Providencia (Chile)

Providencia is a commune located in the northeastern sector of the city of Santiago, capital of Chile. It limits to the northwest with Recoleta, to the northeast with Vitacura, to the east with Las Condes, to the south with Ñuñoa, to the southeast with La Reina and to the west with the commune of Santiago.

The commune is mainly inhabited by middle and upper-middle class people; it is the commune with the best quality of life (during the period 2018) and has a large number of green areas distributed in parks and squares.

In 2006, its municipality obtained ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications for its management system. It is considered the commune with the best quality of life in the country, and it is also the cleanest commune in Chile.

Its mayor is Evelyn Matthei Fornet.

History

The area in which the commune is currently located was occupied for more than 10,000 years. Remains from the early agro-pottery period have been found. This commune, together with that of Ñuñoa, belonged to the large farm of Ñuñohue, which from the XVIII century began to be subdivided into smaller plots. The main rural roads of that time were Ñuñoa (current Irarrázaval Avenue) and Las Condes or Tajamar Avenue (currently Providencia Avenue).

During the 19th century, different villages began to emerge in the Ñuñoa area; La Providencia, until 1891, depended on the Municipality of Santiago, being the 5th rural subdelegation. The name of this village originated from the convent of the congregation of the Sisters of Providence, located in this location, currently the Church of Divine Providence (National Monument). Shortly after, the Hospital del Salvador would emerge near this place.

With the Decree of Creation of Municipalities of 1891, that of Ñuñoa was created, whose territory was the rural subdelegations: Las Condes, San Carlos, Apoquindo, Ñuñoa, La Providencia, Santa Rosa, Subercaseux and Mineral de Las Condes; Providencia is transformed into a sector of Ñuñoa.

President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren created the Municipality of Providencia by Supreme Decree 519 of February 25, 1897 with the 5th subdelegations, La Providencia; 1st, Las Condes; 2nd, San Carlos and 26th, Mineral de Las Condes, in the Department of Santiago.

With the formation of the commune, an important demographic growth began associated with the subdivision of agricultural properties. Along with the emergence of numerous homes, the José Victorino Lastarria High School was inaugurated in 1910, the first traffic ordinances arose, and the mandatory payment of vehicle license plates was decreed. The new income allowed the commune to improve its road infrastructure; Starting in 1918, electric lights were installed.

The Chilean geographer Luis Risopatrón describes it as a 'neighborhood' in his book Diccionario Jeográfico de Chile in 1924:

Providence (Barrio). 33° 26' 70° 37'. It is mui populated, has a service of mails and public schools and is located on the left S of the Mapocho river, in the E part of the city of Santiago, of which is separated by the railway station, of that name, at 565 m altitude.

The dizzying growth of the city of Santiago has transformed it, since the middle of the XX century, into a residential commune, and more recently, the center of dynamic commercial and financial activity that is articulated around Providencia and Nueva Providencia avenues.

During the decades of the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, great commercial growth developed around the northern sector of the commune and in the Sanhattan neighborhood, where the Costanera Center and the World Trade Center Santiago are located.

Limits

• North: The summit line of Mount San Cristobal, from the summit of this (cot 881) to the height 804, and a straight line from the height 804 to the bridge Lo Saldes, on the river Mapocho.

• East: The Mapocho, from the Lo Saldes bridge to the mouth of the San Carlos Canal; and it is from its mouth in the Mapocho to Eliecer Parada Street.

• South: The limit runs through the streets Eliecer Parada, Jaime Guzmán E., Arzobispo Fuenzalida, Pedro Lautaro Ferrer, Diagonal Oriente, Manuel Montt, Rengo, José Manuel Infante, Caupolicán and Malaquías Concha, to Vicuña Mackenna Avenue.

• Poniente: Vicuña Mackenna, Pio Nono until its intersection with Dominica Street, a straight line from that intersection to the west side of the funicular line in all its extension, and from this, a straight line to the top of Mount San Cristobal (cot 881).

Demography

According to data from the 2017 census organized by the National Institute of Statistics, the commune had an area of 14 km² and a population of 142,079 inhabitants, of which 76,369 are women and 65,710 men (women are over -represented in the richest communes of Chile, and men in the poorest, cf. INE databases, and "Communal Statistics"). The floating population of the commune is estimated to be around 1 million people.

Providencia is home to 1.99% of the total population of the Metropolitan Region. It is important to highlight, on the other hand, that the population of the commune increases significantly during the working day over the total permanent population, since there is an important and thick flow of floating population in the commune. The commerce that takes place on the main avenues, the three subway lines that cross or end there, and the numerous offices and company buildings explain this phenomenon. This is how at noon on weekdays, the main streets can be full of people on the sidewalks, and at certain times on Sunday only a few neighbors can be found walking pets or gathering in a square.

