The Best of Ciudad Emergente 2023
2023 has been a year of important milestones and collaborations for Ciudad Emergente, demonstrating our commitment to sustainable development and improving quality of life in cities. Throughout the year, we worked tirelessly on key projects that seek to redefine urban spaces, with a central focus on people. From revitalizing the emblematic Alameda de Santiago street, to implementing sustainable mobility projects and expanding strategic alliances, our commitment to the positive transformation of urban environments was reflected in every step we took. Here is a summary of the best of CEM in 2023.
A New Alameda centered on people and culture.
We actively supported the Santiago Metropolitan Regional Government in the recovery of Alameda, the main avenue of the City of Santiago, throughout 2023. With the Nueva Alameda project, we deployed multiple activations and meetings with key actors, which seek to re-signify this important axis by putting people at the center.
The dream of a cycle path along Alameda is beginning to come true.
In 2024, 8 kilometers of cycle paths will be built along the Nueva Alameda, from Vicuña Mackenna to Pajaritos. To come to this decision, four citizen participation workshops were held during 2023, in Lo Prado, Estación Central and Santiago. From this, we are already preparing a tactical urban planning pilot to inform the definitive design. Stay tuned!
Google and CEM working together for better cities.
In 2023 we began a new strategic relationship with Google to improve the urban environment of Quilicura municipality (in the greater Santiago Metropolitan Region) as well as think about how data intelligence can have a direct impact on improving people's quality of life, when used appropriately. In 2024, we will see the first fruits of this exciting new alliance.
The “Malones Urbanos” project reduces crime in neighborhoods by up to 20%
Impressive results were obtained from a study carried out by researchers Jorge García Hombrados, from the Autonomous University of Madrid, and Andrés Barrios, from the University of Los Andes. They reviewed the before and after cases of CEM´s iconic project, El Gran Malón, deployed in different neighborhoods across Chile. Review our Policy Brief here for further details!
The first El Gran Malón on Calle Larga together with the Luksic Foundation
Hundreds of Calle Larguinos in the vicinity of Los Andes town took to the streets to celebrate their first Gran Malón. Supported by the Luksic Foundation and the Municipality of Calle Larga, in 2023 we returned with El Gran Malón!
Supporting local investment in Ramayana with Aguas Pacífico
On the La Dormida slope, in Valparaíso Region, CEM is preparing to deploy a participatory program focused on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the town of Ramayana, together with the company Aguas Pacífico, who are leading the construction of a key health infrastructure project to provide of desalinated water to the Metropolitan Region. Climate change requires urgent adaptation and mitigation, and at Ciudad Emergente we support all efforts that go in that direction.
We return to Central America: Ciudad Emergente in El Salvador!
Invited by the Chilean Embassy in El Salvador, CEM generated new ties with the Planning Authority of the Historic Center of San Salvador and key actors both at the local and national level. With this, we will seek to give new life to the center of this important Central American city that has put citizen security as a key priority, led by its former Mayor and current President, Nayib Bukele.
Ciudad Emergente at the Congress of Cities
Our Executive Director, Javier Vergara Petrescu, joined the Advisory Council of an unprecedented meeting that in 2023 brought together the political world, academics, experts from the public and private world, and civl society leaders to debate. What should politics do for cities? Review the Manifesto and the 102 proposals that came out of this meeting here.
New house, new life!
This year we moved to Espacio #1179, a fascinating office complex that fosters interaction and inspiration amongst social entrepreneurs; it is also the headquarters of the Mustakis Foundation. This was an important change that brings CEM physically closer to organizations and foundations with a purpose very similar to ours, and from which we hope to further enhance our work together with new and great partners.
The “Proximity of Care” method in Valdivia, supported by ARUP and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation
We worked together with the Municipality of Valdivia, ARUP and BvLF in the planning and design of a “care” neighborhood in the City of Valdivia in Southern Chile, specifically on Avenida Argentina. Do do this, we applied a methodology called Proximity of Care that has enormous potential to be replicated in multiple cities across Chile — hopefully we have more updates on this soon!
Building new ties with Maipú
With the team of Mayor Tomás Vodanovic, CEM is working on a proposal to recover the civic center of the Commune of Maipú; to do so we are exploring different funding opportunities to enable us to collectively generate a strategy to improve the Plaza Mayor of Maipú and its surroundings.
The first cycle path, paid through crowdfunding, is now a reality in Renca
The “Donate 1 Meter” campaign has already managed to create the first cycle path financed 100% through donations. The company Uber Eats was a critical supporter, along with dozens of other companies and people who support this cause. Along with executing the route in Renca, performance studies were carried out in 2023, and new repairs are coming to maintain the infrastructure.
