Urban Configuration for Pollution at Ground Level. Analysis of the Probable Case of the New High-Rise Buildings in the District of Estación Central, Chile [Configuración Urbana Favorable a la Contaminación a Nivel de Suelo. Análisis del Probable Caso de Los Nuevos Edificios en Altura de la Comuna de Estación Central, Chile]

Between 2013 and 2018, building permits were granted to 80 towers of more than 20 floors in the district of Estación Central, in Santiago de Chile. This complex occupies 23.6 hectares and causes, to the south of them, a permanent shadow cone of 8,615,195.70 m3 at solar noon on June 22. As the concentration of polluting gases increases with cold, humidity and poor air circulation, the objective of this work was to know if urban conditions meet in this shadow cone to cause an increase in said concentration at ground level. For this, the shadow cone of the buildings, their continuity and distance relationships, the ventilation conditions, the presence of vegetation and the automotive fleet were studied in detail. A quantitative method was applied that combined observation and verification in the field; graphic and statistical analysis of existing documents and the elaboration of a three-dimensional model of the fragment under study. The research demonstrated the strong increase in shade, the decrease in tree vegetation and the increase in the automobile fleet in the commune. In addition, the existence of conditions that could be causing a decrease in air circulation in the shadow cone and an unfavorable orientation of the prevailing winds was verified. © 2021 Universidad de Chile. All rights reserved.