Brasília
Federal capital of Brazil / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Brasília (/brəˈzɪliə/;[5][6] Portuguese: [bɾaˈziljɐ] ⓘ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located high in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitschek on 21 April 1960, to serve as the new national capital. Brasília is estimated to be Brazil's third-most populous city after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.[1] Among major Latin American cities, it has the highest GDP per capita.[7]
Brasília | |
---|---|
Monumental Axis seen from the TV Tower Panoramic view of the Pilot Plan of Brasilia | |
Nicknames: Capital Federal, BSB, Capital da Esperança | |
Motto(s): "Venturis ventis"(Latin) "To the coming winds" | |
Coordinates: 15°47′38″S 47°52′58″W | |
Country | Brazil |
Region | Central-West |
District | Federal District |
Founded | 21 April 1960 |
Area | |
• Federal capital | 5,802 km2 (2,240.164 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,172 m (3,845 ft) |
Population (2017) | |
• Density | 489.06/km2 (1,266.7/sq mi) |
• Urban | 2.817.381 [1] [2] (3rd) [note 1] |
• Metro | 3,548,438[3] (4th) |
urban area is population of the Federal District; metro area includes 12 neighboring municipalities in Goiás | |
Demonym | Brasiliense |
GDP | |
• Year | 2015 estimate |
• Total | $65.338 billion (8th) |
• Per capita | $21,779 (1st) |
HDI | |
• Year | 2014 |
Time zone | UTC−03:00 (BRT) |
Postal code | 70000-000 |
Area code | +55 61 |
HDI (2010) | 0.824 – very high[4] |
Website | brasilia.df.gov.br (in Portuguese) |
Official name | Brasilia |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, iv |
Designated | 1987 (11th session) |
Reference no. | 445 |
Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
Brasília was a planned city developed by Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Joaquim Cardozo in 1956 in a scheme to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location. The landscape architect was Roberto Burle Marx.[8][9] The city's design divides it into numbered blocks as well as sectors for specified activities, such as the Hotel Sector, the Banking Sector, and the Embassy Sector. Brasília was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 due to its modernist architecture and uniquely artistic urban planning.[10] It was named "City of Design" by UNESCO in October 2017 and has been part of the Creative Cities Network since then.[11]
It is notable for its white-colored, modern architecture, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. All three branches of Brazil's federal government are located in the city: executive, legislative and judiciary. Brasília also hosts 124 foreign embassies.[12] The city's international airport connects it to all other major Brazilian cities and some international destinations, and it is the third-busiest airport in Brazil. It was one of the main host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and hosted some of the football matches during the 2016 Summer Olympics; it also hosted the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Laid out in the shape of an airplane, its "fuselage" is the Monumental Axis, a pair of wide avenues flanking a large park. In the "cockpit" is Praça dos Três Poderes, named for the 3 branches of government surrounding it. Brasília has a unique legal status, as it is an administrative region rather than a municipality like other cities in Brazil.
The name "Brasília" is often used as a synonym for the Federal District as a whole, which is divided into 33 administrative regions, one of which (Plano Piloto) includes the area of the originally planned city and its federal government buildings. The entire Federal District is considered by IBGE to make up Brasília's city area,[1] and the local government considers the entirety of the district plus 12 neighboring municipalities in the state of Goiás to be its metropolitan area.[3][13]
Background
Brazil's first capital was Salvador; in 1763 Rio de Janeiro became Brazil's capital and remained so until 1960. During this period, resources tended to be centered in Brazil's southeastern region, and most of the country's population was concentrated near its Atlantic coast.[14] Brasilia's geographically central location fostered a more regionally neutral federal capital. An article of the country's first republican constitution, dated 1891, states that the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a place close to the country's center.
The plan was conceived in 1827 by José Bonifácio, an advisor to Emperor Pedro I. He presented a plan to the General Assembly of Brazil for a new city called Brasilia, with the idea of moving the capital westward from the heavily populated southeastern corridor. The bill was not enacted because Pedro I dissolved the Assembly.
