Abstract

This paper constitutes an effort to generate a more comprehensive view of the urban phenomenon; bringing together geography of the visible and what is inferable through the application of statistical procedures with the analysis of power and social relations that are intrinsic to any urban development process. The study area compromises 5 peripheral municipalities in relation to greater Valparaíso and 8 peripheral municipalities in relation to greater Santiago. Based on a on a theoretical framework that emphasizes concepts such as 'social rule', 'structured agent' and 'power', we perform a multi-scalar analysis using primary and secondary sources. We conclude that there is a strong centralism in the urban decision making process, in particular in the social housing policy. The residents of social housing complexes appear not only marginalized in the socio-territorially, but also in the political sphere, in terms of a formal but not effective public participation. © 2011 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.