Transtion Initiative Villa 4 Alamos-Maipu

A community in Santiago works towards becoming the first ecological neighborhood in Chile The Villa 4 Alamos neighborhood of Santiago has worked for many years for environmentally sustainable development as well as to improve conditions for its city-center residents. The Villa 4 Alamos is a pioneer project in the ecologic neighborhood of the Maipú commune. More than 3000 people decided to build the first eco-neighborhood in Chile through the revitalization of public spaces and the rescue of community life. All this was done with cooperation methods. The neighbors re-designed their area to make it more sustainable. To now they have planted an arboretum and built a square with fruit trees native to the area, established productive communal orchards, implemented bottle and solid waste recycling, established a composting station and a center for teaching about ecology. This ecological neighborhood has become a place of inspiration for the country and abroad. -Residents from other areas of the country have visited the neighborhood looking for good practices. -The Maipú commune has decided to promote similar projects in other neighborhoods of the commune. -Local and National politicians have visited the neighborhood, including the President and several Ministers. -The Norwegian Embassy has visited the eco-neighborhood, as have other international visitors. “This project has managed to change a neighborhood with drug and delinquency problems into a neighborhood where people feel safer, more proud and more empowered” say the resident