MARACAIBO, VZLA

 https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Maracaibo 

Maracaibo is the capital of Zulia state in Venezuela. Being the second largest city in Venezuela after its capital, Caracas, Maracaibo is nicknamed "The Beloved Land of Sun." Recognized mainly for Lake Maracaibo and the abundance of oil it provides to the whole country, as well as the "General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge," which connects Maracaibo with the rest of the country.

The founding of the city of Maracaibo was attempted three different times; of these, the one that stuck was that of Maldonado in 1574. The reason why Maracaibo took longer than other Venezuelan Cities to be founded is due to clashes between the Europeans and the indigenous population. At the time, there were two indigenous populations in Lake Maracaibo, one was settled on the land and the other near the lake, these were dedicated to harvesting fruits and vegetation, extracting salt, hunting, and breeding animals, among other things. A great majority of the indigenous people lived in Stilt Houses, and they controlled all access to Maracaibo’s Lake, including the resources it provided.

Since the Europeans wanted access to Maracaibo’s Lake, they focused their attention on how to get it. During Maracaibo’s first colonization attempt, Ambrosio Alfinger and his German ships tried to enslave the Indigenous people, creating many confrontations and conflicts, ultimately leading to the withdrawal of the Germans. Maracaibo would be attempted to be founded twice more; Captain Alonso Pacheco made the second attempt, arriving with fifty of his Spanish men, but five years later, he had to retire his ships, once again, due to conflict with the indigenous population. Pedro Maldonado made the third and most significant attempt in the year 1575, which succeeded.

Maracaibo is notorious for being one of the most petroleum-rich cities in the world, as Lake Maracaibo provides a great amount of oil for the country and South America in general. In 1917, the first successful oil well was drilled, and it extended 20 miles into the lake. Unfortunately, this city, which was once incredibly wealthy in oil, is now suffering politically and economically due to government corruption. Maracaibo faces city-wide blackouts that can go on for days, lack of clean water and food, and increased crime. The population that has been the most affected by the lack of healthcare and resources in the city are infants and the elderly. Venezuela now has the highest inflation rate in all of Latin America. Still, despite all of the problems in the region, the oil provided by the lake continues to be the largest source of employment for the citizens of Maracaibo, as the lake still produces 200,000 barrels per day, which certainly contributes to Venezuela's economy.

According to the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects, Maracaibo, over the years, has seen a tremendous population change; in the year 1950, the population estimate was 281,855. Today, this city has a population estimate of 2,400,820; this includes suburban areas surrounding the city.

Maracaibo has land use patterns similar to those of William Penn's city plan of Philadelphia. These look like a series of squares of relatively the same size from an aerial point of view to form a sort of grid pattern; among other cities that contain this pattern are Barcelona in Spain, Mexico City and Guadalajara in Mexico, New York City in the U.S., and many more. This design provides broad streets that accommodate the flow of traffic in the city, contributing to its connectivity.

In addition, Maracaibo possesses some of Le Corbusier's values in his "Radiant City" idea for Modernism as this city is filled with parks, open space, and green areas as well as high-rise buildings that help with increasing the housing in the city by maximizing the available land's usage and reflect Le Corbusier's Modernism; also reflecting the values in Corbusier's view, the buildings prioritize the access to sunlight as they usually have features such as open concepts and larger windows.

Park Vereda del Lago is one among many parks and green spaces that the citizens of Maracaibo enjoy; these parks include a variety of amenities for the community including tennis courts, baseball, soccer, and basketball fields, water parks, and pools, hiking and jogging trails, and much more. Vereda del Lago is the most widely known park by Maracaibo's residents due to its famous lake-side location and beautiful views of Lake Maracaibo.

The parks and green spaces in Maracaibo, though beautifully designed, have suffered the consequences of the city's high crime rate, which has decreased the public spaces' quality and safety. This has slowly led to the citizens not wanting to utilize public spaces as often, and has therefore nearly stopped the city's efforts to fund the revitalization of the parks and green areas.

Though Maracaibo's infrastructure has changed a lot since its beginning, it has preserved many historical patterns and aspects. The New Urbanism theory states the importance of cities maintaining their own identifiable centers and edges, as well as respecting a city's historical patterns; Maracaibo shows these principles in its famous historical structures that, to this day, still stand.

Calle Carabobo and the Basilica of Our Lady of Chiqinquirá, pictured on the left, are only two of many examples of Maracaibo's attempts to preserve its historical buildings, districts, and landscapes. The preserved structures' colonial style stands out from the rest of the city and is important for the community, international recognition, tourism, and historical significance due to their architecture, for the city.

Characterized by its hot weather and heavy sun, Maracaibo faces a precipitation deficit which affects agriculture and the city's water resources. The city has faced and still faces an ongoing issue with its water systems, as many areas in Maracaibo, for example, the West portion of the city, does not receive drinkable water, instead, this water needs to be purchased. Though the city has a wastewater treatment plant in the South of Maracaibo, the treatment plant has stopped working at its full capacity and 77% of the city's sewage system is discharged directly into Maracaibo's Lake, causing a negative environmental impact. In light of this issue, the city has started to drill wells all around with natural water to provide for its citizens, without taking into account possible future risks; these wells are so many in numbers and so deep that they jepordize the city's ground stability.

Maracaibo has two main transportation methods that do not involve the automobile, these consist of Metro Busses and a Metro Rail system proposed by urban planners to be built within the city's infrastructure around the year 2006, and by 2009 six stations were already established. These transportation alternatives are important to the citizens because they allow them to mobilize themselves if they cannot get ahold of an automobile for any reason. Although there are more options for individual transportation such as bikes, the unsafety in the city affects daily commuters.

The city has maintained many of its historically important parks, churches, and monuments that capture the essence of Maracaibo's beginnings. Among these are the Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, the Basilica of Our Lady of Chiqinquirá, Calle Carabobo, Plaza del Rosario, and more. These historical infrastructures are available to the public and are maintained to be in perfect condition.

Maracaibo is one of the cities in the state of Zulia with the least risk of natural disasters. Aside from the criminal activity that surrounds all of Venezuela, the only other possible factor that may affect the city is flooding. Certain areas of Maracaibo may be prone to flooding due to their low-lying locations after long and heavy periods of rainfall in which the city's drainage system is overwhelmed. It is where these at-risk areas are located that there is an emergency system in place to help vulnerable areas. To help with these procedures the OCHA office in Maracaibo aims to develop the appropriate systems and ways of responding according to the needs of the population.

For years now the residents of Maracaibo have suffered from the lack of food security, as households usually have no guarantee that they will receive quality food and resources. The population that is mostly affected by this is those who belong to the lower socio-economic classes, which according to heartsofvenezuela.com, makes up 82% of the city since the year 2019. The lack of food has caused hysteria in the city, so much so, that when markets re-stock, their shelves can be completely wiped in a matter of minutes. These households are forced to settle for lower quality food or no food at all because either the price is too inflated for their budget, or the stores and supermarkets available in their areas no longer have food available to them.

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