iron, attracting capital and human contingent, resulting in a further change in the urban structure. Currently, the city has its own architectural style (known as "neocolonial"), which is differentiated from other cities, preserving old buildings in colonial style, with many important National Monuments, mixing it with modern buildings but each one in turn follows the regulatory framework in the construction of these structures which should each have features to maintain the colonial style of the city. In the center of the city until 2008, it is still not possible to identify buildings over eight stories high for a municipal status, however towards the coastal area of the Avenida del Mar, one begins to see a great real estate boom that is distinguished by high-rise buildings, ranging from La Serena running south and along the coast to the neighboring city of Coquimbo. Demography As of the 2012 census, La Serena had a communal population of 198,164, and the Greater La Serena area had a population of around 400,000. As of the 2002 census (of the National Statistics Institute) it had 160,148 inhabitants (77,385 men and 82,763 women). Of these, 147,815 (92.3%) lived in urban areas and 12,333 (7.7%) in rural areas. The population grew by 32.6% (39,332 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, making it one of the fastest-growing regions of the country. Had that growth continued, INE estimated the population would increase to 205,120 by 2008 and 244,070 by 2012, so the growth rate has dropped since then. In 2002 155,815 persons lived in the city proper, and La Serena was part of the country's fourth largest conurbation (pop. 300,000) with nearby Coquimbo, with a total area of . A few of the major city sectors are: El Centro ("downtown"), Peñuelas (actually a suburb between La Serena and Coquimbo), San Joaquín (neighborhood on a hill overlooking the ocean), La Florida, Las Compañías ("the companies"), Cerro Grande ("big hill"), La Antena and the new El Milagro ("the miracle") development. Geography The commune spans a surface area of . The city is located on ocean terraces, which are clearly noticeable from the coastal area, through downtown to the eastern sector Vicuña way. The rest of the urban area is based on several small hills, valleys and plains. The city is commonly divided into various sectors. In the north is the airline sector, subdivided into two sub-sectors called High and Low Company.