The neighborhood revitalization policy in Chile: What influence from France and the United States in terms of the role of state and civil society?

In the last decades, one of the Chilean governments’ priorities has been to reduce the housing deficit. They have made major progress but the quality has reached a crisis level. As a result, Bachelet’s administration (2006-2009) created the New housing policy to improve the quality and social integration, including the first neighborhood revitalization program (Quiero mi Barrio), which demands a new role for civil society: it creates a Neighborhood Council for Development.

Where does this policy come from? How was it created? What is the influence of French and American neighborhood revitalization experiences in the formulation of this Chilean urban policy, particularly regarding to the Neighborhood Council for Development? In other words, how the French and American state models –which are very present and in constant conflict in Chile when formulating public policies– affect the formulation of this urban policy and the role given to civil society organizations (CSO)?

In a first research’s phase, key informants who participated in the formulation of this policy, give their assessments in terms of participation, empowerment, and the influence of foreign models in the construction of this policy, as well as his thoughts around the Neighborhood Council for Development. In a second research’s phase to come, I will address the role of CSO through case studies of two neighborhoods in Santiago, in order to observe the actual role of CSO in the revitalization, particularly the role of the Neighborhood Council for Development.