Urban integration and quality of urban life: Dilemmas in metropolitan contexts

This work explores the extent to which urban integration is related to a better quality of life in the metropolitan areas of Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción. This challenge has not been addressed so far as a result of its methodological and interpretation complexities. Through the comparative analysis of the Urban Life Quality Index (ICVU) and Urban Integration indices raised from the System of Urban Development Indicators and Standards (SIEDU), three key dimensions are addressed: sociocultural conditions, connectivity and mobility, and housing and environment. The results confirm in the case of the three metropolitan areas of Chile that urban integration is not necessarily expressed as the result of a better quality of life, opening an important question about the scope that a good endowment of public and private goods and services may have in order to guarantee a greater degree of integration in neighborhoods and municipalities, at least at the metropolitan level. Additionally, the importance of the geography of the metropolitan areas is revealed, due to some conflicting results obtained, generating a significant contribution for the design of public policies before their next examination in Chile.