Can Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) contribute towards the implementation of biophilic urbanism in urban planning? The case of Chilean Municipal Regulatory Plans

The COVID-19 crisis has again highlighted our need to be in close contact with nature. Approaches such as biophilic urbanism, which seek to re-naturalize cities through its inclusion in planning and design, have thus gained relevance. The biophilic urbanism approach is materialized through the Biophilic Cities Network (BCN) and uses indicators to measure cities' biophilic performance. To date, Chilean cities have not formally implemented the approach. However, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), a mandatory policy process, requires the inclusion of environmental issues in Chilean urban planning. The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which SEA might contribute towards the implementation of biophilic urbanism in planning processes. We analyze how local governments have been including biophilic elements in their SEA processes by exploring the Communal Regulatory Plan (PRC). We perform a content analysis on the indicators in 135 reports associated with each SEA process. The analysis revealed 286 of 1,006 indicators containing biophilic elements extracted from the biophilic cities indicators. We found that biophilic elements linked with the inhabitant's engagement and well-being were largely absent. Conversely, those indicators related to the creation of new green urban infrastructures were widely represented. Overall, the paper hints at the potential usefulness of the SEA to increase biophilic urbanism implementation in urban planning by applying indicators that include biophilic elements.