According to a legend, Italian saint Don Bosco in 1883 had a dream in which he described a futuristic city that roughly fitted Brasilia's location.[15] In Brasilia today, many references to Bosco, who founded the Salesian order, are found throughout the city and one church parish in the city bears his name.[16]
Costa plan
Juscelino Kubitschek was elected President of Brazil in 1955. Upon taking office in January 1956, in fulfilment of his campaign pledge, he initiated the planning and construction of the new capital. The following year an international jury selected Lúcio Costa's plan to guide the construction of Brazil's new capital, Brasilia. Costa was a student of the famous modernist architect Le Corbusier, and some of modernism's architecture features can be found in his plan. Costa's plan was not as detailed as some of the plans presented by other architects and city planners. It did not include land use schedules, models, population charts or mechanical drawings; however, it was chosen by five out of six jurors because it had the features required to align the growth of a capital city.[17] Even though the initial plan was transformed over time, it oriented much of the construction and most of its features survived.
Brasilia's accession as the new capital and its designation for the development of an extensive interior region inspired the symbolism of the plan. Costa used a cross-axial design indicating the possession and conquest of this new place with a cross,[18] often likened to a dragonfly, an airplane or a bird.[17] Costa's plan included two principal components, the Monumental Axis (east to west) and the Residential Axis (north to south). The Monumental Axis was assigned political and administrative activities, and is considered the body of the city with the style and simplicity of its buildings, oversized scales, and broad vistas and heights, producing the idea of Monumentality. This axis includes the various ministries, national congress, presidential palace, supreme court building and the television and radio tower.[18] The Residential Axis was intended to contain areas with intimate character and is considered the most important achievement of the plan; it was designed for housing and associated functions such as local commerce, schooling, recreation and churches, constituted of 96 superblocks [pt] limited to six-story buildings and 12 additional superblocks limited to three-story buildings;[17] Costa's intention with superblocks was to have small self-contained and self-sufficient neighborhoods and uniform buildings with apartments of two or three different categories, where he envisioned the integration of upper and middle classes sharing the same residential area.[18]
The urban design of the communal apartment blocks was based on Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse of 1935, and the superblocks on the North American Radburn layout from 1929.[19] Visually, the blocks were intended to appear absorbed by the landscape because they were isolated by a belt of tall trees and lower vegetation. Costa attempted to introduce a Brazil that was more equitable, he also designed housing for the working classes that was separated from the upper- and middle-class housing and was visually different, with the intention of avoiding slums (favelas) in the urban periphery.[17][20] The superquadra has been accused of being a space where individuals are oppressed and alienated to a form of spatial segregation.[21]
One of the main objectives of the plan was to allow the free flow of automobile traffic, the plan included lanes of traffic in a north–south direction (seven for each direction) for the Monumental Axis and three arterials (the W3, the Eixo and the L2) for the residential Axis;[18] the cul-de-sac access roads of the superblocks were planned to be the end of the main flow of traffic. And the reason behind the heavy emphasis on automobile traffic is the architect's desire to establish the concept of modernity in every level.
Though automobiles were invented prior to the 20th century, mass production of vehicles in the early 20th made them widely available; thus, they became a symbol of modernity. The two small axes around the Monumental axis provide loops and exits for cars to enter small roads. Some argue that his emphasis of the plan on automobiles caused the lengthening of distances between centers and it attended only the necessities of a small segment of the population who owned cars.[17] But one can not ignore the bus transportation system in the city. The buses routes inside the city operate heavily on W3 and L2. Almost anywhere, including satellite cities, can be reached just by taking the bus and most of the Plano Piloto can be reached without transferring to other buses.
Later, as the population of the city increased, the transportation system also played an important role in mediating the relationship between the Pilot plan and the satellite cities. Due to the larger influx of vehicles, traffic lights were introduced to the Monumental Axis, which violates the concept of modernity and advancement the architect first employed. Additionally, the metro system in Brasilia was mainly built for inhabitants of satellite cities. Though this growth has made Brasilia no longer a pure utopia with incomparable modernity, the later development of traffic management, bus routes to satellite cities, and the metro system all serve as a remedy to the dystopia, enabling the citizens to enjoy the kind of modernity that was not carefully planned.