Neighborhoods

Some of the most characteristic neighborhoods of Providencia are: the Bellavista neighborhood, which it shares with the neighboring commune of Recoleta; It is a bohemian neighborhood, with an abundance of restaurants and with access to San Cristóbal Hill and its zoo, through Pío Nono Street. Next to the same hill is Pedro de Valdivia Norte, a good residential area where high-rise construction is prohibited. Another emerging area of the commune is the Italia neighborhood, a sector that is shared with Ñuñoa, there is an older area where numerous houses have been transformed into a thriving trade in antique furniture, decoration and restaurants of excellent taste. The Sweden neighborhood was known mainly for its active nightlife, but the insecurity problems it generated motivated its transformation into a modern sector of office buildings where there are still some restaurants and nightclubs.

There are several other well-defined sectors of the commune such as the Providencia-Nueva Providencia axis, which constitutes the main public transportation route for both buses and line 1 of the metro.

Important East-West transportation axis, mainly vehicular, is Pocuro and Bilbao avenues, which together with their surrounding streets with beautiful green areas, bicycle routes and large trees form the Pocuro neighborhood.

Other quiet sectors with beautiful green areas are arranged around Diego de Almagro, Denmark streets, Plaza Las Lilas, etc.

List of neighborhoods

Economy

On the border with the communes of Las Condes and Vitacura, is the main financial center of Santiago, popularly known as Sanhattan.

In 2018, the number of companies registered in Providencia was 46,310. The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) in the same year was 3.54, while the economic activities with the highest Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index were Life Reinsurance Plans (11.26), Motorcycle Manufacturing (11.21) and Amateur Soccer (10.68).

Trade

Providencia - Nueva Providencia Avenue is the extension of the main axis of the city, Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins, resulting in an extension of the concentrated commerce located in the center of the city, said commerce covers these avenues along of the entire commune, bumping into the communal limit with Vitacura and Las Condes in the Sanhattan neighborhood.

Transportation

Providencia, along with 16 other communes, is inserted in Unit 6 of the Metropolitan Mobility Network. There are 11 Santiago metro stations within the commune area, where 3 are combination stations, which correspond to 4 lines, one is under construction and the other is in planning:

: Baquedano • Salvador • Manuel Montt • Pedro de Valdivia • Los Leones • Tobalaba

: Tobalaba • Christopher Columbus • Francisco Bilbao

: Baquedano • Bustamante Park • Santa Isabel

: The Lions • Inés de Suárez

: Baquedano • Pedro de Valdivia

The Projected Line He'll cross Providence.

In addition, the commune is crossed by the Costanera Norte Highway.

Providencia has 34 kilometers of cycle paths.

The Santiago cable car is a means of tourist air transportation, on Cerro San Cristóbal.

Culture

The commune has the Providencia Cultural Corporation. Among several other cultural events, the Providencia International Jazz Festival stands out, which takes place annually during January.

Infrastructure

Cultural centers

• Cultural Artistic Center Youth Providence
• Centro Cultural de Carabineros de Chile General Director José Alejandro Bernales Ramírez
• Centro Cultural de España
• Centro Cultural Montecarmelo
• Cultural Foundation of Providence
• Instituto Cultural Chileno-Japanese
• Cultural Institute of Providence
• Goethe Institute

Museums

• National Museum Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna
• Casa Museo Eduardo Frei Montalva
• La Chascona
• Tajamar Museum
• Sport Museum
• Museo Histórico Carabineros de Chile
• Museum Sculpture Park

Clubs

• Providence Club

Theaters

• Teatro Arena
• Teatro Bellavista
• Nescafé Theatre of the Arts
• Teatro Oriente
• San Ginés Theatre

Others

• Council of National Monuments
• DINT
• Triana Studies

Heritage

• Casa Lo Contador
• Falabella Palace
• Parish of the Holy Angels
• Church of Divine Providence
• Monastery of the Agustinas of Clean Conception
• Casa de las Gárgolas
• Orthodox Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Green areas

Parks

• Parque Balmaceda
• Bustamante Park
• Parque República del Ecuador
• Augusto Errázuriz Park
• Sculptures Park
• Metropolitan Park of Santiago (south sector)
• Remembrance Park
• Parque los Aviadores
• Santa Maria Park
• Parque Inés de Suárez
• Tobalaba Park
• Uruguay

