Abstract

This chapter focuses on the residential experience of emerging middle-income groups in peri-urban megaprojects of Santiago de Chile. Although the process of peri-urbanization of Santiago has been widely studied, the impact of private housing projects on the quality of life of inhabitants remains unclear. Drawing on the findings of sixty interviews conducted with inhabitants of Larapinta and Valle Grande in the peri-urban commune of Lampa, this paper confirms the paradoxical happiness of middle-class peri-urbanites of Santiago de Chile. Such a contradiction emerges from the satisfaction related to the achievement of higher residential standards, the financial vulnerability derived from a lifestyle...