Since the mid-nineteenth century, industrial development has been an inherent factor in port cities, a phenomenon from which the Valparaíso region was no stranger. However, each of these processes accumulated pollutants -many of them persistent or recalcitrant in their systematic manipulations and processes- which accumulated until they eventually became what is known today as “urban environmental liabilities”. By “environmental liabilities” we refer to a debt generated in another time, under different social, cultural and technical circumstances, which today constitutes a waste that needs to be reported, focused and treated. In the case of Viña del Mar, environmental liabilities are a legacy of the city. It is a problem that involves hazardous components that remain in the environment. Often this scenario is compounded by a fragile environment that complicates its situation and management. If we review the history of the city, we will see that the beginning of Viña del Mar’s industrial development is intimately related to the development and extension of the railroad, which contemplated a series of stages: First, an “early industrial development” (1857 to 1874) around the railroad axis. Then, a “liberal industrial development” (1874 and 1881) concentrated on activities linked to the expansion of the railroad. A “late liberal development” (1881 and 1920) where industrial activities were diversified and pollutants of heavy metals and basic chemical elements were incorporated. Once the 20th century began, there was a “first national development” (1921 and 1945), in which there was a great promotion of national industry, followed by a “complex national development” (1945 to 1983) in which the city systematically began to incorporate automotive services. The crisis of the post-Fordist process – in the case of Chile with the economic crisis of 1983 – closed the industrial cycle, with the bankruptcy of the Compañía de Refinería de Azúcar de Viña del Mar (CRAV) being the milestone that changed the paradigm. The city reconverted to urban services forgot its industrial past and today we only observe it as a “legacy”, linked to the communities that these developments generated: trade unionism, mutualism, organizations of various kinds, neighborhoods, towns, and a forgotten patrimonial remnant, together with the silent legacy of the pollutants that today we call urban environmental liabilities. Today, this “inheritance” can be seen as an opportunity to project the regeneration of natural conditions for urbanization, and in this way, begin to do things differently to project life and give sustainability to the city. This is why today it is more important than ever to take charge of a problem that belongs to the whole city, promoting remediation projects for land with environmental liabilities. Only from here will it be possible to speak not of real estate development, but of urban development, a city project that will provide a vision of the future, with sustainability and adaptability.
