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Chile’s cities

Where to live in Chile: New urban quality of life report

The recently published index assembled by El Mercurio places the eastern districts of Santiago and Punta Arenas at the top of its list.

Monday, May 02, 2011  
Upscale comunas in eastern Santiago ranked highest in most categories, with Vitacura, Providencia, L Upscale comunas in eastern Santiago ranked highest in most categories, with Vitacura, Providencia, Las Condes and Lo Barnechea leading the rankings.

Chilean daily El Mercurio published its quality of life study in April, evaluating living standards in the country’s 66 comunas, or administrative districts, with populations higher than 75,000 people.

 

For the study, El Mercurio gathered information on seven categories: green areas, education, security, economy, transit, health, and citizen evaluation.

 

The statistics were collected from various government ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Education and the National Survey of Socioeconomic Characterization (CASEN).
 
Upscale comunas in eastern Santiago ranked highest in most categories, with Vitacura, Providencia, Las Condes and Lo Barnechea leading the rankings.

 

Three urban areas outside greater Santiago were included in the top 10 of the index, with the Patagonian city of Punta Arenas in fifth, the comuna of San Pedro de la Paz in Concepción in eighth, and the northern coastal city of La Serena in tenth. The lowest rankings went to peripheral Santiago comunas like El Bosque and La Pintana, and the cosmopolitan port city of Valparaíso.
 
Punta Arenas’ greatest advantage is its top-ranked public transit system and large green spaces. The comunas of eastern Santiago did best in education, economy, and security, while transit placed them far lower in the rankings.

 

A second report, the Urban Quality of Life Index from the Chilean Construction Chamber and the Unversidad Católica’s Center for Urban Studies and Territories, was also completed in April and will be published in May 2011.
 
This study will use a more expansive methodology, taking into account 33 indicators to evaluate the 18 principal cities of Chile as well as the 69 distinct comunas that constitute them. The variables will be grouped in six distinct categories: work conditions, business environment, socio-cultural conditions, connectivity and mobility, health and environment, and housing.