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Municipal development plan: The guiding instrument for municipal management in Chile?

Authors

  • Arturo Orellana Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
  • José Antonio Mena Valdés Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
  • Martín Montes Marín Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Vol. 31 No. 87 (2016)

Abstract

This paper questions the belief that the Municipal Development Plan (PLADECO) serves —according to the current legislation— as the “guiding instrument for local municipal development”. To contrast this idea, a content analysis was performed on a sample of 58 PLADECO documents from different Chilean urban municipalities. Four aspects were analyzed: citizen participation, strategic planning, information accessibility and accountability. In addition, interviews were conducted with key actors from various municipal systems in order to understand their views on the scope and limitations of PLADECO. Through this methodology, a high degree of heterogeneity was found in the levels of accomplishment of the analyzed documents. The results show that local governments focus on following the requirements of the current legislation; however they rarely use them as a guiding tool for local administration. Accessibility conditions were the best assessed aspect, surpassing the areas of strategic planning, citizen participation and accountability. Finally, political will was found to be a fundamental factor in the performance of PLADECO.

Author Biographies

Arturo Orellana, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Commercial Engineer and BSc in Economy, University of Chile. MSc in Urban Development, Pontifical Catholic University, Chile. PhD in Human Geography, University of Barcelona. Professor, Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies, Pontifical Catholic University, Chile.

José Antonio Mena Valdés, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Sociologist and BSc in Sociology, Pontifical Catholic University, Chile.

Martín Montes Marín, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Sociologist and BSc in Sociology, Pontifical Catholic University, Chile. Master’s student in Urban Development, Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies at the Pontifical Catholic University, Chile.

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How to Cite
Orellana, A., Mena Valdés, J. A., & Montes Marín, M. (2016). Municipal development plan: The guiding instrument for municipal management in Chile?. Revista INVI, 31(87), 173–200. Retrieved from https://revistas.uchile.cl/index.php/INVI/article/view/62723
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Revista INVI
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo
Universidad de Chile
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Dirección de Servicios de Información y Bibliotecas (SISIB)