Victims of post-earthquake reconstruction. Consequences on the rural habitat of Maule
Abstract
Following the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on February 27, 2010, the reconstruction policy implemented by the Chilean government favored a process led by private actors and offered standard urban-oriented solutions for all affected territories. Rural zones of the Maule Region, however, had to deal with weak local institutions and the lack of economic incentives for private agents to intervene in these highly disperse and thinly populated areas.This paper reflects on the effects of reconstruction policies on the reality of rural communities and territories. The absence of policy frameworks specifically designed to deal with the rural habitat, which should be understood as both a set of physical features and the result of social, historical and identity-related processes, suggests that post-earthquake programs failed to identify the particular characteristics of the territory. This increased the precariousness of living conditions, the loss of heritage and identity and the intensification of migration to peri-urban areas.
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