River park in San Francisco Ravine, Valparaíso

Abstract

The city of Valparaíso has a series of watersheds that emerge from the high slopes of its hills into the Pacific Ocean, and whose morphology is capable of providing ecosystem services. In particular, the watershed system generated from the San Francisco ravine is of special interest, since it acts as a biological corridor, thus having the potential to preserve local biodiversity. Considering these attributes, and as a result of the discovery of an abandoned rainwater collection system which purpose was to channel the waters of this and other hydrographic systems of the city, it is proposed the construction of a river park that links the source of the basin San Francisco with its mouth in the port area of the city. This project seeks, on the one hand, to value the city’s hydrographic basin system, and to account for its ecological properties. Likewise, it is desired to enhance this archaeological find, part of the historical heritage of the city, welcoming the natural flow of water that gave rise to its construction.