The Ecosystemic Potential of the Modern Housing Landscape in the Context of Climate Emergency:Analysis of ten CORVI Housing Complexes in Santiago de Chile

Abstract

When observing the city of Santiago de Chile using a surface temperature index during the hottest days of recent summers, it is striking that numerous housing complexes of the former CORVI housing corporation appear as islands of lower temperature in relation to their immediate context. This phenomenon is observed in complexes of different sizes, located in different sectors of the capital city, and always next to intermunicipal avenues. In this sense, the hypothesis of why it occurs results from a combination of three factors: 1) he way the blocks are grouped;2) the large areas of permeable soil immediately surrounding them.; and 3) the continuity of their green spaces.

Through a reading of satellite images, spectral classification models, and surface soil temperature (LST) index, ten CORVI housing complexes made up of isolated blocks in eight municipalities in Santiago are analyzed. The findings show that the correlation between urban morphology, permeable soil, continuous vegetation, and lower temperatures reveals an essential instrumental value that the open spaces of the CORVI housing complexes have in the context of climate change. Therefore, their preservation depends partly on their valorization from an ecological perspective.