Dean

Magdalena Vicuña Del Río

Architect

Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Associate Professor at the Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies and Researcher at the Research Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (CIGIDEN).

Architect, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (1999); Master in Community Planning, University of Maryland, United States (2004); Doctor of Architecture and Urban Studies, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2015).

Member and former President of the Latin American Association of Urbanism and Planning Schools (ALEUP).

She has served as principal investigator and co-investigator in various academic and applied research projects, focusing on urban planning, urban morphology, and disaster risk management. As principal investigator, her notable projects include “Anatomies of Verticalization and Residential Densification Policies in Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción: Towards More Integrated and Sustainable Metropolitan Areas?” (FONDECYT Regular ANID Project 2022-2025), “Impact of Intensive Residential Densification on the Spatial Restructuring of the Neoliberal City: Urban Morphology and Regulations in the Santiago Metropolitan Area” (FONDECYT Regular ANID Project 2018-2020), and “Exceptions to Local Urban Regulations and Their Effects on the Conduct of Intensive Residential Densification Processes, the Case of Greater Santiago” (MINVU, 2017-2018).

Her publications reflect the depth of her research and analysis in urban topics. Among them, prominent articles include “Urban Planning and Accessibility: Key Factors in the Processes of Intensification in Residential Verticalization” (Revista de Urbanismo, 2024), “Assessing the Role of Land-Use Planning in Near Future Climate-Driven Scenarios in Chilean Coastal Cities” (Sustainability, 2023), and “Catch Me If You Can: Adjustments and Calibrations of Urban Regulations After Verticalization in the Santiago Metropolitan Area” (Revista EURE, 2023). She has also contributed to the book “Metropolitan Plans in Ibero-America: Cultures and Instruments” (Urban Studies Collection, 2022) and the chapter Urban Planning in The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies (2019).

As a researcher at the Research Center for Integrated Natural Disaster Risk Management (CIGIDEN), she has developed research linking regulations, urban morphology, and vulnerability in Chilean urban centers exposed to natural disasters. Currently, she participates as a co-investigator in the “ASISTE: Earthquake-Tsunami-Evacuation Analysis” project, contributing to knowledge on urban resilience to disasters.

Furthermore, she has led key consultancies for the National Urban Development Council, such as the design of the System of Indicators and Standards for Urban Development in Chile, and has advised MINVU, regional governments, and municipalities on urban planning and regulatory issues, significantly contributing to the improvement of urban policies in the country.