ...............................................................................................................16 Content and Meta-Analysis ......................................................................................17 Site Visit & Observation Methods ............................................................................18 Interviews..................................................................................................................19 Application of Content and Meta-Analysis in Plaza Egaña .....................................21 Application of Observation Methods in Plaza Egaña ...............................................23 Application of Interviews in Plaza Egaña.................................................................26 Establishing Community Goals for Plaza Egaña ......................................................29 Chapter 3: Understanding the Urban Economy ..........................................................31 Introduction ...............................................................................................................31 vi The Importance of Urban Economics in Planning for Urban Change ......................32 Land Markets: Understanding Location Patterns through Bid-Rent ........................33 Urban Change: Rent Gap Theory .............................................................................36 Application of Urban Economics in the Context of Plaza Egaña .............................37 The Political Economy Influence in Plaza Egaña .....................................................40 Conclusion ................................................................................................................43 Chapter 4: Land-Use Regulatory Analysis ...................................................................44 Introduction ...............................................................................................................44 Examining the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Framework ..................................44 Land-Use Regulatory Analysis in the Plaza Egaña Context.....................................47 Conclusion ................................................................................................................52 Chapter 5: Addressing Urban Redevelopment Externalities Through Policy ..........54 Introduction ...............................................................................................................54 Capturing the Value Conferred by Public Investment on Private Land ...................55 Financing Public Services and Facilities in a Context of Rapid Growth ..................59 Responding to Apartment subletting, "Vertical Ghettos", and Density Limits ........63 Regulating Land-Use to Maximize the Value of Public Transportation ..................64 Conclusion ................................................................................................................67 References .................................................................................................................68 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Map of the Borough of Ñuñoa, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region............1 Figure 2: Number of Approved Buildings for Ñuñoa ....................................................2 Figure 3: Housing Type in Ñuñoa ..................................................................................2 Figure 4: Location Map of Plaza Egaña within the Borough of Ñuñoa .........................3 Figure 5: Plaza Egaña City Context ...............................................................................4 Figure 6: Neighbrohood of Plaza Egaña Important Sites ...............................................5 Figure 7: Framework of Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy ....................8 Figure 8: Primary Users of Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy ................9 Figure 9: The Process of the Comprehensive Urban Redevelopment Strategy ...........12 Figure 10: Poster Announcing Protest for Megaproject Located in Plaza Egaña ..........21 Figure 11: WordCloud based on Content and Meta-Analysis for Plaza Egaña .............22 Figure 12: Observation Map for the Plaza Egaña Neighborhood ..................................23 Figure 13: Researcher in Points of Interest in the Plaza Egaña Neighbrohood ..............24 Figure 14: Map of Pedestrian Flows in Plaza Egaña ......................................................25 Figure 15: Photo of the Bus Stations Near the Plaza......................................................25