Early Planning
From its conception, Santiago was a planned city. Spanish colonial cities were laid out according to the Laws of the Indies - a set of rules prescribing everything from street width to the location stockyards. Accordingly, Santiago was centered on a plaza, with a cathedral, government offices, and the main business area all surrounding the public space. The Plaza de Armas, founded by Pedro de Valdivia is still the hub around which the spokes of Santiago radiate. Streets were laid out in a grid pattern, running north-south and east-west. Blocks were surveyed long before they were built up, allowing the city to grow in a regular fashion.
Planning was not really necessary until the 19th century, as the city continued to grow very slowly. The natural cycle of destruction caused by periodic earthquakes allowed opportunities for improvement without an outward expansion. After Independence, however, a legion of the urban elite began to envision a city of European style and elegance.
These benefactors of the city began by building large European style mansions in the central city, replacing the traditional one-story adobe homes. A mass public works scheme was organized, at which time many elegant buildings in the central business district were constructed. This included construction of an opera house and an addition to the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas. Improvements were also made to Cerro Santa Lucia, transforming the hill from a non-manicured wild space to an urban playground. Although they proceeded without an official plan or government endorsement, these citizens had a vision of what kind of city they wanted Santiago to become. Their efforts were met with overwhelming success and were the beginning of a national obsession with urban planning.
During the middle of the twentieth century, planning fell by the wayside in Santiago. Businesses began to pop up in irregular places and the rhythm of the city’s regular blocks was disrupted by tall buildings among single family homes. By the 1960’s, Santiaguinos had noticed the changes in their city and began to call for a return of the planners. From this point, regional and local plans were created for the whole of Chile.