La Plata was designed and planned more than 140 years ago to be the capital of the province of Buenos Aires. Located on the banks of the river that gave it its name, represents a model of urban planning for the entire world. Better known as the "city of diagonals", it assures newcomers that there is no way to get lost among its streets; surprises the visitor with its geometric layout, holistic architecture and European style.
La Plata is one of a few cities in the world which has been planned before building. The city was designed from its origin with aesthetic and landscape criteria of the European Baroque Urbanism of the 17th century, and based on environmental and functional foundations typical of Hygieneism of the 19th century. Its rationalist layout in a grid, with diagonals and squares every 6 blocks - at the intersection of avenues -, responded to criteria of order, organization and balance between the built space and the green space in pursuit of an equitable distribution of activities and circulation.
The wealth of trees in La Plata offers an infinity of unmissable postcards, which can be found
in streets, avenues,
parks and squares.
More than a hundred species of trees can be found on sidewalks and green
spaces. Especially in spring and summer, the
flowering reflects a wide variety of colors, shapes and perfumes; representing one of the most
prominent local tourist
attractions. Like the Jacarandá in the photo, which dyes the city purple every
November.
The forestry heritage was so important from the beginning that when the city was designed many
details were taken into
account, among them, planting a particular tree species in avenues and
diagonals to identify them.
Currently in the Urban Area there are some 106 taxonomic categories
-species, genera, varieties- and around 80 thousand specimens; many stand out for their
quantity, and others for their
striking aesthetic features.
