Santiago de Chile Green Infrastructure Plan

Santiago de Chile is the cultural, economic and political center of Chile, where the lack of regulation led to massive urban expansion and strong socio-ecological segregation patterns. Comparative studies also found that Santiago has a much lower average amount of green areas than recommended by different international organisations. The distribution of open spaces in Santiago is highly unequal, where urban deserts almost completely devoid of any green space contrast with large areas representing a garden city. While there are currently a number of initiatives in relation to the planning and management of green spaces in Santiago both from the sides of public institutions and civil society, the activities remain fragmented. A initiative to design a dedicated Green Infrastructure Plan thus intended to give a joint vision and frame to catalyse collective action for a greener city. The plan represent a contribution to the social and spatial integration as well as to climate change adaptation in Santiago de Chile. The design phase of the Plan was executed in a highly participatory manner: different stakeholders were involved, and workshops and mapping sessions were held.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Watershed restoration/water quality
Flood risk: pluvial and fluvial / soil permeability
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Social cohesion
Social equity
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

While the actual plan has not yet been formalized, the strategic guidelines of the design focus on the aspects of social inclusion and climate adaptation through green infrastructures. This includes the increase of connectivity and accessibility of urban green spaces as well as the addition of green areas to reduce heat, air pollution and the risks of flooding. Another main aim is to improve the biodiversity, water and soil quality. The main rivers (the Mapocho River, the El Carmen canal, the Maipo River, among others) of the city have been identified as potential green and blue corridors. In addition, road systems were identified as structuring elements to support connectivity.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Green areas for water management

Derelict areas

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Sustainable in the long-term

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Policy business case

Governance

Non-governmental actor(s)

Initiating body:

Researchers, university

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The development of the Plan was initiated through a participatory approach including multiple stakeholders, workshops, round tables and collective mapping sessions. This approach identified the principal issues, the justification of the plan, the goals, and the key spatial components. This involved three main steps: 1) identification of problems by the stakeholders; 2) main strategic goals of the green infrastructure plan; 3) main concerns arising by stakeholders. As the baseline for Santiago included extreme sectoral fragmentation and the lack of coordination among public institutions, a participatory planning and governance plan for green spaces was established as a first step. The project continued to conduct research, such as into the most important green infrastructure components of the city, which were also discussed in open stakeholder round tables.

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Details about the implementation:

This pplan was developed Grupo Paisaje FAU de la Universidad de Chile qith the Ministry of Housing and urbanism and the Metropolitan Region of Santiago (SEREMI MINVU RMS). The municipality of Santiago was thus directly involved, not only as a stakeholder, but also as a partner of the project. Members of different municipal ministries (Metropolitan Regional Government - Planning Department, Metropolitan Environment Ministry, Metropolitan Ministerial Secretariat of Public Works, Metropolitan Ministerial Secretariat of Agriculture) are also members of the Technical Committee.

How did the government support the instrument?:

The Ministry of Housing and urbanism and the Metropolitan Region of Santiago are behin the instrument design and support the implementation plans both financially and in terms of policy.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Public regional budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

No information was publicly available on the costs associated with this instrument.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The design of the Plan was carried out in two main phases. First of all, the main problems were worked out by the stakeholders. These related to (i) the pollution of ecosystems in soil, water and air, (ii) the vulnerability of the city to anthropogenically caused temperature changes as well as dangers posed by volcanoes and earthquakes, (iii) the low number of green spaces and their unequal distribution, (iv) the increasing physical and cultural barriers, and (v) barely existing connections for the dispersion and movement of fora and fauna. Moreover barriers such as sectoral fragmentation and a general lack of coordination among public institutions could be identified. The biggest achievement, however, is the participatory planning and action plan for green spaces. Other important outcomes are concrete examples, pilot concepts and intervention proposals were identified to facilitate first implementation activities.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The initiated design process enabled various stakeholders to learn more about the benefits of green infrastructure, and to build alliances with private and public institutions, educational institutions or civil actors. This resulted in a better picture of a potential collaborative network in the future. Also, during the elaboration process of the Plan, different opportunities to increase urban green space could be identified, such as the power of social pressure.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

stgo+ (2023): HACIA UN SISTEMA DE INFRAESTRUCTURA VERDE PARA SANTIAGO DE CHILE. https://infraestructuraverdesantiago.cl/principales-resultados/ (Accessed: 30 January 2023)

Oppla (2023): The Santiago Green Infrastructure Plan: towards a green infrastructure system. https://oppla.eu/casestudy/23399 (Accessed: 30 January 2023)

Network Nature (2023): The Santiago Green Infrastructure Plan: towards a green infrastructure system https://networknature.eu/casestudy/23399 (Accessed: 30 January 2023)

Vásquez, A., Devoto, C., Giannotti, E. and Velásquez, P. (2016): Green infrastructure systems facing fragmented cities in Latin America-case of santiago, Chile. Procedia engineering, 161, pp.1410-1416.

stgo+ (2020): RECONECTANDO NATURALEZA Y CIUDAD. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexis-Vasquez-4/publication/341940260_Stgo_Sistema_de_Infraestructura_Verde_Reconectando_naturaleza_y_ciudad/links/5eda444c299bf1c67d41cbe4/Stgo-Sistema-de-Infraestructura-Verde-Reconectando-naturaleza-y-ciudad.pdf?origin=publication_detail (Accessed: 30 January 2023)

Photos

@ Phil Schreyer, Pixabay