After the coup of 1973 and the establishment of the military regime , major changes in urban planning did not take place until the 1980s , when the government adopted a neoliberal economic model . In 1979 , the master plan was amended . The urban area was extended to more than 62 000 ha for real estate development . This created urban sprawl , especially in La Florida , with the city reaching 40 619 ha in size in the early 1990s . The 1992 census showed that Santiago had become the country 's most populous municipality with 328,881 inhabitants . Meanwhile , a strong earthquake struck the city on 3 March 1985 . Although it caused few casualties , it left many people homeless and destroyed many old buildings
earthquake
1985 Algarrobo earthquake
Santiago