Urban areas constitute complex entities where biophysical and socioeconomic environments interact through processes that determine the distribution of land use. Given Chile's variety of landscapes, erosion, and mass movement, and rapid expansion of its cities, straightforward techniques for assessment of land use suitability are essential. Through evaluation of water erosion susceptibility, it is possible to determine suitability of land use in medium-sized cities and their adjacent environments. The application of the Erosion Response Units concept (Marker et al., 2001) in the cities of...