Functioning shared spaces and a strong cultural heritage matter. When the two are thriving in concert, a country’s civic compact is at its strongest.
Safe and flourishing communities depend on a web of interconnected actors — the state, citizens, community organizations, and the private sector. Urban planning policies that encourage smart housing provision, the development and maintenance of reliable transportation, law enforcement to maximize citizen safety, and access to quality healthcare facilities are highly complex. Unfortunately, many aspects of Chilean urban centers have fallen into decay, weakening the civic compact.
Equally important, a country’s arts and heritage are creative endeavors grounded in the soul of a people, connecting the past to the present and paving a way for those to come. Chile possesses a rich array of heritage and cultural expressions, but like freedom, they are fragile by nature and only a generation away from extinction. The civic compact rests on civil discourse, and safe cities and a collective appreciation of the country’s arts, culture, and heritage are indispensable inputs.
