Abstract

Throughout their evolution human communities have been constantly located in the contact zone between land and aquatic surfaces. This research explores the process of nature production within the residential areas resulting from the Chilean state housing subsidy policies in the lake cities of Villarrica and Pucón and the fluvial city of Valdivia, with regard to their location and distribution. The research begins with a discussion about the production of nature, and then proceeds with the analysis of the case studies. Through a methodology that considers the quantification and location of the subsidized populations, together with their intersection with underlying vulnerabilities by means of Geographic Information Systems -GIS-, it was possible to identify the dynamics of this type of housing subsidy and the function that nature fulfills in the cases of Villarrica, Pucón, and Valdivia. The findings reveal that there is a deliberate production of nature associated with the construction of the subsidized complexes and, on the other hand, a sedimentation of vulnerabilities that could affect the 40 % of the population who are the most vulnerable in the country.