by Marleen Buizer

Artist and co-initiator Jorge Guerrero walks toward us enthusiastically. Eleonora has already conducted research here, in the way she prefers most: working with her hands as much as with her head. While helping out, she listens to stories and plans. Alongside her job, she has been immersed in her PhD research on urban place-making, and she feels slightly self-conscious about suddenly reappearing after a period of absence – together with her partner and supervisor from the Netherlands. That feeling quickly fades in the face of the warm welcome. We, in turn, are struck by how much has visibly been realised in this ecoparque. The park has just celebrated its five-year anniversary.

Pictures taken during our visit to the Ecoparque, December 8th,  2025.

As is typical of urban fringes, this corner of the neighborhood was once filled with trash. Residents recall it as a place that attracted unwanted activities. Apart from a decent football field used by the local club, there was little else – except a clear need for a park. The idea emerged to transform the more than three hectares into a space accessible to everyone: a place to walk, celebrate birthday parties, and do things for which there is no room elsewhere in the neighborhood. Residents plant trees, their species carefully marked on a large, dust-covered map in the small structure at the entrance. There are playgrounds, a recycling point, and a fitness area with serious equipment made from local materials.

All the structures – a workshop, a semi-circular building “like an eye,” as Jorge describes it, overlooking the entire site at the entrance, and a tipi with kitchen facilities – are built from what could be found nearby: glass doors from soft-drink refrigerators, tree trunks, clay, and car tires. Many car tires.  In the future, space will be needed for infrastructure, meaning the municipality cannot guarantee permanent usage rights, however, neighbors perceive the potential end of the Ecoparque Primavera as a a scenario that will not happen anytime soon. Funding remains a challenge, yet through countless volunteer hours and the reuse of materials, the project has already come a long way. By the end of 2025, they succeeded in obtaining legal recognition, formally establishing the “Eco Parque Primavera Environmental Committee”. This committee coaches a group of volunteers, recruited via Instagram. They managed to bring together neighbors of all ages, including people from different crafts and professional backgrounds. Many of the trees have been growing here for about a year and a half and appear to be surviving the harsh weather conditions. Large water tanks, filled by the municipality, are used to irrigate the plants. And there are still many ambitions: to host more activities, to create guided tours with stories. Jorge sketches one out for us on the spot.

Places like this inspire admiration, but also raise questions. Will residents be able to sustain the care this park requires over time? This is not a wealthy neighborhood – shouldn’t the state be responsible for providing such amenities here? Is twenty years enough? This initiative emerged from the bottom up: people are quite literally claiming their right to the city. It is a right of use rather than ownership – a commons, or meent in Dutch, where shared use takes precedence. How communal is this space in practice? Formal structures failed here in the past – how far does governmental support extend today? And inevitably: what will this place look like in twenty years, when the trees are larger and use may be more intensive? And in the shorter term, now that the ultra-right-wing Antonio Kast – who emphasizes private property and advocates for a smaller state – was elected president in December 2025, will community initiatives like this one prove to be especially vulnerable?

More sources for getting to know the Ecoparque Primavera:
> https://www.portalpuentealto.cl/vecinos-de-villa-la-primavera-piden-ayuda-para-terminar-su-propio-parque/
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVgkQKZmdlA
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw_b4M3MFvk