Surfs Up: City Government Brings The Beach to Buenos Aires

Besides providing relief from the heat, the 3 Playas Portenas have been a great exercise in public trust.

Even though it’s summertime and thousands of Buenos Aires residents have made their annual exodus to the beaches of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, surveys suggest 70% of portenos have neither the time nor the resources for such a vacation.

In 2009, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires took a novel approach and decided if residents couldn’t go the beach, the City would bring the beach to them. The “Playas Portenas” debuted last summer and almost 300,000 residents took advantage of the urban beaches complete with sand, volleyball courts, soccer fields, cooling stations and the signature yellow umbrellas and chairs.

The Buenos Aires coastline had popular beaches a century ago, but years of pollution and water contamination have rendered the Ri­o de la Plata unfit for swimming. The 3 Playas Portenas were such a hit last year, several more were added for the 2010 Season.

According to Clari­n, the beaches have been a good exercise in public trust: the neighbors, thankful for the opportunity to relax and cool off with their families, took pride in the Playas and kept them clean, orderly and free of vandalism to the umbrellas and chairs. So A.) if you’re in Buenos Aires and B.) you’re burning up, the beaches will be open daily now through February 28. (YouTube video)