Playas de Tijuana

Playas de Tijuana
Borough of Tijuana
Delegación Municipal Playas de Tijuana Municipal Borough Playas de Tijuana
View of the beaches
Nickname(s): Playas, Sister Republic of Playas, Playami, Playas-Herzegovina, OT Beach
Playas de Tijuana Location within Tijuana
Coordinates: 32°31′22″N 117°06′45″W / 32.522717°N 117.112428°W
State	Baja California
Municipality	Tijuana
Borough	Delegación Playas de Tijuana
Government
• Type	Delegación
• Municipal Delegate	Manuel González Reyes
• Secretary General	José Esteban Hernández Cueva
Population (2015)
• Borough of Tijuana	146,021
• Urban	160,301
• Metro	159,866
Website	(Spanish) Playas de Tijuana

Playas de Tijuana (Spanish for "beaches of Tijuana") is the westernmost borough of the municipality of Tijuana, Baja California.

Location

The borough of Playas de Tijuana is located in the city of Tijuana, bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the United States to the north, the municipality of Playas de Rosarito to the south and the boroughs Centro to the Northeast and San Antonio de los Buenos to the East.

Administration

View of the U.S.-Mexico border fence from Playas de Tijuana, at the left. Before fortification

Its administration or government relies on a Municipal Delegate, or Delegado Municipal (Spanish), who is appointed by the Municipal President of Tijuana.

Borough Service Departments

The borough is in charge of the following services:

• Urban Planning:
  • Construction permissions
  • Land usage authorization & certification
• Civil Registry:
  • Marriage certifications
  • Defunction certificates
  • Birth certificates
• Inspection and Verification:
  • Request of various certificates
  • Citizen reports
• Public Works:
  • Maintenance of street lights
  • Street paving
  • Street maintenance
• Community Development:
  • Housing support (incentives for house acquisition)
  • Scholarships (various types)

Entertainment & Culture

This is where the beaches of Tijuana are located (hence the name) and it is also one of the two exits to the south towards Rosarito and Ensenada. The Paseo Ensenada is a popular place for meeting and passing free time, and where major commercial centres and businesses are located. Plaza Coronado, which is located at the beginning of Paseo Ensenada, is the major entertainment centre, where mainly young people gather every day to spend free time. Water sports such as surfing, bodyboarding, and kayaking are available when ocean water quality is good—the water quality can be very bad soon after it rains. The Monumental bullring^[1] is located here as well as the Tijuana-campus of the Universidad Iberoamericana.^[2]

Kids playing at sunset in Playas de Tijuana

Playas de Tijuana has its own Arts & Culture House, which has many local and artistic endeavors, such as a ballet school, a drawing school, painting school, dancing school, and many others. The Arts & Culture House is located inside the complex where the local government building is, and also inside the complex there is another smaller bullfight ring, known as the Cortijo San José, which sometimes hosts rodeo shows. Along with the administration buildings, the House, and the Cortijo, there is a civic square where every September 15 is held the independence celebration. Playas de Tijuana is home to several NGO that are leaders in local issues like sustainable development, clean water quality in local beaches and public policy like open space and parkland protection and against a number of housing developments that prevent free access to local beaches and urban sprawl and violence. Federal Highway 1-D starts just south of this borough towards Rosarito and Ensenada.

Cityscape

Park Towers Tower I and Tower II under construction

TRW building in Playas

Playas de Tijuana has a good offering of hotels, residences, and places to live, either temporarily or permanently. Such places include the following:

• Park Towers^[3]
• Oceano21 - A 9 story ocean front mid-rise.
• Real del Mar residential development
  • Marriott Residence Inn Real del Mar^[4]
• Playas Diamante residential^[5]
• La Perla Tijuana^[6]
  • La Perla Pacífico
  • La Perla Bahía
• La Cúspide Residencial^[7]
• Puesta del Sol^[8] residential,
• AQUA Residential Towers^[9]
• Dali Suites^[10]

Playas has been recently experiencing mid/high-rise building growth despite opposition from environmental organizations and local laws. One project is the 17-story high Park Towers complex, with four towers projected. Many other low-rise buildings, ranging from 5+ story are found throughout Playas. However, the economic downturn beginning in 2008 has caused many half-finished projects to be abandoned.

Transportation

Playas, as it is the westernmost and thus the last portion in Tijuana, is linked to the rest of the city by two Azul y Blanco bus routes:

• Playas 1-Soler-Centro-Correo-Plaza Río-Palacio-Postal (runs along one of Playas's main avenues, Paseo Ensenada)
• Playas 2-Soler-Centro-Línea-Palacio-Hospital-Buena Vista-Central Camionera (runs along one of Playas's main avenues, Paseo Pedregal)

Playas is also linked to the rest of the city served by three fixed-route taxi lines:

• Playas 1 (similar to Azul y Blanco bus route 1)
• Playas 2 (similar to Azul y Blanco bus route 2)
• Playas 3 (reduced frequencies)

References

1. Plaza Monumental
2. Universidad Iberoamericana.
3. Park Towers.
4. Residence Inn by Marriott - Real del Mar.
5. Playas Diamante.
6. La Perla Tijuana.
7. (Spanish) La Cúspide Residencial.
8. Puesta del Sol.
9. (Spanish) AQUA Residential
10. Dali Suites.

External links

• (Spanish) Borough of Playas de Tijuana