A research of design in arid zones to prevent flood problems.

Chañaral, a small mining city located in northern Chile with its river El Salado struggles with drought in summer and regular flooding of its river during the rainy season. One of the major flooding disasters happened on 25th of March 2015, where 23 people died and more than 22.000 people lost their houses. The government does not have an answer and people demand a project to prevent another disaster. The river nowadays is an element that divides the city, becoming a residual and abandoned space that offers nothing to residents. The thesis proposal presents a floodable park concept suitable for future flooding as well as for the dry season. The thesis points to a design that takes advantage of rainy seasons through various strategies, the most important are: a) retention pools to retain water, generate more biodiversity through phytoremediation. b) Store rainwater in specific areas and reuse it for irrigation of the future parks. The park will have vegetation that will require little maintenance, but will help generate an oasis that is suitable for the difficult future conditions that lie ahead. In urban terms, the aim is to change the perception of the river and its edge, from a residual element to the city to a recreational space and articulator of the city that allows generating different activities and local festivities of great magnitude with an appropriate and sustainable infrastructure, improving the quality of life of the inhabitants rescuing elements of the local culture in its design.