Abstract

This article examines the territorial and the social dimension of habitat and landscape as an expression of the segregation phenomenon in Santiago-Chile. Specifically, it presents a case study developed in the sector of El Castillo, in the commune of La Pintana. The aim is situating habitat and neighborhood landscape in a scenario that has been struck by globalization, environmental and health crises, and the expansion of capitalism. This work is based on an intrinsic and instrumental case study. Villa Nueva Patagonia was chosen given its location within the five communes with worst urban life quality index in the country. The study develops a qualitative approach, where the focus of the analysis has been the inhabitants’ discourses concerning their territory, seen from the dimension of landscape and habitat. Findings show that it is impossible to speak of a finished landscape, as there is a tension between what is expected, and the activities observed in different places. There is a close relationship between the idealization of its inhabitants and the sector settlement history. These changes have generated and cemented externalities and inequalities, accumulating unsuspected effects of discomfort in the long term. From there, the landscape can be understood as the memory of the territory.