IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

Chile, as part of the Ring of Fire, has absorbed 80% of the most devastating earthquakes in history, and this situation is even more complicated considering that its central area concentrates almost 80% of the national population. Santiago as a capital city has seen a substantial increase in urbanized areas along its eastern Andean foothills, where the seismic San Ramón Fault is also located creating a new geological risk scenario. Using the unquestionable appeal of the natural setting, the panoramic view of the city, and a healthier environment, housing projects have been promoted that coexist with this seismic risk, something that seems to have been disregarded by communal and metropolitan planning instruments. The aim of this article is to explore specific resilient civic design evaluation criteria in communities affected by the San Ramón Fault as response capacity of seismic risk. For this, a mixed approach is applied through an analysis matrix of urban resilience indicators that considers four action dimensions -natural, built, social and urban regulations- to identify critical situations in the sectors studied, including official data analysis, mapping techniques, and interviews with long-standing residents. It is concluded that contrasting urban planning experiences under extreme conditions regarding seismic risk is illustrative to be included disaster risk reduction in urban planning agendas and to promote more sustainable design research that reinforces resilience as a civic asset to communities.