Places

• Plaza Baquedano
• Plaza El Bosque
• Plaza Las Lilas
• Plaza Camilo Mori
• Plaza de la Mayorsa
• Plaza Pedro de Valdivia
• Plaza Ignacio Carrera Pinto
• Plaza Juan XXIII
• Plaza Rio de Janeiro
• Plaza Loreto Cousiño
• Plaza Ambrosio del Río
• Plaza Pérez Zujovic
• Jacarandá Square
• Plaza Gabriela Mistral
• Plaza Felipe Dawes
• New Zealand Square
• Plaza Caupolican Parquemet
• Plaza Atriles
• Plaza Centenario Parquemet
• Plaza Elías IV
• Plaza Denmark
• Plaza Cardenal Samoré
• Aviation Square
• Uruguay

Plazoletas

• Plazoleta Diego de Velásquez
• Plazoleta Salvador Reyes Figueroa

Plazuelas

• Plazuela Las Flores
• Plazuela Las Dalias
• Plazuela Román Díaz
• Plazuela González Vera
• Plazuela Elías IV
• Plazuela Diego de Velasquez
• Plazuela Elizabeth Mason
• Plazuela Juan Montalvo
• Plazuela Bernarda Morín
• Plazuela Mayor Díaz Egaña
• Plazuela Amapolas

Security

• Santiago Fire Department
• 19.a Providencia de Carabineros de Chile
• Subcommissioned Providence South
• PDI Homicide Brigade, Condell 264
• Citizen Security of Providence

Administration

Municipality

The Municipality of Providencia is located in the Falabella Palace; For the current period 2021-2024, it is led by Mayor Evelyn Matthei Fornet (UDI), advised by the councilors:

Chile Let's Go

• Manuel José Monckeberg Balmaceda (RN)
• Cristofer Brunetti Nuñez (RN)
• Raphael Bergoeing Vela (EVOP)
• Carolina Plaza Guzmán (UDI)

I approve Dignity

• Tomás Echiburu Altamirano (RD)
• Macarena Fernández Donoso (CS)
• Luis Ibacache Silva (PCCh)

Democratic Socialism

• Josefa Errazuriz Guilisasti (Ind./PPD)

Out of Coalition

• Bellolio Merino Matías (PLR)
• Pablo Jaeger Cousiño (DC)

Parliamentary representation

Providencia belongs to Electoral District No. 10 and the 7th Senatorial Circumscription (Metropolitan Region). It is represented in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress by the deputies Gonzalo Winter (CS), Lorena Fries (Unir), Emilia Schneider (COM), Alejandra Placencia (PCCh), Helia Molina (PPD), Jorge Alessandri Vergara (UDI), María Luisa Cordero (Ind-RN) and Johannes Kaiser (PLR) in the period 2022-2026. In turn, in the Senate she is represented by Fabiola Campillai Rojas (Ind), Claudia Pascual (PCCh), Luciano Cruz Coke (EVOP), Manuel José Ossandon (RN) and Rojo Edwards (PLR) in the period 2022-2030.

Education

School

The commune has several municipal establishments, such as the following:

• Liceo Carmela Carvajal de Prat
• Liceo José Victorino Lastarria
• Liceo Arturo Alessandri Palma
• Liceo Tajamar
• Liceo Luisa Saavedra de González
• Colegio Juan Pablo Duarte
• Providence College
• Colegio El Vergel
• Colegio Mercedes Marín Del Solar

It also has private establishments such as:

• Trewhela's School
• Luis Campino Institute of Humanities
• The Kent School
• Colegio Pedro de Valdivia
• College English
• College of Sacred Hearts of Providence
• College
• Colegio Polivalente Guillermo Gonzalez Hienrich (Particular Subsidized)
• Saint Gabriel's School
• College
• Colegio San Ignacio de El Bosque
• Colegio Alemán Sankt Thomas Morus
• Colegio Compañía de María Seminario

Superior

In terms of higher education, faculties and headquarters of several universities and higher education establishments in the country are located in Providencia:

• Abelardo Iturriaga School Jamett
• Escuela de Carabineros del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
• Instituto AIEP (Dependiente de la Universidad Andrés Bello)
• Universidad de Chile (Faculty of Law)
• Metropolitan Technological University (Faculty of Administration and Economics)
• Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello (Faculty of Law)
• University of Talca (Sede Santiago)
• Universidad Internacional SEK Chile (Faculty of Law)
• Pacific University (Business and Marketing)
• University of the Americas
• University Academy of Christian Humanism
• Finis Terrae University
• University of Arts, Science and Communication (Uniacc)
• Gabriela Mistral University
• Universidad Autónoma de Chile
• Universidad San Sebastián
• University of Aconcagua
• Universidad Pedro de Valdivia
• University
• Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies)

Sports

Football

The commune of Providencia has had a club participating in the National Soccer Championships in Chile.

• Deportivo Alemán (First Division 1934).

Media

Radio stations

FM

The commune does not have community radio stations.