At the intersection of the Monumental and Residential Axis Costa planned the city center with the transportation center (Rodoviaria), the banking sector and the hotel sector,[18] near to the city center, he proposed an amusement center with theaters, cinemas and restaurants. Costa's Plan is seen as a plan with a sectoral tendency, segregating all the banks, the office buildings, and the amusement center.[17]
One of the main features of Costa's plan was that he presented a new city with its future shape and patterns evident from the beginning. This meant that the original plan included paving streets that were not immediately put into use; the advantage of this was that the original plan is hard to undo because he provided for an entire street network, but on the other hand, is difficult to adapt and mold to other circumstances in the future.[17] In addition, there has been controversy with the monumental aspect of Lúcio Costa's Plan, because it appeared to some as 19th century city planning, not modern 20th century in urbanism.[22]
An interesting analysis can be made of Brasilia within the context of Cold War politics and the association of Lúcio Costa's plan to the symbolism of aviation. From an architectural perspective, the airplane-shaped plan was certainly an homage to Le Corbusier and his enchantment with the aircraft as an architectural masterpiece. However, Brasilia was constructed soon after the end of World War II. Despite Brazil's minor participation in the conflict, the airplane shape of the city was key in envisioning the country as part of the newly globalized world, together with the victorious Allies.[23] Furthermore, Brasilia is a unique example of modernism both as a guideline for architectural design but also as a principle for organizing society. Modernism in Brasilia is explored in James Holston's book, The Modernist City.[24]
Construction
Juscelino Kubitschek, president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961, ordered Brasilia's construction, fulfilling the promise of the Constitution and his own political campaign promise. Building Brasilia was part of Juscelino's "fifty years of prosperity in five" plan. Already in 1892, the astronomer Louis Cruls, in the service of the Brazilian government, had investigated the site for the future capital. Lúcio Costa won a contest and was the main urban planner[25] in 1957, with 5550 people competing. Oscar Niemeyer was the chief architect of most public buildings, Joaquim Cardozo was the structural engineer, and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. Brasilia was built in 41 months, from 1956 to 21 April 1960, when it was officially inaugurated.
The city sits at an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and more, high on the Brazilian Highlands in the country's center-western region. Paranoá Lake, a large artificial lake, was built to increase the amount of water available and to maintain the region's humidity. It has a marina, and hosts wakeboarders and windsurfers. Diving can also be practiced and one of the main attractions is Vila Amaury, an old village submerged in the lake. This is where the first construction workers of Brasilia used to live.[26]
Climate
Brasilia has a tropical savanna climate (Aw, according to the Köppen climate classification), milder due to the elevation and with two distinct seasons: the rainy season, from October to April, and the dry season, from May to September.[27] The average temperature is 21.4 °C (70.5 °F).[28] September, at the end of the dry season, has the highest average maximum temperature, 29.1 °C (84.4 °F), and July has major and minor lower maximum average temperature, of 25.6 °C (78.1 °F) and 13.9 °C (57.0 °F), respectively.[29][30] Average temperatures from September through March are a consistent 22 °C (72 °F).[28] With 253.1 mm (10.0 in), November is the month with the highest rainfall of the year, while July is the lowest, with only 1.5 mm (0.1 in).[31] During the dry season, the city can have very low relative humidity levels, often below 30%.[32]
According to the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), the record low temperature was 1.6 °C (34.9 °F) on 18 July 1975, and the record high was 36.4 °C (97.5 °F) on 18 October 2015[33] and 8 October 2020.[34][35] The highest accumulated rainfall in 24 hours was 132.8 mm (5.2 in) on 15 November 1963.[36]
Climate data for Brasília (1991–2020, extremes 1961–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 32.6 (90.7) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.6 (88.9) |
30.8 (87.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
35.7 (96.3) |
36.4 (97.5) |
34.5 (94.1) |
33.7 (92.7) |
36.4 (97.5) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.9 (80.4) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.8 (80.2) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.6 (78.1) |
27.4 (81.3) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.0 (80.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.9 (71.4) |
21.9 (71.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.3 (66.7) |
21.0 (69.8) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.4 (70.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.3 (64.9) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.2 (64.8) |
17.7 (63.9) |
15.6 (60.1) |
14.2 (57.6) |
13.9 (57.0) |
15.3 (59.5) |
17.6 (63.7) |
