Santiago’s suburban interstices are a critical issue as the city is assumed as a continuous entity that should prevent the presence of undeveloped lands and open tracts without functions or integration with the urban fabric (Interview
167 03). So, interstices are originally seen as undesired economic, social, physical, infrastructural, political and environmental by-products of Santiago’s sprawl, elements of disconnection, isolation, fragmentation or marginalisation. However, their impacts can be also positive in terms of openness, public spaces, environmental services and green infrastructure, and refer to different urban dimensions such as social, economic, environmental and political. Interstices can also influence different scales of suburban transformations at local, metropolitan and regional levels and connect different levels of coordination between different institutional actors.
Market distortions
For planners, lack of development on Santiago’s interstices affects the land market as they increasingly raise values as a result of urbanisations without development and extra costs for landlords, operating as a direct transference of wealth (Interview 3). That is why undeveloped interstices are matter of speculation that create market distortions for the acquisition of available lands for public services and well located social housing projects. This distortion varied for those inner lands well-served by roads, for example, used to be more expensive in comparison to others located outside the city.
Additionally, undeveloped interstices are not liable for tax payments and can be even labelled as ‘rural’ and thus, avoid obligations related to security or provision of basic urbanisation such as water, cleaning or maintenance (Interview 03).
Socio-spatial segregation
In the case of private lands, undeveloped interstices are physical ‘barriers’
that separate neighbourhoods and stimulate informal occupations increasing levels of socio-spatial segregation (Interview 06). Despite this, planners argue that marginalization of interstices is strongly linked to surroundings, quality of environment, uses and others. These elements affect the potential reconversion of interstices as they become specific. All in all, marginal interstices contribute to the debate on regeneration and infilling policies, and the elements that increase their relationality (Interview 10; Interview 54).
168 Socio-cultural disruptions
A cultural impact of suburban interstices is related to the arrival of the city and the differing coexistences between residential and rural functions.
People who live in rural pockets have a strong commitment with their rural history, activities, social relationships and agricultural businesses. Many of these rural lands are part of familiar heritages supported by generations.
However, with the arrival of the city several social conflicts arise related to their agricultural or urban profitability, land renting or selling. These issues can be a matter of familiar divisions, crisis of identity and that can even derive on legal disputes. This is particularly common in southern communes of Santiago – mostly defined by rural lands – in which rural interstices still keep agricultural traditions and are tensioned by the arrival of urban functions and their potentials (Interview 12).
Services provision
For developers, the impacts of interstitial spaces are systemic and multi-scalar, and narrowly linked to the provision of services, assuming that they can provide services at local, metropolitan or even regional scales. In this vein, intervention on interstices can trigger major suburban transformations–
although their current condition as marginalised spaces has an opposite effect again stimulated by land market speculation and thus, unaffordable for services (Interview 19). This marginalisation increases the poor condition of some areas, reinforcing them as ‘pockets of poverty’ (Meza, 1996; Ducci, 1997; Rodríguez and Sugranyes, 2004). This is a serious issue because in poor contexts there is a lack of consumption power and so, a lack of interest from private institutions to provide services (Interview 22).
Stimulus of informality
For local planners, the main impact of interstitial spaces pertains to their condition as ‘unoccupied lands’. This condition suggests an inefficient land-use that also implies costs in providing security and maintenance. It is seen as a cultural pattern of the Chilean context in which public spaces, open areas, empty or underused spaces are synonym of ‘no man’s land’ and so, not clear to be maintained. This connotation is closely related to negative stigmas such as fear, lack of community engagement, absence of social
169 rights and insecurity (Dammert, 2004; Salcedo, 2002; León Balza, 1998).
After a certain degree of deterioration, maintenance becomes increasingly expensive and even fences and other security systems are infringed. With informal occupations, the risk of encroachment becomes higher and can achieve the form of slums. Once a slum is consolidated, eradication becomes politically complex. As a way of solution, in some cases
‘eradication’ is replaced by ‘radication’ programs, aimed to keep inhabitants and reinforce their social networks (De Ramón, 1990; Kusnetzoff, 1987;
Gurivich, 1999). However, these actions are very controversial in Chile because on the one hand, some argue that the right of private property should be guaranteed by the State and so, informal occupants should be evicted – even when the land is intended to remain empty. On the other hand, long-standing empty lands are seen as ‘unnecessary properties’ that should be acquired by the State to supply social demands (Richard, 2014;
Schlack, 2007). Despite controversies, eradication is legal and landlords are not compelled to develop the land (Interview 28).
These interstices reinforce a sub-culture of informality understood as ‘valid’
as people assume the encroachments of unoccupied lands as a legitimation of rights, and as counter-reaction against marginalisation (Interview 18). So, informal settlements, landfills, parking areas and others are all consequences of long-standing unoccupied interstices that derive in the perception of absence of owner and rights vindications (Interview 46; Interview 40).
Pollution and social insecurity
Residents link the condition of abandoned interstices with negative impacts related to environmental degradation. Noise, dust, heavy traffic, broken and dirty streets, lack of security and long periods of inactivity are also characteristics of some suburban interstices. Unmaintained spaces also contribute to the arrival of wild animals and plagues such as rats, wild dogs, carrion birds, dead animals, and also bad smells, the absence of grass maintenance, stagnant water, rotten materials and others that depict a daily-life suburban landscape that finally confirm their condition as ‘marginal’
and polluted (Interview 49). Additionally, the absence of electricity during the night contributes to insecurity, crime and shelter from police, drugs
170 traffic, prostitution and others. This situation triggers ‘extra jobs’ for residents that organise to provide their own security, clean the area or to prevent the presence of wild animals (Interview 52).
Residents who live beside La Platina site, for instance, perceive this space as abandoned, and as an environmentally damaged land:
‘This site is directly linked to drugs and crime. Also youths go there to get drugs and then during the night they walk around doing bad things. There is also prostitution to that side. Bad guys escape to that way and then it is difficult to find them as there is no light, nothing. They are hidden among the scrubs. Also, there is a canal with stagnant water’ …’I am a policeman and I cannot see anything positive on this place, above all because before the area was full of crops, flowers and trees...and now? It’s just a slob place for rotten stuff. You also can find stolen cars’…’all vacant lands are the same condition and provoke the same. You can see this at La Florida…it is the same. And also people don’t have a proper behaviour and use these spaces for illegal things’ (Interview 49).
Reconciliation and local identity
As contrast to the aforementioned negative connotations, developers at MINVU indicate that interstitial spaces have positive impacts in separating incompatible functions such as heavy industries and residences. These spaces reconcile functions and ameliorate impacts.
Furthermore, some suburban interstices are ‘reservoir’ for improving planning practices and thus, to address pending issues related to services provision and social housing (Interview 16). In this vein, local planners see interstices as positive reservoir for the consolidation of historical neighbourhoods and to support their own demographic growth. So, new space for relatives, for instance, emerges as part of the community improvements through suburban interstices. The main aim is to promote densification giving the chance to young people to remain in the area closer to their parents (Interview 28).
Finally, the natural landscape is seen as positive, above all when the area supports agricultural activities and ‘foodscapes’. These interstices are useful to promote local food, medicine and educational goals. In terms of administration, they suggest a reinforcement of local organization and a strong sense of identity based on local jobs and shared activities among
171 residents. So, rural interstices impact positively in the sense of community, traditions, environmental improvements, local economies and community engagement (Interview 45).
As seen, the impacts of Santiago’s interstices are mainly related to economic distortions, environmental degradation and social deprivation.
However, they can also impact on future land uses and landscape improvements that can influence planning agendas.