Quilicura is a commune of Chile located in capital Santiago. Founded in 1901, it was originally a satellite city on what were then the outskirts of the city of Santiago, but as urban sprawl has set in it is now quickly urbanizing from what was recently prime agricultural land. It is the second most recent commune to be absorbed by the constantly growing Santiago, the most recent being Padre Hurtado. Quilicura is home to many industries and its residents are mostly middle class families since the recent urbanization. The commune has a very high HDI in comparison to other similar middle to upper middle class communes of the country. There is little green space in comparison to wealthier neighborhoods in the city because Quilicura is still an industrial area.
Etymology
The origin of the name Quilicura is from the Mapuche languageMapudungun and comes from the words kila meaning three and kura meaning stone. The "Three Stones" are three hills which separate the area and formed the border with Renca.
According to the 2002 census, Quilicura spans an area of and has 126,518 inhabitants. Of these, 125,999 lived in urban areas and 519 in rural areas. The population grew by 207.7% between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. According to the 2012 census preliminary data Quilicura is now home to 203,946 residents. In 2005 the regional quality of life index was rated at a medium level of 72.53 or 34 out of 52. In 2003 Quilicura's Human Development Index was recorded as 0.782 or 19 out of 341. In 2011 the average annual household per capita income was rated at US$39,302. In recent years, Quilicura has become the home of a large Haitian community.
Transport
Quilicura is located about 12 km from Santiago's international airport and is served by the Américo Vespucio Norte Highway as well as the Pan-American Highway. Transantiago public buses connect Quilicura to the centre of Santiago and run frequently in each direction. The first phase of the Santiago Metro Line 3 connecting the commune with the rest of the network was completed on 22 January 2019, with phase 2 being completed in 2022. Currently, the closest metro station to Quilicura is Vespucio Norte which is the northern terminus of the line 2, it can be reached via the 425 bus from Quilicura.
Administration
As a commune, Quilicura is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by a mayor who is directly-elected every four years. The 2012-2016 mayor is Juan Carrasco Contreras. The communal council has the following members:
