Subsidiary displacement and empty plots: Dilemmas of original residents and newcomers in the reconstruction of Talca, Chile 2010–2016

Abstract

Throughout history people have been affected by disaster events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and landslides, with devastating effects for cities and towns around the world. Since the 1990s, post-disaster reconstruction has often been seen as an opportunity to invest in new projects following market forces and property speculation rather than for implementing rehabilitation strategies to address physical, social and psychological effects. Housing subsidies provided by the government seem to be a new issue creating more social disparity in the case of Talca, Chile after the 2010 magnitude 8.8 earthquake. This paper explores the contemporary urban landscape of this intermediate city, shaped between 2010 and 2016, which shows a great number of empty plots being filled by gated community typologies. By using ethnography and semi-structured interviews of residents from four historic neighbourhoods, the results show key patterns of physical and social change such as displacement of original residents by newcomers and lack of social cohesion along with tensions among them. The case of the Talca, Chile reconstruction is educational for understanding the ways in which many inner cities are affected by reconstruction policies with property speculation and gentrification effects. This paper concludes with the criteria that are being applied to redesign historic neighbourhoods and provides reflections for improving urban planning mechanisms to include both original residents and newcomers who are sharing these historic neighbourhoods.

‘Near miss’ housing market response to the 2012 northern Italy earthquake: The role of housing quality and risk perception

“…The main aim of this subsection is to disentangle the potential effect of the earthquake on housing values according to type and state of maintenance of the residential units. Indeed, we argue that the construction characteristics of the buildings and the type of residential unit are important features for determining different levels of vulnerability of the residential units (Inzulza-Contardo and Gatica-Araya, 2018). However, in principle, these characteristics would not play a role in the determination of housing values because seismic vulnerability is not considered relevant unless an earthquake had occurred in the recent past (Naoi et al, 2009).…”

Who Has Benefited? A Socio-Ecological Chronology of Urban Resilience in the Early Reconstruction of Talca after the 27-F Earthquake, Chile 2010–2012

“…People were allowed to choose between different subsidy options offered by the government. Since these subsidies would partially finance the process of housing recovery and reconstruction-if we consider the important financial limitations of the affected neighbors to rebuild their homes -a considerable number of 500 residents accepted being transferred to new dwellings built in the (new) periphery of Talca [64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]. Others instead accepted the building of new houses in their centric plots, yet at a fraction of their original size and with an alleged inferior construction quality.…”

“…Later on, the construction of basic dwellings at the periphery of the city and the displacement of neighbors from their original homes in the city center would contrast with the construction of new multi-story private housing projects, rapidly replacing the wrecked adobe houses. These changes also came along with the arrival of new commercial typologies that had an impact on the perception of public spaces [71].…”

Evaluación de la sostenibilidad de forma urbana en conjuntos de Vivienda social

“…Urban sprawl can be defined as development that is low density, car-dependent, and homogeneous, having adverse effects on environmental quality, social cohesion, and human health. Studies suggest that these developments are resulting in a process of fragmentation and privatization of the space, increasing segregation and social polarization (Inzulza-Contardo & Gatica-Araya, 2018). Segregation through housing also highlights the role of neighbourhoods in shaping outcomes, such as education and delinquency, as well as other intangibles such as deprecated identity, self-esteem, lack of a sense of belonging and placelessness (Billig, 2005).…”