Wednesday November 17th "Sevilla in 2007"

Oh how glorious it will be to see Sevilla in 2007. Or maybe make that 2008. Are the Olympics coming to Sevilla? No, that came to an end after one attempt at the 2004 games and then Madrid took Sevilla’s place as the next possible city for the summer games. Another world’s fair? No, in my ignorance I don’t even know if those continue to be held. But if you take a look at the calendar of city projects and renovations then you’ll see a lot is planned to be finished in and around 2007, which I think will really add a lot to the city. In the next few years we may suffer a bit unless things are carried out in an organized fashion (hahaha).

Ok, jokes aside below is a list of some of the things to be finished before or by 2007 which make me excited about being in the city:

• Avda de la Constitución will become a pedestrian street. Good news for the Cathedral and Indian Archives which have suffered from damage due to the pollution. Good news also for tourists, with more room to roam without all the traffic.
• Archivo de Indias opens. The Indian Archives is the world’s largest depository of “New World” documents and has been closed for some time. It should open well before 2007, but I don’t have the date yet.
• Plaza Alfalfa, Plaza del Pan, Plaza del Pescaderia and Plaza Salvador renovated. All have plans to be “reurbanized” as laid out in a recent exhibition.
• Alfalfa area pedestrian. Along with the reurbanization is the plan to make several streets and plazas in the Alfalfa area will become pedestrian only. I believe this still may be up for a bit of debate, but I see it as good news for us without cars and perhaps bad news for residents with cars.
• Encarnacion Market – 30 years has come and gone and it’s still a big dirt pit. That changes starting in February when construction begins. This promises to be a nice end to a long and often debated history. Construction was halted on the underground parking after very significant ruins dating from Roman, Visigoth and Arab occupation. With the final plans approved they will preserve the ruins in the same manor as the Triana Market, while including an area for the vendors, plus an open plaza and a raised mirador or lookout where one can see the entrie plaza.
• The Metro! I have less faith in a timely finish but work continues for the first leg of the Metro. This will connect the center of the city with Los Remedios and then other outlying areas and pueblos.
• Baños Arabes – the hammam phenomena will arrive in Sevilla with the renovation already underway for what will be Spain’s largest functioning Arab baths, plus a spa, massages, and much more. This will follow successful models in Granada, Cordoba and Malaga.