The northeastern zone of Santiago de Chile, known as “sector oriente”, refers to the name given to the communes to the east of the Santiago commune, where the majority of the population with the highest income in Chile live. It is made up of the communes of Lo Barnechea, Vitacura, Las Condes, Providencia, La Reina, and Ñuñoa. It had 929,158 inhabitants according to the Chilean census of 2017 added to a large floating population that travels daily to the sector for work, studies or services, especially to Providencia and Las Condes through Providencia Avenue and Apoquindo Avenue, which are the main commercial and transport axis of the city and the continuation of the Alameda from downtown. Together covering the 40% of total motorized journeys in the city. Likewise, in the communal limit of Las Condes, Providencia and Vitacura is located the financial sector of Sanhattan, which has experienced significant growth in high-rise buildings destined mainly for offices and trade.

Lo Barnechea is a commune located in the northeastern sector of the province of Santiago and its area corresponds to 48% of this province. Its urban boundaries are: to the north with Los Andes of the Valparaíso region, to the west with Colina, to the southwest with Vitacura and Huechuraba, to the south with Las Condes and to the east with San José de Maipo. It developed around the old rural town of Lo Barnechea. Its population is heterogeneous, as it is inhabited by high- and medium-high-income families in sectors such as La Dehesa, Los Trapenses and El Arrayán, and also by medium-low- and low-income families, mainly in the towns of Lo Barnechea, Población La Ermita and Cerro Dieciocho.