Impact of intensive residential densification in Santiago’s urban fabric segmentation: a quantitative standpoint

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of intensive residential densification on the urban fabric of selected neighborhoods in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago. We explore the effect of “segmentation” proposed by Diez (1996), which leads to a fabric constituted by building types incompatible with each other and of different intensities. From a quantitative approach, we analyze indicators of net residential density, floor area ratio and its standard deviation. At the same time, we propose a new indicator, the segmentation factor, which combines the built area corresponding to residential towers and the percentage of densified lots.
As a hypothesis, it is argued that the residential project promoted by the real estate market in the AMS, adopts a morphological type that is different from that of the existing urban fabric. Consequently, it promotes a segmentation of the block, interrupting the renewal process. The results are presented in three groups of cases: neighborhoods with medium-high densities and a low segmentation of the urban fabric, neighborhoods with high densities and a medium and high segmentation of the urban fabric and, finally, those hyper-dense neighborhoods, which present diverse degrees of segmentation. These degrees depend, to a great extent, on the building typology adopted by the residential tower.