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Many rich Santiago citizens live in exclusive neighborhoods close to the foothills of the Andes Mountains in large houses of mainly French and American style. In the large middle-class neighborhoods you can find a variety of architectural styles with strong Spanish, French, and British features. Since the 1960s American-style bungalow houses have become dominant among middle-class citizens. Starting in the mid-1980s a new financial center emerged in an exclusive area of Santiago with huge modern tower buildings. Until very recently, poor Chileans lived in large shanty towns (called callampas, ["mushrooms"]) at the periphery of large cities and towns. Their homes were self-constructed, one or two room cardboard and tin huts. These shanty towns have been gradually eradicated by the authorities and replaced by low-income housing. In the countryside, most peasants live in small semi-urbanized settlements (the socalled villorrios rurales), which have emerged at the margins of highways and main rural roads. |
The Moneda Palace in Santiago de Chile | 
Old and modern architecture in Santiago de Chile |
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