Abstract

Dense urban areas like Santiago are affected by climate change and at the same time give rise to emissions that contribute to the problem. The Metropolitan Region of Santiago, like the rest of central and southern Chile, is suffering from a megadrought. Moreover, despite substantial improvement over the last three decades, air quality remains a pressing problem, albeit with a more elusive oxidative character that cannot be solved solely based on technological measures. The urgency of the issues at hand and the much-needed search for resilience building in Santiago trigger win-win opportunities for sustainable development, which will require much improved and articulated urban governance.This case study offers a research perspective on the resilience-building policy measures that the city of Santiago is putting in place.It asserts that evidence-based decision making will become paramount, requiring a much tighter connection with science, the generation of high-quality information for assessing climate vulnerability, as well as much stronger citizen participation