Abstract

After the 1922 earthquake that critically affected Atacama’s region, an intense debate about Vallenar reconstruction prompted while technical and informed reports containing the features that should incorporate the new city were presented. Even though those proposals did not materialize, this article examines three suggestive initiatives and the reasons that limited this historic opportunity of transforming the city. This article proposes that the issues that the initiatives displayed went further to the episode of 1922 since the consequences of previous disasters already drafted proposals of reconstruction and resettlement.