Brasília history

The idea

Shifting the capital from Rio de Janeiro to the heartland was actually quite an old idea. Hipolito Jose da Costa was supportive of it at the turn of the previous century. Jose Bonifacio presented a bill to the Constitutional Assembly of 1823, which was to be dissolved by Dom Pedro I (Emperor of Brazil). All Constitutional Assemblies held after the Republic (1891, 1934, 1937 and 1946) had provisions for the change.

( Rio de Janeiro mount, called "Pão de Açúcar" )

There were several reasons why such a measure should be taken:

• fear of invasions - Brazil had been systematically invaded in the past (by the French, the Dutch and even by the Portuguese, after Independence). Having the capital (Rio de Janeiro) by the sea made it very vulnerable;
  

• helping develop the heartland;
  

• security reasons - A smaller city would be easier to control in the event of riots or the like. Also, popular demand would be of lesser extent.

In the end, Brasilia came to be as a result of one man's will to take this cause with all his heart, after being asked if he would do so by a common citizen in a small town rally.

( Map showing "Plano Piloto" in detail. Source "Telebrasília" )

Brief history

Brasilia was constructed between 1956 and 1960, during the government of President Juscelino Kubitschek. It was inaugurated, as Brazil's new capital, on April 21, 1960. Its master plan ("Plano Piloto") was conceived by Lucio Costa, and its major buildings were designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

( Niemeyer, Israel Pinheiro, Lúcio Costa and Juscelino )

Planned for only 500,000 inhabitants, Brasilia has seen its population grow much more than expected. Several satellite towns have been created over the years to house the extra inhabitants. Brasilia's total population (including the satellite cities) is now over 2,000,000 inhabitants.

The meaning

The word "Brasília" can mean many different things:

( The 19 former Administrative Regions of the Federal District. Source: "Codeplan" )

• Administratively, Brasilia is only one of the Administrative Regions of the Federal District. "Asa Sul" (Southern Wing), "Asa Norte" (Northern Wing) and the downtown area of "Plano Piloto" (Pilot Plan) are parts of it.

• To some, Brasilia is everything which was in the original urban plan; nowadays that is divided into three administrative regions: "Brasilia" (as above), "Lago Sul" (South Lake) and "Lago Norte" (North Lake).

• for many of the Federal District's inhabitants, Brasilia would include all of the above plus one more administrative region, "Cruzeiro" (which is itself subdivided into four areas - "Cruzeiro Velho", "Cruzeiro Novo", "Octogonal" and "Sudoeste"). For those people, "Cruzeiro" is not a satellite town. Note: for some people, "Octogonal" and "Sudoeste" are part of Brasilia, but "Cruzeiro Velho" and "Cruzeiro Novo" are not. My personal opinion is that this does not make sense, as the four areas are contiguous.

• Finally, "Brasilia" is also used to mean both the "Plano Piloto" and all satellite cities. In this case, the urban nuclei of all the Administrative Regions of the Federal District would be included.

* Note: when one wants to show Brasilia as a big and important city, it is common to say it has "almost two million inhabitants". In this case, definition 4 is in mind. However, when someone talks about qualities such as "the large green areas" (which are not present in many satellite cities) he refers to the definitions 2 or 3. One can easily see that the meaning of the word Brasilia is dependent upon the person using it and the context.

( Brasília in the 60's and in 2004 )

Some current problems

• The number of cars in the street grows at a high rate, as do gridlocks and the lack of parking spaces.

• Even though many are forced to live far from Plano Piloto (and therefore far from their working places), there still are lots of as yet unbuilt residential buildings. Some North Wing superquadras are still totally uninhabited.

• The newest residential area, "Sudoeste" (Southwest), still uses the 40-year old residential conception of the original "superquadras". Even today, those who want to live close to Plano Piloto have just two basic living choices: (1) to live in a house or (2) to live in an apartment in a "superquadra" (where buildings can only be 3- or 6-stories high).

• The preservation of the city as decreed by UNESCO in 1987 was a mixed blessing. On one hand it helps preserve the quality of life; on the other hand, it makes very difficult for the city to adapt new urban concepts. There is a risk that the "Capital of the Third Millenium" might turn into the "Petrified Capital of the Sixties".

• The newest satellite towns are very short on open spaces and greens, as opposed to the older satellite towns and Plano Piloto itself.
  

More information about Brasília:
http://www.infobrasilia.com.br/

Brasília Home Page:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3416/


Links to sites about Brazil:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3416/information_brazil.htm