In little over 40 years, La Dehesa has changed drastically. During this period it has provided Santiago some breathing room by letting the capital expand east of the Las Condes and Vitacura districts. It included high-density construction around main roads, with the slow start and then acceleration of high-rise residential building construction in the 1990s and 2010s.
In La Dehesa the development was carried out with a residential stamp of spacious houses and generous grounds. A different and complementary alternative to the strong developments in traditional districts. The extended construction in La Dehesa was carried out over time thanks to regulations that allowed its development in only two decades, transforming from an almost exclusively residential neighborhood to an area that now has all the necessary services.
The growing demand to live in La Dehesa has led to the expansion of the initial residential area, which now includes the Los Trapenses neighborhood. But the district has always maintained a distinguished look, despite the gradual decrease in the size of the properties and taller new structures.
La Dehesa is a district designed with an eye for public spaces and people living in an urban space. This vision resulted from the interaction and cooperation of people, their expectations and interests, with an adequate and flexible regulatory management. The interaction and respect for the diverse interests that coexist in a space of this magnitude, urban quality and entrepreneurial capacity, led to the arrival of stores, restaurants, health services and schools, all elements of increasing importance in daily life.
The attractiveness of La Dehesa with its permanent call to many new homes year after year, was made possible by key road infrastructure to maintain and improve connectivity with the main areas of activity in the metropolitan area.
The urban growth of the area occurred on two different levels. One was the growth of hyperlocal services in a developing residential area, that includes individual houses to more high-density construction, such as four- to eight-story apartment buildings. The other was a development that lets you carry out all sorts of activities outside of work. All of this leads to a more sustainable development that is closer to the integrated and pedestrian-friendly urban environment ideal.
It is important to continue strengthening the connectivity with the city’s job centers, and this is being done mainly around metro line No. 1 and roads, including concessioned highways. Adequate and efficient roads are a key element in setting up a new residential sector. The connectivity and demand for housing, and consequently for land, is always a dynamic interaction that must occur with a technically sound regulation that gives a lot of flexibility to the creativity of entrepreneurs in their search to satisfy market needs.