Chile: «Nylon houses» are being pulled down
September 4, 2006
In 1997 recently inhabited houses could not stand the rain: roofs and walls leaked. Residents of the sodden houses lost their domestic appliances and other property. The minister, who allocated construction contracts, was sacked, and the houses were covered with plastic panels – hence is the name «nylon houses». No less shameful are the wide spread in Chile houses, made of media aqua, where the neo-liberal authorities shifted those, who suffered from earth quakes and other natural disasters. In comparison with these «houses» any shed or steam bath at our dachas is just a palace! In recent years in Chile they have started to build so minute «social» houses that the people immediately named them Casa Enanas («houses for dwarfs»). A complete family was put into such a house of 12 square meters, which consisted of a kitchen and a bathroom. It was considered to be better than to live in a makeshift house without any conveniences.
To the credit of Michelle Bachelet, one of her first proclaimed programs became a policy of construction of «social» residences. Demolition of «nylon houses» - is a part of the federal program on reconstruction and improvement of 200 regions throughout the country. Special attention will be paid to the quality of construction, development of infrastructure, green belts and recreational areas (the development experience of micro-districts in the Soviet period in Russia comes into mind).
But if we judge by the Chilean forums, ordinary Chileans do not believe that the government, no matter how it was called, could change anything in the existing practice of residential construction.