Urban sprawl and new challenges for (metropolitan) governance in Latin America: the case of Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Massive expansion of urban areas is not a new experience to Latin American cities. However, the profound social, ecological and economic implications of urban sprawl are only today starting to become a major concern in the continentÍ€™s big agglomerations. By taking Santiago de Chile as an example this paper discusses the challenges posed to urban governance by urban sprawl. It fi rst summarizes recent trends in residential housing production where large scale residential Í€˜megaprojectsÍ€™ have become highly signifi cant. Second, by looking at these trends from the perspective of the international sprawl literature it fi nds that urban sprawl in Santiago is largely driven by policy and decision making. It thirdly constructs a basic analysis of sprawl governance in terms of actors, institutions and their interplay on the basis of the few existing studies and the authorÍ€™s own ongoing research. Finally, the paper suggests some entry points and broad strategies to address sprawl.

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