According to Griffin and Ford, Latin American cities have a common structure which stems from their Spanish colonial origins. The Laws of the Indies, issued by the Spanish crown, decreed that all colonial cities contain grid-patterned streets and a central plaza, with the principal church and government buildings adjacent to it.
The following models are ways in which the Latin American city can be organized. On the left is Griffin and Ford's "Generalized" model, and on the right, Ford's "New" model. Valparaiso's City Plan meets some of their criteria, but has its own modifications.
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In both models, the Central Business District is the city's hub. Here one finds the central plaza, the principal church, and government buildings left over from colonial times, as well as the bulk of commercial activity, including high-rises, outdoor markets, hotels and restaurants. In the New model, the market is connected to the CBD, but distinct from it.
The next zone in the plans is the Spine/Elite Residential Sector. This area contains all significant recreational and cultural activity not housed in the CBD. WIth easy access the CBD, this sector is also the first to obtain city services and utilities. It contains the city's most prestigious housing, occupied by the wealthy, or "filtered down" to the upper-middle class once the wealthy move to outlying areas. In the New model, this spine ends in a mall, a miniature business district of its own and a symbol of the neighborhood's prosperity.
The Zone of Maturity is made up of large, solid homes, made of brick or concrete. This zone's population tends to be older and more established than the others', and socially middle or upper-middle class. All city amenities are available here, and the sector is regarded as a stable neighborhood. In the New model, a Gentrification zone encroaches on the area. This sector borders, both geographically and figuratively, between the elite and mature zones, creating a space for the upwardly mobile.
Further out lies the Zone of In Situ Accretion. Of modest quality, the homes in this area are constantly under construction. Their owners improve the structures little by little according to their economic mobility and the availability of city services. This is a sector in constant transition.
In the periferico are the Squatter Settlements. This zone has the worst housing conditions and fewest amenities in the city, with little vegetation and often no running water or electricity. Recent in-migrants to the city reside here in informal houses.
Disamenity zones are dumps or other unused/unusable land.
The New model also outlines industrial areas, stemming from the CBD out to the periferico.
See how this plan applies to Valparaiso's structure.
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