Risk and danger as factors that contribute to the construction and organisation of Santiago de Chile

Abstract

With the objective of contributing to the analysis of the construction, representation and organization of the national territory, this work aims to shed some light onto the evolution of the pair risk - danger, from the perspective of geographic history. By means of analyzing primary and secondary sources, we will hereby try to understand how the many disasters that have occurred since the beginning of the foundation of the city have affected and influenced the morphology and organization of its territory. The first part of the text is concerned with a theoretical approach of the concept of risk and danger. As we move forward, we will identify four distinctive stages in close relationship to the spatial development of the metropolis and the importance given by society to the distinction of risk – danger, highlighting the main threats that have been affecting this large city, the factors and actors that have contributed to the development of its social and spatial vulnerability, and pointing out the explanations provided and the mitigation measures used to face these events.