18.5 (65.3) |
18.1 (64.6) |
18.3 (64.9) |
17.0 (62.6) |
Record low °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.5 (58.1) |
10.7 (51.3) |
3.2 (37.8) |
3.3 (37.9) |
1.6 (34.9) |
5.0 (41.0) |
9.0 (48.2) |
10.2 (50.4) |
11.4 (52.5) |
11.4 (52.5) |
1.6 (34.9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 206.0 (8.11) |
179.5 (7.07) |
226.0 (8.90) |
145.2 (5.72) |
26.9 (1.06) |
3.3 (0.13) |
1.5 (0.06) |
16.3 (0.64) |
38.1 (1.50) |
141.8 (5.58) |
253.1 (9.96) |
241.1 (9.49) |
1,478.8 (58.22) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 16 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 18 | 109 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 74.7 | 74.2 | 76.1 | 72.2 | 65.4 | 58.8 | 51.0 | 43.5 | 46.4 | 58.8 | 74.5 | 76.0 | 64.3 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
17.3 (63.1) |
17.6 (63.7) |
16.7 (62.1) |
14.2 (57.6) |
11.8 (53.2) |
9.7 (49.5) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
14.2 (57.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
17.4 (63.3) |
14.4 (57.9) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 159.6 | 158.9 | 168.7 | 200.8 | 237.9 | 247.6 | 268.3 | 273.5 | 225.7 | 191.3 | 138.3 | 145.0 | 2,415.6 |
Source 1: Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia[29][28][30][31][37][38][39] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Meteo Climat (record highs and lows),[40] NOAA (dew point)[41] |
Ethnic groups
Race and ethnicity in Brasília | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnicity | Percentage | |||
Mixed | 48.7% | |||
White | 40.0% | |||
Black | 10.7% | |||
Asian | 0.5% | |||
Amerindian | 0.1% |
According to the 2022 IBGE Census, 2,817,381 people resided in Brasilia and its metropolitan area, of whom 1,370,836 were Mixed (48.7%), 1,126,334 White (40%), 301,765 Black (10.7%), 12,810 Asian (0.5%), and 5,536 Amerindian (0.1%).[42]
In 2010, Brasilia was ranked the fourth-most populous city in Brazil after São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador.[43] In 2010, the city had 474,871 opposite-sex couples and 1,241 same-sex couples. The population of Brasilia was 52.2% female and 47.8% male.[44]
In the 1960 census there were almost 140,000 residents in the new Federal district. By 1970 this figure had grown to 537,000. By 2010 the population of the Federal District had surpassed 2,5 million. The city of Brasilia proper, the plano piloto was planned for about 500,000 inhabitants, a figure the plano piloto never surpassed, with a current population of only 214,529,[45] but its metropolitan area within the Federal District has grown past this figure.[46]
From the beginning, the growth of Brasilia was greater than original estimates. According to the original plans, Brasilia would be a city for government authorities and staff. However, during its construction, Brazilians from all over the country migrated to the satellite cities of Brasilia, seeking public and private employment.[47]
At the close of the 20th century, Brasilia was the largest city in the world which had not existed at the beginning of the century.[48] Brasilia has one of the highest population growth rates in Brazil, with annual growth of 2.82%, mostly due to internal migration.
Brasilia's inhabitants include a foreign population of mostly embassy workers as well as large numbers of Brazilian internal migrants. Today, the city has important communities of immigrants and refugees. The city's Human Development Index was 0.936 in 2000 (developed level), and the city's literacy rate was around 95.65%.
Religion
Christianity is by far the most prevalent religion in Brasília, with Roman Catholicism being the largest denomination.
Religion | Percentage | Number |
---|---|---|
Catholic | 56.62% | 1,455,134 |
Protestant | 26.88% | 690,982 |
No religion | 9.20% | 236,528 |
Other | 3.72% | 95,605 |
Spiritist | 3.50% | 89,836 |
Jewish | 0.04% | 1,103 |
Muslim | 0.04% | 972 |
Total | 100.00% | 2,570,160 |
Brasília does not have a mayor or councillors, because article 32 of the Constitution of Brazil expressly prohibits the Federal District being divided into municipalities.
The Federal District is a legal entity of internal public law, which is part of the political-administrative structure of Brazil of a sui generis nature, because it is neither a state nor a municipality, but rather a special entity that incorporates the legislative powers reserved to the states and municipalities, as provided in Article 32, § 1º of the Constitution, which gives it a hybrid nature, both state and municipal.[50]
The executive power of the Federal District was represented by the mayor of the Federal District until 1969, when the position was transformed into governor of the Federal District.[51][52]
The legislative power of the Federal District is represented by the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District, whose nomenclature includes a mixture of legislative assembly (legislative power of the other units of the federation) and of municipal chamber (legislative of the municipalities). The Legislative Chamber is made up of 24 district deputies.[53]
The judicial power which serves the Federal District also serves federal territories as it is constituted, but Brazil does not have any territories. Therefore, the Court of Justice of the Federal District and of the Territories only serves the Federal District.
