Neoliberal Lakeside Residentialism: Real Estate Development and the Sustainable Utopia in Environmentally Fragile Areas

Abstract

This article exposes the central role played by neoliberal real estate development in the transformation of two lakeside cities in southern Chile. The concept of neoliberal lakeside residentialism addresses the ways in which commercialisation of the natural world in tourism hotspots is comprehensively reshaping the environmentally fragile Andean lake district. Specifically, we hypothesise that this green utopia is rapidly becoming a dystopia as a result of the aggregate effects of real estate development on environmental sustainability. In order to analyse these tensions, we conduct a case study in the districts of Villarrica and Pucón, both located within the Lake Villarrica watershed. There is evidence of territorial metamorphosis of the Araucanía Region as areas popular with tourists are increasingly being closed off by large-scale real estate operations. We find that this “anomalous” rate of urbanisation is indeed affecting sustainability in the territory, both environmental and social, concluding that regulation of these processes is needed in order to preserve both the natural and cultural wealth of the study area.

Unraveling the Differences in Landcover Patterns in High Mountains and Low Mountain Environments within the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest Biome in Chile

“…After the crisis of peasant and traditional agriculture in the 1980s, forestry and livestock farming for export began, along with an increase in rural activities linked to the development of energy projects (hydroelectricity, bioenergy and wind power) and tourism (of different levels, from hotels to rural community tourism), as well as real estate development, an increase in the subdivision of land for second homes and even real urbanization of areas near mountain towns and lakes [36]. Anomalous urbanization rates and rural subdivisions in formerly rural areas were observed in the vicinity of the tourist towns of Pucón and Villarica [37]. On the contrary, in recent decades, new conservation initiatives, implemented by both the state and private actors, have also meant the creation of additional parks and reserves [38][39][40].…”