Abstract

This article examines vertical ghettos in Santiago de Chile, exploring their architectural and symbolic dimensions through a semiotic framework. These high-density residential towers, shaped by market-driven urban policies, exemplify the intersection of neoliberalism and socio-spatial inequality. By analysing floor plans, sections and elevations, the study reveals how architectural decisions prioritise economic efficiency over community well-being, reinforcing exclusion and marginalisation. Modular repetition, centralised circulation, and the absence of meaningful communal spaces encode socioeconomic hierarchies into the built environment, transforming these structures into instruments of segregation and control. Situating vertical ghettos as material and ideological expressions of neoliberal urbanism, this research advances urban studies by integrating semiotics to decode the hidden meanings of contemporary housing typologies. The findings highlight the urgency of inclusive urban policies and architectural practices that challenge housing commodification and address the sociopolitical tensions shaping modern urban landscapes. © The Author(s) 2025