Langstrasse (literally "long street") is a

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of d ...

and quarter in

district 4 District 4 can refer to: * District 4, Düsseldorf, in Germany *District 4, Grand Bassa County, in Liberia *District 4 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam * District 4 (New York City Council), in the United States *IV District, Turku, in Finland * Ausse ...

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

. Langstrasse begins near the district courts and extends north-northeast to the train tracks of

Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerlan ...

. The following short segment of Langstrasse leads towards Limmatplatz in

district 5 District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * District 5, an electoral district of Malta * District 5, a police district of Malta * Palma-Palmilla, also know ...

. Langstrasse is also referred to as a general area including the street and its surrounding tertiary streets. The quarter has a population of 10,500 on an area of 1.13 km². It is notorious as Zürich's

red light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are partic ...

, with an above-average

crime rate Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes: * scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...

drug dealing The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...

and

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

s. It is also the most overtly

multicultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

spot in Zürich, with a rate of 42% foreign residents, among the highest in Zürich. Due to the problems in this district, the City Council approved the comprehensive project "Langstrasse PLUS" on 14 March 2001 to achieve an improvement in public order and safety. As the historical quarter of factory workers during

Industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econ ...

Aussersihl Aussersihl is a district in the Swiss city of Zürich. Known officially as District number 4, the district is known as colloquially ''Chreis Cheib'', ''cheib'' being the Zürich German word for an animal cadaver. It earned the name as the area h ...

is also the traditional center of

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

agitation in Zürich, the Helvetiaplatz on Langstrasse being a traditional site of

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

manifestations. Langstrasse is currently undergoing a process of

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...

in certain areas, spurring public debate both in the quarter and city-at-large regarding its social, spatial, and economic future.

Festivals

;Langstrassenfest: The ''Langstrassenfest'' (eng. Longstreet Festival) is an important part of the Langstrasse PLUS campaign. It has been taking place every two years since 1996, and counted about 270'000 visitors in 2004. In the years without a Langstrassenfest, the Longstreet Carneval takes place. The Langstrassenfest is organised by Swiss citizens. ;Longstreet Carneval: If there is no Langstrassenfest, the ''Longstreet Carneval'' takes place. This Carneval is organised by non Swiss citizens. ;Caliente: The Caliente Festival is the biggest Latin Festival in all of Europe. It counts over 130'000 visitors in the year 2006. ;Open-Air-Cinema: Every summer during July/August an open-air cinema is installed at the Kanzleiareal near the Helvetiaplatz. LangstrassePano

References

External links

Langstrassenquartier
District 4 of Zürich Streets in Zürich Red-light districts in Switzerland {{Zürich-geo-stub