Originally published in the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaíso, this column written by Alberto Texido, President of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile, addresses the current urban landscape of Valparaíso after the Chilean Supreme Court's ruling declared the building permit for a mega-mall —Mall Plaza Barón— on the waterfront of the Chilean port city illegal.

With the judicial outcome of the Puerto Barón project decided, there is little room for celebration. Instead, there is concern over the more than 15 years lost by Valparaíso, its authorities, the business community, and its citizens, who have failed to reach a consensus to move past neglect and lack of investment. Yet, beyond this regrettable litigation—which has exposed a collective inability to bring projects to fruition—it is this very status quo that has been overcome, at least by an active citizenship ready to build a new local representation. From its outset, and unlike its predecessors, this movement has successfully offered a counterpoint, demanding maximum quality, better public participation, and regulatory compliance for major urban projects.

As of this writing, the death toll exceeds 130, with over 15,000 homes affected by the megafires in Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, and Quilpué, which struck Chile in early February 2024. Above all, this tragedy forces us to once again confront the lack of urban planning and to continue improving prevention, evacuation, and warning systems. These events also demand—once again—that we outline a diagnosis and concrete courses of action toward necessary adaptation.