Goiânia

Goiânia (oftenly abbreviated as Gyn or Go) is the capital of the state of Goiás, located in the central-west region of Brazil. A planned city like Brasília and Belo Horizonte, Goiânia was founded on October 24, 1933 by Pedro Ludovico, the governor of the state of Goiás at the time. The city is modern, and has a population of 1,201,006 inhabitants (according to a 2005 IBGE projection). It is located on a fertile plain criss-crossed by numerous rivers, the most important being the Meia Ponte River. Goiânia is located at the geographic coordinates of 16°40' S, 49°15' W, being located 209 km (130 miles) from Brasília, 1,338 km (830 miles) from Rio de Janeiro, 926 km (575 miles) from São Paulo, and 906 km (560 miles) from Belo Horizonte. The total area of the municipality, as announced on 2002, was 739.5 km².

History

Goiânia, as of 2005

The idea of the transfer of the state capital came about from the need to locate it in accordance with the economic interests of the state. The first state capital, Vila Boa (today Goiás Velho), had been chosen when the economy was based on gold extraction. Later it was demonstrated that cattle-raising and agriculture had become the most important factors in development, and the old state capital was too out of the way.

Legislators kept the idea of a change alive for a long time. In 1891 the constitutional delegates made the idea of the transfer of the capital official including it in the constitution, ratifying it in 1898 and later in 1918.

Vaguely remembered until 1930, the idea of a change only became reality during the government of Pedro Ludovico, who was the new governor appointed for the state of Goiás after the military revolt of 1930. In 1932 a commission was created to choose the place where the new capital would be built. In 1933 the commission decided on the present location and the foundation stone was erected.

The plan was for a city of 50,000 with the shape of a concentric radius â€" streets in the form of a spoke, with the Praça Cívica as the center, with the seats of the state and municipal government â€" The Palace of Emeralds and the Palace of Campinas.

In 1937 a decree was signed transferring the state capital from the Cidade de Goiás to Goiânia. The official inauguration only occurred in 1942 with the presence of the president of the republic, governors, and ministers.

The name, Goiânia, came about in 1933 after a contest was put on by a local newspaper. Readers from all over the state contributed, with some of the most voted names being Petrônia, Americana, Petrolândia, Goianópolis, Goiânia, Bartolomeu Bueno, Campanha, Eldorado, Anhanguera, Liberdade, Goianésia, and Pátria Nova, among others. In 1935 Pedro Ludovico used the name Goiânia for the first time signing a decree creating the municipio of Goiânia.

Art Deco

The first buildings in this planned city designed by Artílio Correia Lima were inspired by Art Deco. The collection of buildings in the city is considered one of the most important in Brazil. Mostly build in the 1940s and 1950s they have been recognized by the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage. Included are 22 buildings and monuments, the original center of Goiânia, and the pioneering nucleus of Campinas, the town that gave birth to Goiânia.

Demographic Data

*Population density: 1,549.86 hab/km² (2003)
*Population growth rate 1991/2000: 1.91%
*Population in 1980: 717,519
*Population in 1991: 922,222
*Urban population in 2003: 1,137,962
*Rural population in 2003: 8,144
*Households in 2000: 313,708
*Elevation: 749 meters
*Became a municipality: 1935
*Postal code: 74000-000

Political Data

*Eligible voters: 791,150 (06/09/2004)
*Mayor: Iris Rezende Machado (January 2005)
*Vice-mayor: Valdivino José de Oliveira
*Councilmembers: 34

Location and Communications

Goiânia is the seat of the Goiânia Microregion made up of 17 cities with a population of 1,633,899 inhabitants (2000) in a total area of 6,848.00 km².

There are highway connections to the federal capital, Brasília, by BR-060, recently converted into a four-lane highway, and to São Paulo by BR-153. Railway connections were never developed and all transportation of goods is carried out by highway. There is an airport, Santa Genoveva (717,788 passengers in 2003), which handles national flights, and will be converted to international status soon.

Climate

The climate is tropical humid with an average temperature of 21.9 Â°C. The lowest average temperatures occur from May to August, 18.8 Â°C to 21.0 Â°C. The lowest temperature ever recorded was 1.2 Â°C in July, the coldest month, although such lows are rare. Spring is the hottest season, with maximum temperatures averaging between 30 Â°C and 35 Â°C. Annual rainfall is around 1,400 mm.

