Brasília, Brazil

Brasília is the administrative, economic, and cultural capital of Brazil, in the country's Federal District. Located in the southwestern part of the Goias state, Brasília is nearly unique among world capitals in that the entire city was planned and constructed in the mid-twentieth century. The layout of the urban area, as seen from above, forms the shape of a flying bird or an airplane. The "body" consists of most of the city's business, administrative, and financial buildings, while the "wings" of the city are comprised of residential units.

Landscape

Brasília is located in the highlands of Brazil's central western region. The area is largely composed of tropical grasslands and savannah called cerrado. Much of the grassland area surrounding Brasília is protected as national parkland. Brasília is isolated from the country's other major cities, located roughly 1,200 kilometers (740 miles) from the former capital, Rio de Janeiro.

The urban area of Brasília occupies 5,814 square kilometers (2,245 square miles). The city sits roughly 1,100 meters (3,609 feet) above sea level. The climate is mild, with average temperatures of 17 to 28 degrees Celsius (63 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit). The hottest months are September and October, with temperatures occasionally exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). The city experiences a rainy season from November to May.

The central thoroughfare of the city, called the Monumental Axis, is lined by administrative and financial buildings. Most of Brasília's buildings were designed and built within a relatively short span of time, and with similar architectural styles, giving the city a unified and symmetrical appearance.

The "wings" to the north and south of the city's central axis are organized into dense residential areas called superquadras. Each superquadra contains between eight and eleven blocks of residential units. Each superquadra was designed to be self-sufficient and contains its own schools, grocery stores, and other basic amenities.

Roughly 60 percent of the city is covered by green spaces and planted areas. More than 40 percent of the Federal District was protected through Brazil's environmental conservation efforts.

Modern architecture is the theme in central Brasília. The city has the largest number of commissioned sculptures of any city in South America. As the city expands, architects and city planners continue to add sculptural elements for beautification.

People

Though Brasília was planned for a residential population of 500,000, according to 2022 estimates the city is home to 4.804 million inhabitants. As a result, the city's population density is high, and the population has a moderately high growth rate of more than 2 percent, mostly owing to birth rates rather than migration.

Much of the population is composed of European, African, or indigenous tribal ancestry. There were approximately 800,000 self-identified indigenous persons living in Brazil as of the 2010 census, the latest available, from about 200 tribal groups.

Under 50 percent of the population is of Portuguese descent. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, and the majority of the population speaks Portuguese as a primary language. English is common in Brasília and other major cities. The languages of the indigenous tribes are sometimes used in the smaller cities surrounding urban Brasília.

Until 1889, Catholicism was the only religion that was legally permitted in Brazil. At the 2010 census, more than 64 percent of the population still practiced Catholicism. Since the expansion of religious freedom, a number of other religions have taken hold in the major cities. An additional 22 percent of Brazilians practiced some form of Protestant Christianity. Brasília also contains small Muslim, Jewish, and Spiritist communities.

Since the city's founding, Brasília has been home to a number of famous artists, writers, and sports celebrities. In addition to its celebrity population, Brasília is also home to most of the country's administrative leaders, including the president and members of the Brazilian parliament.

Economy

As of 2016, 46 percent of Brasília's population was employed in the paid labor force. Brasília's largest employers are the government and public service industries. Other major employers in the city include banking and finance, legal services, and the entertainment and recreation industries.

Brasília contributes 3.8 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), which is dominated by agriculture, mining, and manufacturing exports. Agricultural settlements surrounding Brasília produce fruits, vegetables, coffee, and meat products. Brasília's economy has grown further with the establishment of technology manufacturing and export companies.

Brasília's international airport has helped to make the city a transportation hub. A variety of highways link Brasília with the other Brazilian cities, such as Belo Horizonte. The road network was intended to increase exports to other South American countries.

Landmarks

Three Powers Square, located at the central axis of Brasília, is the center of the Brazilian government. The site contains the National Congress and the Planalto Palace, which contains the administrative offices of the central government and the Supreme Federal Courts. Three Powers Square is decorated with artwork from some of Brazil's most famous sculptors, and the buildings themselves were designed to enhance the city's skyline.

