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Street

Jirón de La Unión – Lima Downtown


As shown in the map, this street goes a long way. While you walk through Jirón de La
Unión, you’ll find any possible place or service you can imagine. All along you can find
parks, restaurants, banks, cinemas and museums. Also, you can enjoy performances
from street artists.

Jirón de La Unión is always crowded with tourists


and local people that come from the north side of
Lima. Services are accessible to everyone, and the
wide range of prices allow people to choose
whatever fits their economies. The street is
surrounded by buildings that represent colonial and
republican heritage.

Sources: http://portalperu.pe/nota/195-lima-ayer-hoy-7-fotos-que-te-asombraran

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District
Lima Downtown (Cercado de Lima)
This is a district that brings together the colonial and republican heritage, pretty much influenced by european architecture and urbanism. Nevertheless, we can separate the
district in two clear areas. From the blue line to the right, we have the more traditional city, influenced by spanish invasion in the 16th century. This zone is mostly turistic, with
lot of recreative spaces and historical buildings. However, some of them are no longer safe for people to live or work in them. Barrios Altos is an example of this. It lacks
security and also, buildings need to be reinforced or repaired. This area has great potential that is yet to be achieved.

From the blue line to the left, we have an area that presents some vestiges from industries that have been abandoned. Around them, spaces lack safety and people do not visit
them during night. There are spaces for living and sleeping too, but the conditions are not that great either. However, this area has great potential. There is a coliseum, some
ancient huacas and a couple of academic institutions. However, it needs more support and planning from both government and citizens. In general, the district can take
advantage of several resources but needs better planning, with focus on the reusing of traditional historical buildings, recoverying public spaces and improving security.

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Public Spaces
El Olivar – San Isidro
El Olivar Park is the opposite face to what we can see in Lima Downtown. This park is located in one
of the most ‘exclusive’ districts in Lima. In contrast to Lima Dowtown, this park is visited mainly by
people from the highest socio-economic scale.

This is a really extensive park. It contains an


artificial lake, an art gallery and a library. The
park is used by people for doing exercise, biking,
and walking.
All around the park there are houses which were
designed under the influence of european
architecture. Also, it is interesting to see how
these houses interact with the park.

El Olivar is an ecological platform. This is evident


in the catalogue of animals and trees, as shown
in strategic areas of the park.

The negative side is that besides its use for exercise and
occasional relaxing, there are not many things to do in the
spaces within the park. There are many restrictions from
both authorities and neighbours.

Moreover, when the night comes, it becomes less convenient to be in the park since there is not much light around the
bushes. The best time of the day for people to use this park is from morning until sunset.

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