Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Encyclopedia
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
. Founded in 1714, it has been the home of the University of Puerto Rico's
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
main campus since 1903, earning the town the popular name of Ciudad Universitaria (University City). Rio Piedras was recognized as a municipality until 1951 when it was incorporated into the municipality of San Juan.
History
During the nineteenth Century, most of its territory was used for agricultural and livestock-raising purposes. Sugar cane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
were some of the goods produced during this era at the municipality.
On May 12, 1903 the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
was founded in Río Piedras. The university was a central part of the development of Rio Piedras, both in housing and economically. Even though the campus covers a very small portion of the territory, it is considered the unofficial symbol of the old town. Currently, the Río Piedras Campus is recognized as the main campus in the University of Puerto Rico system. The Botanical Gardens
San Juan Botanical Garden
The San Juan Botanical Garden, also known as the Botanical Garden of the University of Puerto Rico, is located in the Caribbean city of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico. This lush “urban garden” of native and exotic flora serves as a laboratory for the study, conservation and enrichment of...
of the University are also located at Río Piedras.
Annexation with San Juan
The municipality became part of the capital city of San Juan on July 1, 1951, after the approval of Project 177 of the House of Representatives of Puerto RicoHouse of Representatives of Puerto Rico
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico...
. By this, the territory of San Juan increased to four times its former size. The last mayor of the municipality of Río Piedras was Ángeles Méndez de López Corver.
Flag
The flag of Río Piedras consists of a yellow cloth with a wavy blue stripe. The stripe has small white stones crossing it, and symbolizes the river that gave its name to the former town. The yellow background represents the sun, progress, and the future.Geography
The region is mostly flat due to its location in the Northern Coastal Plains of the island. The highest regions are located at the south, mainly in the Caimito and Cupey barrios. The Río Piedras (or Piedras River) which gives name to the area crosses the region.Barrios
- CaimitoCaimito, San Juan, Puerto RicoWith a land area of 5.43 square miles , Caimito is the second largest barrio in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. In the year 2000 it had 20,832 inhabitants and a population density of 3,835.3/sq mi...
- CupeyCupey, San Juan, Puerto RicoCupey is the largest barrio in the municipality of San Juan, and the third most populous with 36,659 inhabitants according to Census 2000. The territorial land area of Cupey is 7.49 square miles...
- El CincoEl Cinco, San Juan, Puerto RicoEl Cinco is a barrio of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico and a former barrio of the dissolved municipality of Rio Piedras. In the year 2000 it had a population of 7,149 and a land area of 1.37 square miles resulting in a population density of 5,207.9/sq mi...
- Gobernador PiñeroGobernador Piñero, San Juan, Puerto RicoWith a 2000 population of 47,779 living in a land area of , it is San Juan’s second most populated "barrio" after Santurce, and the fourth largest in land area. It has a population density of 10,770.4 residents per square mile...
- Hato Rey CentralHato Rey Central, San Juan, Puerto RicoWith a population density of 20,320.7 per square mile , Hato Rey Central is the most densely populated barrio in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico...
- Hato Rey Norte
- Hato Rey Sur
- MonacilloMonacillo, San Juan, Puerto RicoMonacillo is a barrio in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It originally included the area that now forms the Barrio of Monacillo Urbano. In 2000 it had a population of 12,425 living in a land area of 1.15 square miles...
- Monacillo UrbanoMonacillo Urbano, San Juan, Puerto RicoMonacillo Urbano is a barrio in San Juan, Puerto Rico that was originally part of Monacillo Barrio. In 2000 it had a population of 29,309 living in a land area of 3.35 square miles . Monacillo Urbano is surrounded by Gobernador Piñero Barrio to the north, El Cinco Barrio to the east, Monacillo...
- Oriente, San JuanOriente, San Juan, Puerto RicoOriente is a barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and before 1951 it was part of the former municipality of Rio Piedras. According to Census 2000, it had a population of 34,799, a land area of 1.74 , and it was the second most densely populated barrio of San Juan with 19,979.1 inhabitants per square...
- Río Piedras (pueblo)Pueblo, San Juan, Puerto RicoIt is a one of twenty one barrios in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Pueblo includes what used to be the urban center barrio of the former municipality of Rio Piedras...
- Quebrada ArenasQuebrada Arenas, San Juan, Puerto RicoLocated in the southwest corner of San Juan, it is the only rural barrio in the municipality. Quebrada Arenas is totally outside San Juan's municipal urban zone according to the last Census...
- Sabana Llana Norte
- Sabana Llana Sur
- Tortugo
- UniversidadUniversity of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras CampusThe University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras , also referred to as UPR-RP, is a public research university located on a campus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico...
Demographics
According to the 2000 census, Río Piedras had a population of 332,344. That is more than any municipality in Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and 77% of the population of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
.
Government
Río Piedras first mayor was Juan de la Cruz in 1814. The last mayor of the municipality of Río Piedras was Ángeles Méndez de López Corver.Education
Río Piedras is perhaps more known for being the site of the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico. Located in downtown Río Piedras, the university has more than 20,000 students enrolled and a faculty of more than 1,000.Other universities located in what was known as Río Piedras are the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico
The Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico —commonly referred as Poly or La Poly in Spanish— is a private non-profit university located in San Juan, Puerto Rico...
and the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus
Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus
The Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus is located in Cupey, San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was built in San Juan due to the large success of the Polytechnic Institute of Puerto Rico. It started its first semester in 1982. It is part of the Interamerican University of Puerto...
.
Río Piedras also counts with several public and private schools distributed through several regions. Public education is handled by the Puerto Rico Department of Education
Puerto Rico Department of Education
The Puerto Rico Department of Education is the department of Puerto Rico's government which manages state-operated schools in the United States commonwealth. The department is the equivalent of a state department of education and only one of two composed of a single school district...
.
Transportation
Public transportation is enhanced by the Tren UrbanoTren Urbano
The Tren Urbano — or Urban Train in English — is a fully automated rapid transit that serves the metropolitan area of San Juan, which includes the municipalities of San Juan, Bayamón and Guaynabo. It is electrified by third rail at 750 V DC...
Metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system which has stations at the University's campus and at the center of Río Piedras. Even though the former are considered the current stations at Río Piedras, most stops of the train in the municipality of San Juan are located in areas that were part of the City of Río Piedras prior to 1951.
Culture
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
) is the largest of its kind on the island and features a series of shops that offer goods and services.
Ponce de León Avenue is popular with bookstores and small theaters and with students, faculty, and intellectuals in the community.
See also
- San Juan Botanical GardenSan Juan Botanical GardenThe San Juan Botanical Garden, also known as the Botanical Garden of the University of Puerto Rico, is located in the Caribbean city of San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico. This lush “urban garden” of native and exotic flora serves as a laboratory for the study, conservation and enrichment of...
- San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
- University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras CampusUniversity of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras CampusThe University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras , also referred to as UPR-RP, is a public research university located on a campus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico...