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'Lima' (known in Spanish as 'Cercado de Lima') is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. It is where the downtown zone of Lima, the country's capital city, is located.
This district is the oldest in Lima and as such, vestiges of the city's colonial era remain today in the Historic centre of Lima, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
Currently, the mayor (''alcalde'') of the Lima District is Luis Castañeda Lossio and its postal code is '1'.

Contents

Geography

Boundaries

Demographics

Neighborhoods

External links

Geography

The district has a total land area of 21.98 km². Its administrative center is located at 154 meters above sea level.

Boundaries

★ North: The Rímac River marks the district's border with the San Martín de Porres and Rímac districts.

★ East: El Agustino

★ South: La Victoria, Lince, Jesús María, Breña and Pueblo Libre.

★ West: San Miguel District; and the Callao Region districts of Bellavista, Callao and Carmen de la Legua Reynoso.

Demographics

According to a 2002 estimate by the INEI, the district has 345,898 inhabitants and a population density of 15,736.9 persons/km². In 1999, there were 75,595 households in the district.

Neighborhoods

Downtown (known as 'Cercado' proper) is limited by Avenida Alfonso Ugarte on the west and Jirón Huánuco (Huánuco Street) on the east. It is divided into West and East sides by Jirón de la Unión (Union Street), from which ''cuadras'' (blocks) are numbered beginning at 100 and changing the first numbers at the next block. Unlike New York's Fifth Avenue, though, ''Jirón de la Unión'' is not paved for cars, but almost entirely a shopping and pedestrian street; the main thoroughfares for cars and buses are Tacna Ave. on the West side and Abancay Ave. on the East. Both are separated from Jirón de la Unión by 4 blocks. The ''Plaza de Armas'' (Grand Army Plaza), which is the main square, is located on block 2 of Jirón de la Unión, facing the Peruvian government palace and the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (City Hall).
East of downtown is the 'Barrios Altos' (Uptown) neighborhood. Here the oldest, though least stable, buildings in Downtown Lima are located. Two cemeteries, El Angel and Presbítero Maestro, form the eastern border with El Agustino. Parts of the long-demolished colonial city walls can be seen here.

South of the West Side is 'Santa Beatriz' section, which contains residential buildings and the ''Parque de la Reserva'', Lima's modest answer to Central Park. Santa Beatriz is locally famous for containing the buildings for the state TV network TNP (Ch. 7), and the top two private TV networks, America Television (Ch. 4) and Panamericana Television (Ch. 5). Its main thoroughfare is Arequipa Avenue, a narrow boulevard lined with trees of all sizes. Santa Beatriz is also home to the city (and country)'s main soccer stadium, the Estadio Nacional (''National Stadium'').
West of downtown is the 'Industrial Area', an industrial belt extending into neighboring Callao Region, and home to the main industries in both city and country. Most of the area is covered by large blocks containing large factories.
At its northern and southern edges, there are clusters of residential areas, particularly in the southern zone bordering Pueblo Libre, San Miguel and Callao Region's Bellavista District.

External links

★ Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima - Metropolitan Lima Municipal Council official website