Brasília

Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. It is famous for its urban planning, daring architecture, and overpopulation. It is located in the Brazilian Federal District.

A planned city

History

President Juscelino Kubitschek ordered the construction of the Brasilia. It is a planned city. The main urban planner was Lúcio Costa. Oscar Niemeyer was the Chief architect to most of the public buildings and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer The city plan was based on the ideas of Le Corbusier. Brasilia was built in 41 months -- from 1956 to April 21, 1960 when it was officially inaugurated.

Related Topics:
Juscelino Kubitschek - Planned city - Urban planner - Lúcio Costa - Oscar Niemeyer - Architect - Roberto Burle Marx - Landscape designer - Le Corbusier - 1956 - April 21 - 1960

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From 1763 to 1960 Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil, and resources tended to center around the southeast region of Brazil. Brasilia?s geographically central location in the middle of the country would make for a more neutral federal capital. The placement of the Brazil's capital in the interior actually dates back to the first republican constitution of 1891, which defined where the federal district should be placed, but the placement was not planned until 1922.

Related Topics:
Rio de Janeiro - Constitution - Federal district

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More importantly, Brasilia?s location would promote the development of Brazil's hinterland and better integrate the entire territory of Brazil. Some say the real reason was to move the government to a place far from the masses.

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According to legend, in 1883 the Italian priest Don Bosco had a prophetic dream in which he described a futuristic city that roughly fit Brasília's location. Today in Brasília, there are many references to this educator who founded the Salesian order. One of the main cathedrals carries his name.

Related Topics:
Don Bosco - Salesian

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Design

Lúcio Costa?s plan for the city was detailed and thorough. It stipulates which zones are to be residential, which are to be commercial; it limits where industries can settle, where certain buildings can be built, and how high those buildings can be, etc.

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Costa had insisted that Brasilia be shaped like a butterfly, but the city is shaped like an airplane instead.

Related Topics:
Butterfly - Airplane

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The fuselage of the plane contains the ministries, government buildings, the senate and chamber of deputies, and a futuristic cathedral designed by Oscar Niemeyer. There is also a high television tower with spectacular views of the city and the lake.

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The wings of the plane are named the North Wing and South Wing; each are roughly 7 km. long. The avenue between the lake and the wings -- called L2 Sul or L2 Norte depending on which wing it?s on -- has churches, schools, and hospitals.

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A wide high-speed avenue, called the Eixo, connects the two wings by passing under a central bus station where the banking sector (Setor Bancário) and hotel sector (Setor Hoteleiro) are located. The 100s and 300s addresses are on one side of the Eixo, and 200s and 400s are on the other. There are residential areas on these streets made up of apartment blocks named Super Quadra Sul or Super Quadra Norte. The blocks are filled with three or six story buildings. Each has eleven buildings, identified by letter, with schools and churches in areas placed in between them. Commercial streets typically separate Superquadra blocks from each other. Green space and trees make these areas very livable, and residents of the city affirm that it is one of the best cities to raise children in.

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There is also a zoo near the airport with animals native to the cerrado area. Embassies, recreational clubs, and luxury homes surround the lake, and an enormous park called the Parque da Cidade gives much-needed space for cycling, jogging, and contact with nature.

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One major criticism of Brasília is that it was not designed on a pedestrian scale. Pedestrians were not taken much into consideration during the advent of the motor age when the city was developed. In the original plan there were no traffic lights -- all cars travel on overpasses and through tunnels to avoid intersecting traffic. Today with half a million people living in the Plano Piloto (the Pilot Plan), the plan became out-dated. Pedestrians had to walk long distances between points of interest, and the high speed avenues were dangerous to navigate. A subway has been built recently to alleviate these problems. A line was completed for the South Wing, which continues to the major satellite city of Taguatinga. While public transportation is plentiful, the automobile remains popular for transportation in Brasília. A popular saying is that the inhabitants are born with wheels instead of feet.

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Another criticism of the Brasilia is the displacement of poor residents to far away satellite towns like: Taguatinga, Gama, Ceilândia, and Sobradinho. Buses and a surface rapid transit system connect these cities with the center. Inhabitans of these satellite towns live in conditions inferior to those of the Pilot Plan. When one talks of Brasília these satellite cities are rarely taken into consideration, even though the population of these cities far surpasses that of the Pilot Plan. Some like Taguatinga, are now larger than Brasília itself.

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According to the original plan -- which Brasilia must follow -- the city is constantly under construction.

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UNESCO has declared Brasília a World Heritage Site.

Related Topics:
UNESCO - World Heritage Site

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