Los jardines y los parques

12 May 2009

In Sevilla, four of us are living in a small two-bedroom apartment, maybe 500 square feet in total, that is located in the very heart of the city. The two bedrooms are tiny -- just large enough to walk around the double beds. On entering the front door, one passes into a fairly spacious entry with a small kitchenette on one side and a comfortable, reasonably sized living room on the other side. The apartment is nicely furnished, although more for show than for practical use. We don't have a proper dining table, although there is a nice spot for it between the front door and the kitchenette. I'm working on my computer on a decorative table that measures about 6 feet long by 1.5 feet deep. It is functional, but not nearly so nice as a proper desk. This is all serviceable for our 3-week stay.

I have the impression that the relatively small space in this apartment (10-15 m2 per person) is more the norm than the exception in the cities we have visited in Spain. (In the US, the average space per occupant in residences is probably 5x as much. Even when our house in Oakland was fully inhabited by five, we had at least 2x as much space per person as here.) So, it all sounds like a bad deal for the Spanish, right?!

Not so fast... In exchange for much less private space and a _very_ compact city design, Sevilla (and Barcelona) have large public spaces that are conveniently located within walking distance of the city center.

Today, I took my walk through a few parks and gardens just south of the city's core. The Jardines de Murillo is adjacent to the Alcázar. Among other features is a tall monument to Cristobal Colón (Columbus), who is a big deal in Spain.

I also wandered around in the vast Parque de Maria Luisa, which is adjacent to Plaza de España. The Moorish influence in these spaces is evident in the geometric layout of the gardens and paths and also in the extensive use of decorative tiles on benches and walls.



The garden and park I visited today are well maintained. As I was walking during working hours, I did not see heavy use, except for groups of school children (many having fun feeding pigeons). And while this style of park doesn't appeal to me as much as, say, the more natural design one finds in Golden Gate Park or Central Park, I heartily applaud the commitment to create and maintain these shared public spaces.