Daily displacement is one of the main activities of women in the poor neighborhoods of Latin American cities. Their female status makes heavy demands of them in connection with household support,, accompaniment, maintenance of family relationships and neighborhood social networks, etc. They are consequently obliged to make countless trips both inside and outside their neighborhoods. Through an analysis of the daily travel routines of women in Santa Julia, a poor neighborhood in Santiago, this article shows how the urban design of the political project of “popular promotion” has turned out to be a double-edged weapon. These women’s habitual pathways are being threatened by public space today, a situation which reignites the old debate on whether urban design by itself can transform society.

La construcción social que asocia a las mujeres con la mantención y cuidado del hogar las muestra como un grupo con baja disponibilidad de tiempo y con limitadas capacidades de desplazamiento urbano. La limitación se traduce en una movilidad diferenciada, acotada y vulnerable a fenómenos tan diversos como su lugar de residencia y la calidad del espacio público. En el caso de Santiago de Chile, existen diferencias considerables en la movilidad según género, edad y estrato socioeconómico, destacándose una mayor fragilidad en grupos de escasos recursos que habitan en barrios producidos por el Estado durante la segunda mitad del siglo pasado. Mediante indicadores cuantitativos y herramientas cualitativas, el presente texto tiene por propósito caracterizar la movilidad femenina en Santiago en tres escalas: metropolitana, barrial y local. La evidencia muestra que existen disparidades en los todos los niveles. En la escala metropolitana las mujeres de ingresos altos exhiben un elevado número de viajes, mayoritariamente motorizados, mientras que en los grupos de escasos recursos dominan los desplazamientos pedestres. En una escala menor, en los barrios, los traslados peatonales se encuentran fuertemente afectados por factores sociales y ambientales como, por ejemplo, la percepción de seguridad.

Walking reports numerous benefits for older persons, yet its practice can be hindered by the built environment. This article seeks to understand how and why certain elements of the built environment facilitate or impede the everyday trips older persons complete on foot. It reports the findings of a set of walking interviews conducted in four central neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile, where forty older persons were invited to walk and talk about the trips they complete on foot and the aspects that facilitate or hinder them. The findings reveal that older persons are aware of the benefits of walking and travel regularly on foot despite the barriers they find in their neighbourhoods. The presence/absence of greenery, the conditions of the facades and the level of cleanliness of the streets affect older persons’ walking experience and can increase/diminish their willingness to walk. Damaged and poorly designed pedestrian infrastructure can cause fear, provoke accidents and become serious hazards. Older persons develop strategies to overcome these barriers, yet the data suggest that they see Santiago as a “disabling city” because it has obstacles that could be unsurmountable in a near future if an illness or an accident diminishes their abilities.