Part of the budget of the Federal District Government comes from the Constitutional Fund of the Federal District. In 2012, the fund totaled 9.6 billion reais.[54] By 2015, the forecast is 12.4 billion reais, of which more than half (6.4 billion) is spent on public security spending.[55]
International relations
- Twin towns and sister cities
- Abuja, Nigeria[56]
- Asunción, Paraguay[56]
- Brussels, Belgium[56]
- Buenos Aires, Argentina (since 2002)[56]
- Gaza City, Palestine[56]
- Havana, Cuba[56]
- Khartoum, Sudan[56]
- Lisbon, Portugal[57]
- Luxor, Egypt[56]
- Montevideo, Uruguay[56]
- Pretoria, South Africa[56]
- Santiago, Chile[56]
- Tehran, Iran[56]
- Vienna, Austria[56]
- Washington, D.C., United States (since 2013)[58]
- Xi'an, China (since 1997)[56]
- Guadalajara, Mexico.
Of these, Abuja and Washington, D.C. were also cities specifically planned as the seat of government of their respective countries.
- Brasília Declarations
Brasília is associated with several significant declarations in the international political and social field, including:
- The Brasília Declaration of the IBSA Dialogue Forum (2003), signed by the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) regarding representation at the United Nations Security Council
- Brasília Declaration on the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons in the Americas (2010)[59]
- Brasília Declaration on Child Labour (2013), issued by the Third Global Conference on Child Labour – hosted in Brasília by the Brazilian Government[60]
- Brasília Declaration of Judges on Water Justice (2018), adopted in 2018 during the Conference of Judges and Prosecutors on Water Justice at the 8th World Water Forum, described as "a landmark in [the] development of water justice jurisprudence"[61]
- The 15th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, meeting in Brasília in 2022, issued a Declaration condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[62]
The major roles of construction and of services (government, communications, banking and finance, food production, entertainment, and legal services) in Brasilia's economy reflect the city's status as a governmental rather than an industrial center.
Industries connected with construction, food processing, and furnishings are important, as are those associated with publishing, printing, and computer software. The gross domestic product (GDP) is divided in Public Administration 54.8%, Services 28.7%, Industry 10.2%, Commerce 6.1%, Agrobusiness 0.2%.[63]
Besides being the political center, Brasilia is an important economic center. In 2018, it has the third highest GDP of cities in Brazil, R$254 billion reais,[64] representing 3.6% of the total Brazilian GDP. Most economic activity in the federal capital results from its administrative function.
Its industrial planning is studied carefully by the Government of the Federal District. Being a city registered by UNESCO,[65] the government in Brasilia has opted to encourage the development of non-polluting industries such as software, film, video, and gemology among others, with emphasis on environmental preservation and maintaining ecological balance, preserving the city property.
According to Mercer's city rankings of cost of living for expatriate employees, Brasilia ranks 45th among the most expensive cities in the world in 2012, up from the 70th position in 2010, ranking behind São Paulo (12th) and Rio de Janeiro (13th).
Industries
Industries in the city include construction (Paulo Octavio, Via Construções, and Irmãos Gravia among others); food processing (Perdigão, Sadia); furniture making; recycling (Novo Rio, Rexam, Latasa and others); pharmaceuticals (União Química); and graphic industries. The main agricultural products produced in the city are coffee, guavas, strawberries, oranges, lemons, papayas, soybeans, and mangoes. It has over 110,000 cows and it exports wood products worldwide.
The Federal District, where Brasilia is located, has a GDP of R$133,4 billion (about US$64.1 billion), about the same as Belarus according to The Economist. Its share of the total Brazilian GDP is about 3.8%.[66] The Federal District has the largest GDP per capita income of Brazil US$25,062, slightly higher than Belarus.[66]
The city's planned design included specific areas for almost everything, including accommodation, Hotels Sectors North and South. New hotel facilities are being developed elsewhere, such as the hotels and tourism Sector North, located on the shores of Lake Paranoá.