We open Streets for Children in Cerrillos together with GDCI
The Pedro Aguirre Cerda School in the Buzeta neighborhood was the first establishment in Cerrillos that transformed its school environment into a street for children, using the methodology of the Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI) and with the support of the School of Architecture of the Universidad Mayor, and the students of Professor Andrea Rojas's workshop. Thanks to the good reception that the intervention had, dozens of parents and students asked the Traffic Department to maintain this pilot as a permanent road safety measure!
We welcomed researcher Daniel Sax from the University of British Columbia
Urban greening is the concept that the researcher Daniel Sax, of UBC's Urban Natures Lab, is working on in Santiago, Medellín, New York, and Vancouver. From Ciudad Emergente, we support Dan to shape his research with cases, networks and opportunities to study issues of nature-based solutions, social justice, gentrification, among other related topics.
With the Mustakis Foundation we tested a safe route to school in Recoleta
Our friends at the Mustakis Foundation are committed to positively impacting the lives of boys and girls in their neighborhood, through educational experiences based on creativity, respect and inspiration. Thus, they invited CEM to try a route to the Mustakis operations center in Recoleta where hundreds of children pass through daily.
The Paseo de Cerro a Mar de Antofagasta focused on kids
Together with CREO Antofagasta, CEM kicked off 2023 by transforming the school environments of “the walk from hill to sea” in the town of La Corvallis. The change from a car street to a safe route for children was very well received by the school community and their families. This pilot is part of a broader vision to recover walks from the hill to sea with a focus on people-friendly streets, with a focus on pedestrianism and sustainable mobility.
Safe streets for children in Lo Espejo next to the Automobile Club of Chile
In March 2023, the boys and girls of Lo Espejo returned to classes with a surprise: improvements to pedestrian crossings, the change of their school environment where cars and trucks were previously parked, for a pedestrian street and a recreation area to make it a safer entrance to school. Together with the Automobile Club of Chile and Conaset we tested a transformation of school environments through the Star Rating for Schools methodology.
Incremental Urbanism in Honduras
The Comayagua Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan in Honduras — initially envisioned and developed by Ciudad Emergente via an active public engagement process — has now become a reality, along a key boulevard in the city. What started as a tactical urbanism excercise, has resulted in a permanent change in the city´s infrastructure and design for safer, people-centred cities!
Supporting Territoria at the Tobalaba Urban Market
In 2023, the Mercado Urbano Tobalaba (MUT) was inaugurated in the municipality of Las Condes. Ciudad Emergente supported Territoria in designing a strategy to give better conditions to the environment for pedestrian and cyclist accessibility. A great project like the MUT deserves a great pedestrian and cyclist experience for everyone who visits the complex daily.
Move to the Patio in Peñalolén
As part of WWF´s global We Love Cities campaign that CEM joined in 2022, the Municipality of Peñalolén and Grupo Patio, transformed the outdoor environments of the Patio Peñalolén with a focus on sustainable mobility in January 2023. Together we generated a test space on how a shopping center can be transformed into a place that invites people to arrive by bicycle, scooters or simply walking — encouraging less polluting ways to move around the city.
We continue to expand our network of consultants and collaborators!
Throughout 2023, CEM continued to expand our network, working with people who are very committed and motivated to our cause. Thank you very much to all of you for joining our network of consultants and collaborators. This is how we collectively build cities!
New international and national alliances
Always very close to academia and programs that generate impact, in 2023, CEM collaborated with students from the University of Wisconsin, together with Austral Group. We also strengthened ties with the Universidad Mayor for the Buzeta and GDCI project, and with Universidad Finis Terrae for a professional internship program in Ciudad Emergente, and again we had the honor of receiving the talent of MIT, with intern Audrey Gatta who came to Chile.
Sharing our knowledge across different countries and audiences!
In 2023, CEM collaborated in various congresses and events. These include the World Medical Association in Geneva, Switzerland; the Future Youth Congress of Chile; the First Social Creativity Seminar in Peñalolén, Chile. Our executive director, Javier Vergara Petrescu, also spoke at the Streets for People National Hui New Zealand congress with Mike Lydon from Streets Plans Collaborative. We also had interviews on radio stations, including in Colombia for the 50 years of the Chilean Coup and its impact on urbanism, on Radio Biobio in Chile and many more! We look forward to continued engagements in 2024!
2023 in figures
32,500 people benefited from the transformation of their neighborhoods and cities
13,700 followers on Instagram
45 projects developed
124 consultants and collaborators active in our network throughout Chile and the world.
5 countries where we were present both in person and remotely.
1 vision: Collectively build cities to make them more livable!
As we close the chapter on 2023, we reflect with satisfaction on the achievements and fruitful collaborations that have strengthened our mission. We thank all the collaborators, allies and communities who have been part of this journey. We look enthusiastically to the future, committed to continuing to create positive impact and collectively building the cities of tomorrow.