- Lima Metropolitan Area
:"This article is about the administrative division. For the city, see
Lima "The Lima Metropolitan Area (Spanish: "Área Metropolitana de Lima", also known as "Gran Lima" (Greater Lima) or "Lima Metropolitana"), is an area formed by theconurbation of thePeru vian cities ofLima (the nation's capital) andCallao .Lima Metropolitana is formed by the Province of Lima and the Constitutional Province of Callao in accordance with D.S. N°011-72-PM as of 25 April 1972] It is the largestmetropolitan area in Peru, is the tenth largest in the Americas, and among the thirty largest in the world. The conurbation process started to be evident in the 1980s. The metropolitan area is composed of six subregions. These are the Cono Norte, Cono Sur, Cono Este, ResidentialLima ,Central Lima , andCallao . It has a population of 8,482,619 according to the 2007 population census. [http://censos.inei.gob.pe/censos2007/Documentos/Primresult_CPV2007.pdf INEI. Censos Nacionales 2007: XI de Población y VI de Vivienda. Primeros Resultados. (pdf-file, 1453 kB)] 2007 Population Census, first results. Retrieved on 2008-06-20. ]History
The city of
Lima was founded onJanuary 18 ,1535 . The port ofCallao was founded similarly two years later. The city ofLima began whenFrancisco Pizarro declared it at what is known as the Epiphany. It was founded at the very center of the city, thePlaza Mayor . It would become the most important city inSouth America . The city ofCallao also was destined the same fortune as being for hundreds of years the only port in all of theViceroyalty of Peru (all of Spanish South America at the time) allowed to ship anything to the rest of the world. For hundreds of yearsLima andCallao were separated by a desert. This however, did not diminish the importance of the union between the two cities. It was not until the 1800s that they were connected by a railroad. The metropolitan link between these two cities did not start until they both grew enough to, in essence, crash into each other.Today
Today it has become the most important metropolis in
Peru and the largest in theAndean region . The area's financial district isSan Isidro . Many of the city's business centers, skyscrapers, and commerce are located here. The area's nightlife is mainly based inMiraflores andBarranco . The metropolis is a lively area and music at night is common in some areas. Today different parts of the metropolis have different aspects and slightly different culture. The downtown area, unlike most downtowns in the world, is made up of historical architecture such as cathedrals and churches. In the latter half of the 20th century, the metropolis has grown fastly by migration from otherregions of Peru . Many of these migrants began to form new communities calledpueblos jovenes and "asentamientos humanos", literally "Young Towns" and "Human Settlements". These towns are similar to thefavelas ofBrazil but considerably smaller. Many of them have no running water or electricity. Many of the these communities such asComas ,Los Olivos , andVilla El Salvador have evolved into modern districts and found the better life they were searching for.Geography
The
conurbation has an area of 2,819.26 km². It is concentrated mainly in the coastal area and runs north-south along thePacific coast for almost 200 km, beginning in the district of Ancón, on the border with theHuaral Province of theLima region , and ending in the district of Pucusana, on the border with theCañete Province , also in theLima region . The Rímac, Chillón and Lurín rivers pass through the area. It is made up of in total 49 districts. There are 43 districts in Lima and 6 in Callao. Most of the area is located in the desert whereas the eastern portion is located in the foothills of theAndes . It is the second largest metropolis in a desert afterCairo ,Egypt . The metropolis is divided into six areas. They are the Cono Norte, Cono Sur, Eastern Lima, The High-Scale Commercial Districts, the Port of Callao, and the Historical Center of Lima.Transportation
Today the two cities are conurbanized so much signs are necessary to know borders. There are hundreds of streets and highways linking the two cities. Taxis vary in quality of service and price. They can be stopped at any street, or private taxi companies can be called to pick up passengers at a certain address.
Numerous inter-urban bus companies offer transportation to other cities in Peru. Quality varies depending on the price, from luxury express buses to uncomfortable and crowded micros.
Nowadays
Lima 's mayor is working on a new bus system called Metropolitano where all buses will have exclusive lines; it has been told that new buses must be acquired by the companies working in the metropolitan area, this buses will be bought from a Chinese company, the same company that sells buses toItaly . The mayor's hope is to see a new massive transport system in the next few years.To improve the quality of taxis running in the metropolis, a new law has been released where its forbidden to import used cars; thanks to this law, the city of Lima ensure to always have new cars all over the city, reducing smog.
An agreement signed by Mayor
Luis Castañeda Lossio and President Alejandro Toledo onFebruary 17 ,2005 , provided funding for finishing theLima Metro , an above-groundmass-transit system which will link the downtown area with the financial district, San Isidro. The project was launched in the late 1980s but left unfinished presidentAlan García , who is currently the president of Peru again.Lima's main passenger gateway for national and international air travelers isJorge Chávez International Airport located inCallao .Population
As of 2007 the official metropolitan area has a population of 8,482,619. The metropolis, in the past decade, has experienced a constant influx of migrants from other parts of the country.
Population distribution
% of the metro area's total population, sorted by district areas:
* Cono Norte (Ancón,Carabayllo ,Comas , Independencia,Los Olivos , Puente Piedra,San Juan de Lurigancho , San Martin de Porres, Santa Rosa): 25%
* Cono Este (Ate,Cieneguilla ,Chaclacayo ,El Agustino ,Lurigancho , San Luis, Santa Anita): 12%
* Cono Sur (Chorrillos, Lurín, Pachacamac, Pucusana,Punta Hermosa ,Punta Negra , San Bartolo,San Juan de Miraflores ,Santa María del Mar ,Villa el Salvador ,Villa María del Triunfo ): 20%
* ResidentialLima (Barranco , Jesús María, La Molina,Lince , Magdalena, Miraflores,Pueblo Libre ,San Borja , San Isidro, San Miguel, Santiago de Surco,Surquillo ): 20%
* The Port of Callao (Bellavista,Callao District ,Carmen de la Legua Reynoso , La Perla,La Punta ,Ventanilla District ): 12%
*Central Lima (Breña , La Victoria, Downtown Lima, Rimac): 11%Growth of the Metropolis
The following maps show us how the Lima and Callao Metropolitan area has grown over the years. The first map shows the population in 1535, which is the year Lima was founded, and the last map shows the population in 2006.
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The Future as a Megacity
Lima is expected to become a
megacity before the end of the decade. A megacity is ametropolitan area of more than ten million people. It will be the first in theAndean States and the fourth inSouth America .See also
*
Lima
*Callao
*Peru
*Metropolitan area References
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