Caracas

Venezuela

Valentina Cordova Colmenares

¡Bienvenidos! Caracas is my beloved city. My name is Valentina, I am 17 years old, and I lived in Caracas my whole life, before arriving in Maastricht in August 2018. I chose to be part of the Youth Mayors programme because I am also from a big city, that faces problems, and I am aware of all the challenges that Maastricht has, thus I want to leave this place feeling that I contributed with some positive outcomes while I was here. Within my motivations related to the Urban Issues, I highlight the environmental changes and responses that cities defy, the civil rights of the citizens, the addressing of social inequalities, as well the issues related with emigration and immigration.

My City

My city is located in a valley, on the central coast (central-northern side) of the country.

Caracas is a beautiful and polarized metropolis, surrounded by a mountain and crowded of edifications and a mixture of suburbs, urbanizations, slum, and ghettos. It is so special to me because poverty and wealth face each other every single day. Caracas is a city where social inequalities are present at every level. Moreover, the urban structures are surrounded by natural landscapes, the perfect mixture between chaos and serenity. The historical center in the old town is rich in colonial architecture, and there the modernity and preservation coexist.

One of the biggest challenges that Caracas faces right now is poverty growth and rates of political and civic violence.

Snapshot

Caracas has 1,943,901 of inhabitants according to the last census.
Caracas is the birth city of Simon Bolivar, ‘’The liberator of America’’
Population density is much higher within Venezuela’s capital city limits, with an average 10,900 Caraquenians per square mile (4,200 per square kilometer).
The Naiguata Peak is the most elevated point of the city, with 2765 masl.

Greater Caracas, also called the Metropolitan Region of Caracas, refers to the urbanized geography which includes the Metropolitan District of Caracas plus the adjacent 11 municipalities throughout the Venezuelan states named Miranda and Vargas,