Abstract

In the absence of metropolitan level government, large cities retain the problems associated with multilevel management whereby the activities of central government, regional government and numerous municipal governments overlap, generating in turn a complex scenario for governance in favour of balanced urban and regional development. From this perspective, the significant disparity in socio-spatial configuration within the Santiago Metropolitan Area reflects the structure of power within this metropolitan space, whereby municipalities in the eastern cone are better able to shape public and private actions in support of the public interests of their resident populations.