URBAN DESIGN AND RESEARCH

STUDY AREA C // AVENIDA BRASIL

Design Proposal

The Case Study Area C consists of five municipalities/districts to the south of Lima’s city centre, with Avenida Brasil located in the middle of the area. In total, Area C is around 25 square kilometres and stretches from the coast and to the edge of the city centre. We concentrated our research initially towards four of the areas; Pueblo Libre, Jesús Maria, Magdalena Del Mar and the south-east part of San Miguel. What we found from the analysis, it that can be break the area down into three topics; the Neighbourhoods, Avenida Brasil and the Coast. These are three main themes of the area, and our goal in the proposal is to improve them separately, and also connect them better to each other.

History

Based on the historical analysis we saw that the area’s road network and the ability to develop the land for agriculture was largely affected by the water channels made by the indigenous cultures that lived in the area. A clear sign today are the ruins of the huaca Huantille in Magdalena Del Mar. Pueblo Libre first started off as a settlement made by the Spanish for indians with the intention of evangelising the indians. The settlement continued as a cluster of haciendas and great historical personalities lived there in the 19th century. Magdalena Del Mar was founded as a balneario (seaside resort) at the end of the 19th century. Railway lines and roads were built and extended upon through the 19th century, and the area experienced a building boom in the beginning of the 20th century, where there was an extensive densification and Magdalena and Pueblo Libre grew together with the rest of the city.

There are four different districts surrounding Avenida Brasil, as we can see from the map to the left. Jesús Maria has three different centers which are highlighted in a darker tone og gray. At the top, we find the Campo de Marte park, which is an attraction for the whole city and people from all over Lima come to the area because of it. In the middle of Jesús Maria there is a commercial center. Here it is also worth to mentioning that there is another commercial centre located in Magdalena del Mar, and these are the two most important commercial areas of our study district. Both commercial centres include a large traditional market, and with the market as a starting point, the centres experienced an increase in commerce and business. At the bottom of Jesús Maria we find the residential complex of San Felipe, which is almost a micro city itself. All the services and commerce necessary for the residents are located within the complex. In San Miguel, one of the most important universities in Lima is located - Universidad Católica.

At last, in the Pueblo Libre district, we have the historical center and is already a protected area. This area is particularly interesting for tourists to visit because of the museums and history.