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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in urban development goals can be measured through indicator systems. The Chilean National Council for Urban Development (CNDU) has proposed a set of indicators to monitor the progress of Chilean cities towards the goals proposed by the National Urban Development Policy, incoporating issues associated to urban green spaces (UGS) in two areas of evaluation: access to urban amenities, and urban environmental quality. This article aims to contribute to the analysis of the processes of information collection, data processing and construction of updated indicators of urban development in Chile by identifing the challenges posed by the implementation of a complex system of urban development monitoring. The study focuses on identifying, analyzing and comparing the UGS cadastres of the AMS generated by public institutions, to assess whether they can feed evidence-based design processes for public policy, and the development of a monitoring system of the advances in urban development. Analysis is based on the UGS cadastres carried out in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago between 1992 and 2016 by identifying the responsible institutions, the sources of information and the data obtaining and validating methods. Results show that these cadastres are not comparable to each other, as they use different criteria for the UGS identification and classification, different data sources and collection methods. The fragmentation of decision-making regarding UGS generates inconsistent information, hindering the evaluation of public policy results. The effective implementation of the system of indicators proposed by the CNDU will require the generation of a solid, up-to-date and transparent information basis, prepared by relevant institutions, and validated by proper procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]