Abstract

Introduction This article describes how community action stopped two planning proposals to build in public spaces in Las Condes, a commune in the metropolitan area of Santiago in Chile.1 The first proposal was the construction of a shopping mall by a private owner and the second a municipal proposal by the city council to build an enclosure around a public park. Although I am a resident of the commune, my involvement in these projects has been as an observer, rather than an active member of the community, because for most of the time, I was not in Santiago. My observation and interest in this type of process comes mainly from an academic perspective; I am a researcher at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Chile. It also comes specifically from my research on the relationship between urban planning and development and citizen participation. My conviction is that all residents should have a say in how they live in their city and how their city is built.