Valdivia faces it’s housing crisis and city deficit by launching an innovative Local Action Plan

Déficit Cero and the Municipality of Valdivia launched a Local Action Plan that seeks to provide solutions to the challenges facing their communities. This methodology is born from a joint effort to address the housing deficit and improve access to the city by identifying the territory's opportunities to respond to the housing and urban demand in the short, medium, and long term, establishing a clear roadmap to guide investment in these matters.

According to data from the Minvu Conecta platform, Valdivia has a housing demand of more than 21,000 households that wish to stay in the commune. In response, the Local Action Plan proposes adding new initiatives to the 29 subsidized housing projects already in the pipeline.

Additionally, the urban master plan integrates the commune’s strategic project portfolio, provided by the Municipal Planning Secretariat, and the collection of plans and projects planned for the territory by sectoral portfolios. The plan includes the development of new infrastructure, primarily associated with sports and health facilities, mobility projects that consider bike paths, pedestrian walkways, traffic-calmed zones, street conservation and opening, the construction of the new Cochrane Bridge connecting Teja Sur and Barrios Bajos, and environmental projects associated with the construction and renovation of parks and squares.

This plan represents not only a bold response to the housing challenges but also a model to follow in terms of participation and collaboration between public and private actors, consolidating 125 proposals distributed across four strategic areas: infrastructure, mobility, facilities, and housing. The plan is part of a series of measures and projects the municipality is working on, and its implementation will help improve the quality of life in the commune, marking a milestone in urban and housing development in the region.

Enrique Matuschka, Director of Urban Housing Development at Déficit Cero, noted that this plan demonstrates that territories have high needs and demand for housing, but also many opportunities. These plans consolidate all the information on housing demand, but also on the available land and investment opportunities, and together with the municipalities, we profile the projects that could eventually become a roadmap to address the housing deficit.

About Déficit Cero: we are an initiative that seeks to address the urban housing crisis in Chile. Its goal is to ensure that all families have access to decent and adequate housing, which, in turn, impacts other areas of life such as education, health, safety, and child well-being.