A sustainable new community plan with innovative social housing
Praderas New Community
Praderas is an innovative new community located at the western gateway of Santiago, Chile. It’s setting in an expansive valley, framed by mountains, providing remarkable access to the surrounding landscape.
Access to nature and the mountainous landscape context sets the tone for a healthy living experience. When completed, it will provide 20,000 new homes and a wide range of employment opportunities.
The Praderas Boulevard is a pedestrian and transit-focused street that provides the district with a range of community amenities
Opportunity
Praderas is part of an emerging urban area district in western Santiago, where planning authorities are directing urban growth with coordinated investments in infrastructure. In the long-term future, 250,000 new homes and over 1,400 hectares of new productive and  employment developments will transform the metropolitan dynamics of the city. The basis of the Praderas vision is to create development opportunities for both residential and employment uses, creating a truly mixed-use, holistic district.
Indoor and outdoor recreation facilities reinforce Praderas’ emphasis on livability, wellness, and healthy living. It is located within a short walk from the Hub and LRT station, allowing this important new public space to be accessible to a much larger regional population.
The planned new transit line connecting western to central Santiago underpins a holistic, sustainable, and equitable approach to the city’s urban growth. The LRT Station and a legible armature of roads and public spaces reinforce the Hub as the social crossroads of Praderas.
Sustainability
Praderas is a pioneer in developing a sustainable, integrated new community in Chile. Urban design, architecture, landscape and smart infrastructure work together to create a balanced urban framework. A bold approach towards infrastructure integration will make Praderas a leader in sustainable and resilient urbanism, while responding to the aspirations of Chileans to have a more positive impact in their environment. Integrated sustainability strategies reduce potable water demand by 54%, while 30% of the district’s energy demand is generated by on-site renewable sources.
Community
Praderas leverages regulatory incentives to provide integrated market, social and affordable housing units that accommodate a broad spectrum of Chilean society. This integration occurs at a very fine grain within the district, promoting greater engagement and interaction at a neighborhood level. Affordable housing represents 30% of overall units in Praderas, creating a socially diverse community. Praderas is also committed to creating an equitable and healthy living environment that promotes human flourishing for all. This includes access to amenities and open space like no other socially integrated project in Chile. Praderas has 3x the area of green space per capita when compared to the wealthiest districts of Santiago.
The Community Spine provides a pedestrian-priority link to schools and community facilities. These facilities have expanded program attributes to reinforce their role as neighborhood anchors (job training, lifelong learning, etc.).
Mobility
Given the importance of western Santiago’s growth in the metropolitan context, Praderas is actively engaging with the Ministries of Transport and Public Works to rethink the public transportation paradigm in Santiago. A pre-feasibility study for a new transit line along Ruta 68, the Superspine, has proved that it is not only financially attainable, but will greatly improve access to the city for a historically neglected part of Santiago. The Superspine is tied to a multimodal metropolitan transportation strategy that triples the transit catchment area in Western Santiago, serving over 3 million people.
For more information contact Dennis Pieprz.