The economy

The area around Goiânia is one of the richest in Brazil in agricultural production. Traditionally cattle were the main livelihood for the region and cattle-raising is still important. Because of the strategic location making the city practically equidistant from all the other Brazilian states, Goiânia has become a strategic center for industry and telecommunications. Today the economy is mainly based on commerce, the service industry and industry, above all food, clothes, furniture, and mining. Several food industries have been installed in the city and the surrounding area and the tomato canning industry has grown substantially. Cotton, soybeans and sunflower oil have also contributed to the development of the city.

Economic Data

*Gross Domestic Product in 2003: R$7.670.594 million
*Gross Domestic Product in 2002: R$7.093.088 million
*State ranking of GDP in 2002: 1 out of 246 municipalities
*PIB per capita in 2003: R$6,601
*PIB per capita in 2002: R$6,209 (state average was R$5,921)
*Classification of 2002 PIB by sectors: R$17.273 million (Agriculture); R$2.113.492 (Industry); and R$4.099.654 (Services)
*Industrial units: 5,007 (10/06/2005)
*Retail units: 14,872 (Apr/2005)
*Banking institutions: - Financeira Alfa S.A.- Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento (1) - Egide Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários Ltda (1) - Economia Crédito Imobiliário S.A.-Economisa.(1) - Bankboston Distribuidora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários.(1) - BRB-Banco de Brasília S.A.(1) - Bankboston Banco Multiplo S.A.(1) - Banco Sudameris Brasil S.A. (1) - Banco Santander Meridional S.A.(1) - Banco Safra S.A.(1) - Banco Industrial e Comercial S.A.(1) - BANESPA S.A.(1) - Banco BMG S.A.(1) - Banco BEG S.A.(1) - Agência de Fomento de Goiás S.A.(1) - Banco Santander Brasil S.A.(2) - Banco Rural S.A.(2) - Banco Mercantil do Brasil S.A.(4) - Banco ABN AMRO Real S.A.(6) - UNIBANCO-União de Bancos Brasileiros S.A.(8) - HSBC Bank Brasil S.A.-Banco Multiplo(11) - CEF (17) - Banco BRADESCO S.A.(29) - Banco do Brasil S.A.(31) - Banco Itaú S.A.(45). (01/06/2005)
*Dairies: Laticínios Veneza Ltda.; - Coop. Central do Prod. Rurais MG Ltda.; - Dairy Partners Americas Manufacturing Brasil; - Laticínios Asahi Ltda. (07/06/2005)
*Packing houses: - FRIBOI Ltda.; - Velho Oeste Comércio de Carnes Ltda.; - Carrefour Comércio e Indústria Ltda.; - Reisei Toguchi. (07/06/2005)
*Automobiles: 326,559 in 2004
*Trucks: 20,651
*Pickup trucks: 23,841
*Motorcycles: 95,501
*Motorbikes: 17,081

Agricultural Production

*Cattle: 33,000 head (2004)
*Poultry: 210,000
*Swine: 7,800
*Modest production of bananas, sugarcane, coconut, papaya, and soybeans.

Main Sectors of Employment

*Public administration: 123,248 (2003)
*Commerce: 109,403
*Transformation industries: 51,482
*Education: 19,165
*Health: 19,133

Green areas

Goiânia is a sprawling city with numerous skyscrapers (see Photos of Goiâniafor photos of the most important) dominating the center and one-floor family homes spreading out across the verdant tree-covered plain. Many of the streets are lined with tropical fruit trees and there are many parks with remnants of the original tropical vegetation. Thirty percent of the city area is planted in treesâ€"3.75 of the 11 square km.The most important of these parks are the Parque Zoologico, Parque Vaca Brava, Parque Ecológico, Bosque dos Buritis and Parque Areião. In these places, refreshing lakes, vast vegetation and the sound of birds and animals can be appreciated. In Parque Areião there are still monkeys native to the area. Almost all of the parks are surrounded by walking paths.

Parque Zoológico

Created in 1946, it contains over one thousand animals, including mammals, birds, and reptiles. Five streams have their source in the park and there are numerous lakes.