The JK Memorial Museum, located in the central part of the city, pays tribute to former president Juscelino Kubitschek, who was largely responsible for establishing Brasília. Kubitschek's tomb is located in the museum, along with various artifacts related to the former president's life. The domed memorial building was constructed in 1981.

At 218 meters (715 feet), the Brasília TV Tower is the city's tallest structure and offers a panoramic view of the city from a viewing platform located 75 meters (264 feet) from the ground. The tower was designed by architect Lúcio Costa, who was chiefly responsible for the plan of the city, and constructed in 1967. The TV Tower also contains Brasília's famous Gem Museum, which boasts a collection of thousands of gemstones.

The City Park in central Brasília stretches over 420 hectares (1,037.8 acres) and contains numerous picnic, sports, jogging, and biking areas. The park was designed by renowned landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx and contains sculptures from some of Brazil's most famous artists.

The Brasília Botanical Gardens are famous in the botanical research community for their collections of plants indigenous to the Brazilian cerrado. The gardens offer tours and leisure activities as well as lectures and educational programs about Brazil's ecology. The Botanical Gardens also host a growing research community of botanists and conservation scientists from around the world.

History

Brazilian president José Bonifácio passed a bill in 1823 that called for the construction of a new capital somewhere in the central region of the country. The two previous capitals, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, were located near the ocean, which made them vulnerable to attack. Bonifácio was the first to propose the name Brasília for the new capital.

Brazil declared its independence in 1822, and in 1825 was formally recognized as an independent nation, no longer under the control of Portugal. Brazil was led by a series of regents until, in 1889, the country officially became a republic. The first constitution proclaimed that a new capital would be built away from the coast. In 1894, 14,400 square kilometers of central plains territory were reserved as the proposed site of the new capital.

In 1922, at a symbolic ceremony, the first stone of the new capital was laid. The area is now contained within one of Brasília's satellite communities. Political disturbances halted progress on the capital project for a number of years until, in 1955, the Commission for a New Federal Capital chose the site for construction of the urban area.

The following year, Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president, using progress on the capital project as a cornerstone of his campaign. Kubitschek organized NOVACAP, the Company for Urbanization of the New Capital, and invited young modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer to lead the project. Kubitschek's campaign slogan "fifty in five" meant that he intended to stimulate the equivalent of fifty years of growth during his five-year term.

In 1956, Kubitschek had a modest presidential residence built at the outskirts of the construction area so that he could personally observe each phase of the building project. The residence, called the Catetinho, has been preserved as a museum dedicated to president Kubitschek and the construction of Brasília.

In 1957, Kubitschek invited architects from around the country to compete in a contest to design the overall structure of the city. Architect Lúcio Costa won the contest with his famous "flying bird" design. Costa worked closely with Kubitschek and Niemeyer in realizing every aspect of the city's design.

During the construction effort, thousands of migrants came to Brasília from across the country. In the original plan, the city was intended to house only government employees and others essential to the city's infrastructure. The thousands of migrant workers settled in makeshift towns outside the urban area. The workers' settlements eventually became the satellite cities that now surround Brasília and house most of the region's population.

Kubitschek declared the city open in 1960, despite the fact that most of it was unfinished. Early photos and records indicate that vast areas of the city still needed major construction. In addition, the area intended as green space had not yet been planted, giving the city a barren appearance. That same year, the three branches of the Brazilian government officially took their place in Brasília.

Between 1960 and 1980, the city underwent a major transformation. Additional buildings were constructed and the city parks were planted. In 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Brasília a World Heritage Site in acknowledgement of its unique place in the history of urban planning.

In 2011, the city landfill was deemed illegal and in 2018, the governor closed it. After nearly sixty years of operation, the landfill had grown to be the largest in Latin America and the second largest globally. Thousands of informal workers made their living by collecting recyclable materials there and selling them, and a neighborhood had grown up around it. Concerns over the dump and its closure included pollution, unemployment or underemployment for former pickers, and housing rights. Indeed, Brasilia has faced criticism in the twenty-first century for gentrification, as well as a relative lack of street life and car-centric design.

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