Personal networks in a context of risk and vulnerability. Building the right to the city in Santiago, Chile

The paper characterizes the relationship between structural processes of urban development, associated to the reconfiguration of production, employment and housing, with particular dynamics of social integration, based on the analysis of personal networks of residents in the city.

Specifically, it analyzes the processes of urban fragmentation, segregation and its impact on the possibilities of integration and social capital building.

The personal network analysis has been used in the Latin American context, in relation to forms of reproduction of poverty in the city (Espinoza, 1995; Marques, 2008), and internationally, through attempts to link the study of the city, issues of space, territory, social structure and personal relationships (Blokland and Savage, 2001; Brenner, 2008). However, there is no updated information on its importance in the spatial configuration of everyday life and its relation to the different dimensions of social stratification and urban structure.

We study a neighborhood in the metropolitan area of Santiago, that is part of the government program to recover metropolitan quarters.

The discussion continues the debate on the ideas of spatial justice, urban justice and right to the city.