Urban Growth Management for Mobility: The Case of the Santiago, Chile Metropolitan Region Christopher Zegras & Ralph Gakenheimer Ó2000 Abstract In an attempt to clarify the challenges to and potentials for urban growth management in a developing country context, this paper looks at the case of the Santiago de Chile metropolitan area. The paper begins with an overview of the national political and administrative structure in Chile – the institutional context within which growth management must function. The paper continues with a presentation of the Santiago metropolitan area, overviewing demographics, the economy, the transportation system, urban growth patterns, and the environment. Then, the range of current instruments used for growth management in Chile and Santiago are presented, along with other relevant influences such as the public finance system. The following section reviews the real estate market, focusing on the emergence of large developers and their associated “megaprojects,” which play a major role in shaping the city’s growth patterns and trends. Finally, the paper concludes with major findings, recommendations for improvements to the current growth management system, and areas for future work. About the Authors Christopher Zegras ([email protected]) is a researcher with MIT’s Cooperative Mobility Program. He is also a graduate student in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Center for Transportation Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked for eight years on urban transportation and related environmental problems with a focus on Latin America, including three years in Chile. Ralph Gakenheimer ([email protected]) is a professor of Urban Planning at MIT and a principal investigator in MIT’s Cooperative Mobility Program. He has over thirty years of experience in transportation and urban planning in developing countries, including several years of work in Chile. Contact Information: MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning Room 10-400 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel: (617) 253-1932 Fax: (617) 258-0382 Authors’ Note: This paper would have not have been possible without the collaboration of Loreto Guzmán and Paula Chavez, consultants in Chile, who provided valuable access to data and other information and worked with us in identifying, scheduling and carrying out the many interviews in Santiago upon which much of this work is based. In addition, the authors would like to thank Juan Escudero, Executive Director of the Centro Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CENMA), who helped conceptualize this project, provided invaluable intellectual contributions, helped in identifying relevant interviewees, and reviewed sections of the draft. We also thank the many individuals from government, the private sector, and academia who took the time to meet with us and generously shared information and their perspectives on the issues covered in this paper. This research was funded by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the MIT-based Cooperative Mobility Program. Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 2. Chile – The Broader Context ...............................................................................................2 2.1 A Brief Political & Institutional Background...................................................................2 2.1.1 National Level Authority ........................................................................................3 2.1.2 Regional Authority.................................................................................................5 2.1.3 Local Authority ......................................................................................................6 2.2 Urban Policy.................................................................................................................7 2.3 Urban Transport Policy .................................................................................................8 3. The Metropolitan Region...................................................................................................10 3.1 Economy ....................................................................................................................11 3.2 Demographics.............................................................................................................12 3.3 Socioeconomic Characteristics.....................................................................................17 3.4 Urban Growth Trends, Urban Form & Land Uses..........................................................20 3.4.1 Forms of Growth ..................................................................................................22 3.4.2 Land Uses............................................................................................................23 3.5 The Transportation System and Transportation Infrastructure.........................................24 3.5.1 Infrastructure & System Management....................................................................25 3.5.2 Trip-making .........................................................................................................28 3.5.3 Vehicles and Modes .............................................................................................30 3.5.4 Transportation, Land Use and Urban Form.............................................................37 3.5.5 Land Use, Urban Form and Transportation.............................................................39 3.6 The Environment ........................................................................................................42 4. Government Interventions & Influences .............................................................................44 4.1 Public Finance ............................................................................................................44 4.1.1 Central Government .............................................................................................44 4.1.2 Regional Government ...........................................................................................45 4.1.3 Local Government................................................................................................46 4.1.4 Transportation Finance .........................................................................................49 4.1.5 Challenges & Comments ......................................................................................51 4.2 General Law of Urban Planning and Construction.........................................................52 4.2.1 Modifications .......................................................................................................53 4.3 Planning Interventions .................................................................................................54 4.3.1 Regional Plan for Urban Development...................................................................54 4.3.2 Plan Regulador Metropolitano – 1960, 1994 & Modifications .................................55 4.3.3 Plan Regulador Comunal ......................................................................................57 4.3.4 Sectional Plans .....................................................................................................59 4.3.5 Institutional Issues................................................................................................59 4.4 Urban Growth Boundary .............................................................................................59 4.5 Financial Interventions: Housing Subsidies...................................................................63 4.5.1 “Public” Housing Subsidies ..................................................................................63 4.5.2 Other Housing Subsidies.......................................................................................64 4.5.3 Urban Revitalization Subsidy................................................................................64 4.5.4 Comments and Issues ...........................................................................................66 4.5.5 The Role of Santiago’s Development Corporation ..................................................67 4.6 Law of Agricultural Land Parcels .................................................................................68 4.7 Transport System and Roadway Impact Studies ............................................................69 4.7.1 Transport “Impact Fees” & Roadway Corporations ................................................72 4.7.2 Challenges and Comments ....................................................................................73 4.8 Environmental Impact Studies .....................................................................................75 4.8.1 “Compensaciones” ...............................................................................................76 4.9 Urban Impact Studies & ZDUCs, AUDPs, ZIEDCs.......................................................78 4.9.1 Challenges and Comments ....................................................................................79 4.10 Sectoral Plans ...........................................................................................................80 4.10.1 Transport Plans ..................................................................................................80 4.10.2 The Air Pollution Prevention and Control Plan .....................................................83