Country Dominican Republic | Capital Santo Domingo de Guzman | |
The Distrito Nacional (D.N.) is a subdivision of the Dominican Republic enclosing the capital Santo Domingo. It is not within any of the provinces, but in practice it acts as province on its own. Before October 16, 2001, the Distrito Nacional was much larger, including what is now known as Santo Domingo Province. Published statistics and maps generally show the former, larger, Distrito Nacional. The Distrito Nacional has no rural or undeveloped areas.
Contents
Map of Distrito Nacional
Transportation
The Distrito Nacional boasts the first and only underground public transportation system in the country. The first line connects the Distrito Nacional with Santo Domingo Norte.
Other means of public transportation include: taxi services, public bus routes, urban transportation by bus, local airports and rent cars. International flights are handled by the near Las Americas International Airport. It can be reached from the city center through some 20 miles of recently expanded expressway and new suspension bridge (Puente Presidente Juan Bosch).
Politics
The Distrito Nacional is represented in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on the same scale as a Province (a single Senator (Senador), plus one Deputy (Diputado) per 50,000 inhabitants). Its local government is the same as the provincial municipios, without the equivalent of a provincial tier of government.
Sectores (neighborhoods)
The Distrito Nacional is subdivided in incorporated areas (neighbourhoods) called sectores which could be considered as small urban towns. All sectores are serviced directly by the municipal mayors office (Alcalde).
Some sectores prefixes:
- Ciudad (city) - applies to the original older parts of town, some dating back to colonial times;
- Ensanche (lit. "widening") - usually, but not always, applied to the more "modern" parts of the city.
- Villa - the urban outskirts of both the old city of Santo Domingo and the current (smaller) Distrito Nacional.
Points of interest
The Poligono Central is the central area of Santo Domingo. Upscale neighborhoods of Naco, Piantini, and Paraiso are located within this central poligon. Most of the financial activity in Santo Domingo is also located in the Poligono.