Buritis Park

Situated in the center of the city this is Goiânia's oldest green area. It has an area of 120,000 square meters. There is a running track and exercise area and three artificial lakes created by Buriti Stream. We can also find the Goiânia Art Museum and the Free Center of Arts.

Vaca Brava Park

Every day at dawn dozens of people begin their daily activities by walking or jogging along the sidewalk that encloses Parque Vaca Brava. It has an area of 18,000 square meters and contains a lake, a forest with native species and places for exercise.

Cobra Veiga â€" Center for Snake Research

Located in an area of 44,000.50 m²., it has an infrastructure for 750 serpents of different species, in addition to a laboratory and a rodent house. Its main activities are the extraction of poison for medicinal purposes, research on behaviour of serpents in captivity and the recuperation of degraded areas and the preservation of springs and their forest.

Leisure

The leisure options are diversified. There are five shopping centers. In sports there are numerous gyms, public and private. The city has one of the most beautiful Brazilian football stadiums, the Serra Dourada, in addition to the International Racetrack Ayrton Senna, a Cart track and a horserace track.

Museums

The most important museums are the Museu Antropológico da Universidade Federal de Goiás, Instituto Goiano de Pré-História e Antropologia, Fundação Museu de Ornitologia, Museu de Arte Contemporânea and Museu Zoroastro Artiaga.

Education

Goiânia has two major public universities: the Federal University of Goiás (federal) and the Universidade Estadual de Goiás (state). In addition to that, the city also has a major private university, the Universidade Católica de Goiás. The city also has a large number of small private colleges.

Educational data

*Literacy rate: 95.2% (2000)
*Total number of students in school system: 205,666 (2004)
*Primary schools: 528
*Secondary schools: 156
*Pre-school schools: 435
*Teachers in primary schools: 10,433
*Teachers in secondary schools: 3,668
*Teachers in pre-school schools: 1,558

Health

Goiânia is a national reference in several areas of medicine, especially ophthalmology, neurology, burn treatment, and leprosy.

Health data

*Infant mortality rate: 21.30 in 1,000 live births (2000)
*Hospitals: 60
*Hospital beds: 6.037
*Walk-in public health clinics: 667
*Doctors in the public health system: 6,315 (2002)
*Nurses in the public health system: 808
*Dentists in the public health system: 659

Ranking on the Municipal Human Development Index

*HDI-M: 0.832 (2nd in the state and 115th nationally)
*HDI-M - Income: 0.813
*HDI-M - Education: 0.933
*HDI-M - Life expectancy: 0.751(Data are from 2000)

Goiânia anthem

The anthem of the city was composed by João Luciano Curado Fleury (music) and Anatole Ramos (lyrics).

''Vinde ver a cidade pungente
''Que plantaram em pleno sertão
Vinde ver este trono gigante

Construída com esforços de heróis,
''É um hino ao trabalho e à cultura
''E seu brilho qual luz de mil sóis
Se projeta na vida futura.

Capital de Goiás foi eleita
''Desde o berço em que um dia nasce;
''Pela gente goiana foi feita
Com um povo adotado cresceu.

Estribilho

''Vinde ver a Goiânia de agora
''A cumprir seu glorioso destino,
''Brasileiros e gente de fora,
E cante, vós também, o seu hino

Interesting facts

* Goiânia has 1 vehicle for every 2 inhabitants. This makes it the second city in Brazil with the highest number of vehicles per capita, Curitiba being the first.
* It has the greatest fleet of motorcycles per capita in the country and the second in absolute numbers, losing out only to the city of São Paulo.
* In 1987 one of the worst accidents with radioactive waste happened in the city. See: Goiânia accident.
* The operating system used by the computers in the city hall is Linux, an open source system.
* Unlike in most Brazilian cities, there are no ticket collectors on the buses in Goiânia; all the fares are collected using cards and electronic turnstiles.
*At one time, it was considered placing a subway system in Goiania. This idea was rejected, however, it lead to the creation of Anhanguera Avenue, home to the Metrobus, or in english, Subway Bus, a large bus that runs straight through the city.
* Besides cabs, Goiânia has moto-taxis, which are controlled by the city government.

External links

*Official site of Goiânia
*Tour Goiânia
*Photos of Goiânia
*Goiânia Pictures
*Map of Goiânia by MapQuest
*Hotel reservation at Goiânia
*Federal University of Goiás in Goiânia