Spatial preferences and counterurbanization in Temuco, Chile: between the pleasure of the natural and residential anonymity

ABSTRACT Counterurbanization tends to be associated with the mid-upper and upper classes moving from cities to rural areas. However, the persistent desire for housing, the permeation of the neoliberal model throughout all society based on the principle of universal consumption, and the exhaustion many people feel with urban life, have ended up relativizing the traditional correspondence between social class, capital, and habitus. This paper describes the narratives of projective spatial preferences in rural areas among different social classes in Temuco, one of the most important cities in Chile. After analyzing 30 interviews, the results point to a spatial preference for the rural areas of the city in all social classes, which in turn is sustained in the value placed on the social isolation that suburban areas offered, a feature that is appreciated even more than the natural amenities provided by these places.