In a webinar broadcast by SoyTV and all SoyChile.cl platforms, the presentation ‘Viña del Mar, present and future’ was developed, where Esteban Undurraga, development manager of Las Salinas, addressed new aspects of the urban proposal for the future Barrio Las Salinas. The panelists in the conversation were Pier Paolo Zaccarelli, president of the Regional Chamber of Commerce; Lorena Herrera, Academic of the Business School of the PUCV; and Roberto Moris, Academic of the Institute of Urban Studies of the UC. The event was conducted by the director of El Mercurio de Valparaíso, Carlos Vergara, and the person in charge of Institutional Relations of the PUCV, Gianni Rivera Foo. At the beginning of the day, the rector of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), Claudio Elórtegui, welcomed the participants, highlighting the importance of recovering the Las Salinas site and the contribution of PUCV academics to the cleanup project. He also highlighted the possibility of generating this space for debate with distinguished panelists. This was followed by a presentation by Esteban Undurraga, who addressed aspects such as the beginnings of Viña del Mar, the past of Las Salinas, fundamental aspects of the first cleanup project when the oil companies withdrew, details of the bioremediation project unanimously approved by the environmental authority in August of this year and, finally, the proposals for the development of public space within the framework of the future Barrio Las Salinas and the opening of an international competition to generate the Las Salinas Urban Park, which will be located in the heart of the neighborhood. Once the panel began, Pier Paolo Zacarelli, highlighted that the project “”. In addition, he highlighted as powerful the intention of seeking a way for the society of Viña del Mar to integrate from the Mediterranean to the sea. He also described the project as “”, emphasizing that the area could provide a space for permanent and international tourism and could generate a great impact from the point of view of the region’s businessmen, he indicated that “”. For her part, Lorena Herrera addressed the already existing vehicular pressure on the coastline, and established that just as the project presents a strategic view, so too “”. As an example, she mentioned the case of the San Martín Roundabout (which provides access to the project), which currently has 140% saturation on Friday afternoons (65% saturation is considered to be congestion). In addition, he indicated that the public transport system in Viña has such a low service that it is used only when there is no other alternative, so it is necessary to think about more efficient mass mobility systems, beyond the project. “”, he concluded. Panelist Roberto Moris approached the project from its context in the city. He indicated that there has been an evolution of the civic culture, and currently Las Salinas is a project of public vocation in private hands. “He added that “it must be seen”. Regarding the possibility that the Las Salinas Neighborhood contemplates a real integration aspect, Undurraga said that “”. Other issues addressed were the 6 Oriente project, where Undurraga emphasized that -as it is currently proposed- far from being a proposal that benefits the Las Salinas project, it generates a trichera that eliminates the possibility of generating a connection with the Santa Inés population.
