592. Geographies of containment: the role of neighbourhood policies in the neoliberal Chile

Abstract

The analysis of neighborhood-scale policies has assumed a leading role within these initiatives since the 1990s, according to global neoliberal restructuring. In this framework, Chile is a representative case, since neighborhood-scale policies are implemented at the end of the civic-military dictatorship, establishing neoliberal principles which will be strengthened by subsequent governments. Taking elements from the Cultural Political Economy and the concepts of humanization of neoliberalism, spoliation and depletion into account, this article proposes that neighborhood scale policies fulfill a relevant ideological role, as they displace, control and delimit the conflicts derived from the implementation of neoliberal urban policies, that affect poverty and urban inequalities. Specifically, the figure of containment -as consolation, container and control- is proposed to understand the role of neighborhood-scale policies in neoliberal Chile.