A proposal for recovering abandoned grounds in urban areas - Case study of historic railway installations in the city of Los Ángeles (Chile)
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Arias, J.; 2Staub, G.
1UNIVERSITY OF CONCEPCIÓN Email: jariasq@udec.cl
2UNIVERSITY OF CONCEPCIÓN Email: gstaub@udec.cl
Abstract
Chilean rail transport system is administered by EFE (Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado). Since it is foundation in 1884 it has taken control of a rail network that formerly belonged to private companies, from Iquique to Puerto Montt. Nevertheless, the main reason why railway exists in Chile can be found in mining and transport of goods. Passenger rail can only be found where the necessity exists to connect regions and their capitals. Therefore lots of tracks have been lost due to economic reasons. Los Ángeles is only one example for disappearance of railway. A negative side effect is that areas where railway installations once were present, nowadays are abandoned. In general they become a focus for crime and drug scene or illegal rubbish deposit. This is why our project aims to recover these grounds and to give them a proper usage. We propose the installation of park areas where inhabitants can revive railway history, bike-ways along the former tracks, and other features that might be of interest for people visiting the city of Los Ángeles.