Taking Santiago de Chile as an example, this practice review explores urban policy-making and spatial planning in a globalized city. Based on an empirical study, it presents insights into the experiences, observations and recommendations of urban development stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors. First of all, the article highlights the main characteristics of public policies and spatial planning in Santiago as well as their relevance in the process of urban development. Second, it examines the sociopolitical conditions that either facilitate or hamper policy and planning efforts. The contribution concludes that if the task of improving urban policy and planning is to be taken seriously, it must go hand in hand with addressing overall problems of urban governance.