steveinbsas
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victoria said:
Tis the season...
It's one way Xmas is celebrated here.
Buenos Aires is Beautiful
- Thread starter perry
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Tis the season...
It's one way Xmas is celebrated here.
iStar said:Still way too much pollution even on "heavenly" days and health trumps beauty in my books
lol iStar -- I got the feeling you were from Toronto, where on more than half the days of a typical summer you can't even see the CN Tower coming into town!
Bombay, Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Lima, Mexico City, Kathmandu, Delhi, Jakarta, and Gary, Indiana. I'm sure there are dozens more.iStar said:
I'm sure I'm shielded, but Buenos Aires has not yet struck me as a polluted city in comparison to other big cities of the world.
victoria said:
Because you are not allowed to say anything negative about Argentina without some people getting their knickers in a bunch.
For the record I do think Argentina is a beautiful city.
Although, they can do more in beautifying the city such as:
fix the broken sidewalks
place recycling bins on public property
reduce air pollution by placing emission standards on all cars, buses and trucks
Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, it’s true. Some parts are nicer than others – I would rather stroll through Palermo than Once – but there is still almost always a piece of architecture or a series of street spanning trees that makes you pause and probably trip over a piece of broken sidewalk. Unfortunately, no matter where you are in the city, the beauty usually has to be seen in spurts, after the haze of exhaust from the last colectivo settles and before the next lurches into site. Buenos Aires has a serious pollution problem, as anyone who has lived here more than a day or two can tell you. According to one website, while only 3.1 million people live in the Capital Federal, there are around 12 million people – commuters, students, tourists – here every day. This means that transportation is always a mess, especially at rush hour, when cars sit idling on Avenida 9 de Julio. Smog gets in our lungs and our clothes and, for an asthmatic like myself, the difference in air quality is palpable when I go out for a morning jog. Beyond affecting the health of people living in the city, pollution also corrodes paint, decreases visibility, and creates unpleasant smells. And this is only air pollution. What about noise pollution and light pollution? All of these forms of pollution are major reasons, besides the heat and the humidity, that citizens of Buenos Aires will be doing everything they can to get out of the city for the summer months of January and February.
But we, the tourists, will still be here, and as some of the “extra” people helping that baseline of 3.1 million rise to 12, we too should think about what we can do to reduce pollution. For those here only a short time, the best advice I can give you as a traveler and an eco-conscious citizen – don’t rent a car! Believe me, you don’t want to drive in Buenos Aires and the last thing this city needs is another driver who doesn’t understand the mysterious rules of the Argentine road. The Buenos Aires public transportation system is excellent and even if you don’t speak any Spanish the subways can usually get you close enough to walk to where you want to go. If you want to test your Spanish and your wings, try using a colectivo. These city buses are not for the faint of heart but they will bring you literally face to face with Argentines from every walk of life. If you end up on the wrong side of town, there is always a taxi that can get you back home.
As a long term resident, there are a few more things I do to combat pollution. I only use my air conditioner at night, I ride the subway instead of a bus when I can, and ideally I walk, enjoying the scenery and a lung full of carbon emissions. These are only small life style changes – they make hardly any different at all. But at least they are a start and a small sign of respect for this wonderful city.
http://argentinastravel.com/1059/buenos-aires-doesnt-escape-air-pollution/
As a long term resident, there are a few more things I do to combat pollution. I only use my air conditioner at night, I ride the subway instead of a bus when I can, and ideally I walk, enjoying the scenery and a lung full of carbon emissions. These are only small life style changes – they make hardly any different at all. But at least they are a start and a small sign of respect for this wonderful city.
http://argentinastravel.com/1059/buenos-aires-doesnt-escape-air-pollution/
steveinbsas
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iStar said:
The closer you get to El Centro, the worse it gets (as the buses, trucks, and cars converge).
That was a major factor in my decision to move to Nunez after living in Palermo and Recoleta for three years, but I must admit that the sidewalks in Recoleta were in better repair than in Nunez (or Belgrano).
Give me the faded beauty of Buenos Aires anyday to the sterility of Toronto Canada with its terrible winters and its cold businesslike people.
Beauty is more appreciated here as it comes with a mixture of dirt and grime. For example in other countries as regulated as Canada there is no graffiti to be seen but here in Buenos Aires we have some of the worlds best graffiti in many neighbourhoods that fringe the Capital Federal.
Most expats would agree the beauty of Buenos Aires comes from its mixture of disorderliness and faded charms from its heyday. If you change this it will become like most world cities that are completely unliveable in the sense of living life. Leave the Argentinians the choice to decide their future as the west is not such a shining example or we would not be here in the first place.
Beauty is more appreciated here as it comes with a mixture of dirt and grime. For example in other countries as regulated as Canada there is no graffiti to be seen but here in Buenos Aires we have some of the worlds best graffiti in many neighbourhoods that fringe the Capital Federal.
Most expats would agree the beauty of Buenos Aires comes from its mixture of disorderliness and faded charms from its heyday. If you change this it will become like most world cities that are completely unliveable in the sense of living life. Leave the Argentinians the choice to decide their future as the west is not such a shining example or we would not be here in the first place.
cabrera said:
I suggest the next time you visit "sterile" Toronto you take a stroll along the lane ways of Queen St. West. You'll find some of the cities best graffiti art. But hey if you can't get to Toronto checkout the following movies: Transformer 2, Hairspray, Crash, Fantastic Four, Get Rich or Die Tryin, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Incredible Hulk, they showcase some of it.
This one is by my house and is very nice:
And yes we live in igloos in Toronto
