Brasília (; ) is the

federal capital A federal capital is a political entity, often a municipality or capital city, that serves as the seat of the federal government. A federal capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective gov ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and seat of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

of the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

. The city is located at the top of the

Brazilian highlands The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau ( pt, Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,5 ...

in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

on 21 April 1960, to serve as the new national capital. Brasília is estimated to be Brazil's third-most populous city. Among major

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

cities, it has the highest

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...

per capita. Brasília was a

planned city A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

developed by

Lúcio Costa Lúcio Marçal Ferreira Ribeiro Lima Costa (27 February 1902 – 13 June 1998) was a Brazilian architect and urban planner, best known for his plan for Brasília. Career Costa was born in Toulon, France, the son of Brazilian parents. His fath ...

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

and

Joaquim Cardozo Joaquim Maria Moreira Cardozo (August 26, 1897 – November 4, 1978), known as Joaquim Cardozo, was a Brazilian structural engineer, poet, short-story writer, and editor. Cardozo moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1940 and worked with the architect ...

in 1956 in a scheme to move the capital from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

to a more central location. The landscape architect was

Roberto Burle Marx Roberto Burle Marx (August 4, 1909 – June 4, 1994) was a Brazilian landscape architect (as well as a painter, print maker, ecologist, naturalist, artist and musician) whose designs of parks and gardens made him world-famous. He is accredite ...

. 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 A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1987 due to its

modernist architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

and uniquely artistic

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. It was named "City of Design" by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in October 2017 and has been part of the

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.Brazil's federal government are centered in the city:

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

and

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. Brasília also hosts 124 foreign

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

. The city's

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

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 The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and hosted some of the football matches during the 2016 Summer Olympics; it also hosted the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...

. The city has a unique status in Brazil, as it is an administrative division rather than a legal municipality like other cities in Brazil. Although Brasília is used as a synonym for the Federal District through

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek . Examples in common Engl ...

, the Federal District is composed of 31 administrative regions, only one of which is the area of the originally planned city, also called ''Plano Piloto''. The rest of the Federal District is considered by

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...

to make up Brasília's

metro area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually co ...

History

Background

Brazil's first capital was

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

; in 1763

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. 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 José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, 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 the legend, Italian saint

Don Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

in 1883 had a dream in which he described a futuristic city that roughly fitted Brasilia's location. In Brasilia today, many references to Bosco, who founded the

Salesian , image = File:Stemma big.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = SDB , formation = , founder = John Bosco , founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...

order, are found throughout the city and one church parish in the city bears his name.

Costa plan

was elected

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

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

's plan to guide the construction of Brazil's new capital, Brasilia. Costa was a student of the famous modernist architect

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

, and some of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

'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. 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, often likened to a dragonfly, an airplane or a bird. 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. 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, recreations and churches, constituted of 96 limited to six-story buildings and 12 additional superblocks limited to three-story buildings; 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. The

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban de ...

of the communal apartment blocks was based on

Ville Radieuse Ville radieuse (, ''Radiant City'') was an unrealised urban design project designed by the French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1930. It constitutes one of the most influential and controversial urban design doctrines of European modernism. Al ...

of 1935, and the superblocks on the North American

Radburn layout Radburn design housing (also called Radburn housing, Radburn design'', ''Radburn principle, or Radburn concept) is a concept for planned housing estates, based on a design that was originally used in Radburn, New Jersey, United States. History ...

from 1929. 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 (''

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

s'') in the urban periphery. The has been accused of being a space where individuals are oppressed and alienated to a form of spatial segregation. 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; the

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

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. 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 when

overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...

turned Brasilia into a

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

, the transportation system also played an important role in mediating the relationship between the Pilot plan and the satellite cities. Because of overpopulation, the monument axis now has to have traffic lights on it, 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 the overpopulation has made Brasilia no longer a pure utopia with incomparable modernity, the later development of traffic lights, buses routes to satellite cities, and the metro system all served 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, 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. 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. 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. 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, it is important to also note that 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. 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''.

Construction

, 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.

won a contest and was the main urban planner in 1957, with 5550 people competing.

was the chief architect of most public buildings,

was the

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...

, and

was the

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

. Brasilia was built in 41 months, from 1956 to 21 April 1960, when it was officially inaugurated.

Geography

The city is located at the top of the

in the country's center-western region.

Paranoá Lake __NOTOC__ Lake Paranoá (Portuguese: Lago Paranoá, , ) is an artificial lake in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. During construction of the city, the Paranoá River was dammed to form the lake. It is at an altitude of and has a circumference of ...

, a large artificial lake, was built to increase the amount of water available and to maintain the region's humidity. It has a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

, and hosts wakeboarders and

windsurfers Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

. 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.

Climate

Brasilia has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(''Aw'', according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

), milder due to the elevation and with two distinct seasons: the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * ''T ...

, from October to April, and the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

, from May to September. The average temperature is . September, at the end of the dry season, has the highest average maximum temperature, , and July has major and minor lower maximum average temperature, of and , respectively. Average temperatures from September through March are a consistent . With , November is the month with the highest rainfall of the year, while July is the lowest, with only . During the dry season, the city can have very low

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

levels, often below 30%. According to Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), the record low temperature was on 18 July 1975, and the record high was on 18 October 2015 and 8 October 2020. The highest accumulated rainfall in 24 hours was on 15 November 1963.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

According to the 2010 IBGE Census, 2,469,489 people resided in Brasilia and its metropolitan area, of whom 1,239,882 were

Pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...

(

Multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

) (48.2%), 1,084,418

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

(42.2%), 198,072

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

(7.7%), 41,522

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

(1.6%), and 6,128

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

(0.2%).2010 IGBE Census
In 2010, Brasilia was ranked the fourth-most populous city in Brazil after

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Rio de Janeiro, and

. In 2010, the city had 474,871 opposite-sex couples and 1,241 same-sex couples. The population of Brasilia was 52.2%

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

and 47.8%

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

. In the 1960 census there were almost 140,000 residents in the new

Federal district A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...

. By 1970 this figure had grown to 537,000. By 2010 the population of the

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, but its metropolitan area within the Federal District has grown past this figure. 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. 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. Brasilia has one of the highest

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

rates in Brazil, with annual growth of 2.82%, mostly due to

internal migration Internal migration or domestic migration is human migration within a country. Internal migration tends to be travel for education and for economic improvement or because of a natural disaster or civil disturbance, though a study based on the full ...

. 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 The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...

was 0.936 in 2000 ( developed level), and the city's

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

rate was around 95.65%.

Religion

Christianity, in general, is by far the most prevalent religion in Brazil with Roman Catholicism being the largest denomination. ''Source:

2010. ''

Government

Brasília does not have mayor and councillors, because the article 32 of the

1988 Brazilian Constitution The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the feder ...

expressly prohibits that the

be divided in

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. 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 ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

'' nature, because it is neither a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

nor a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, but rather a special entity that accumulates 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. 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. The legislative power of the Federal District is represented by the

Legislative Chamber of the Federal District The Legislative Chamber of Federal District ( pt, Câmara Legislativa do Distrito Federal) is the unicameral legislative branch of Federal District in Brazil. The Constitution of 1967 gave to the Federal Senate the legislative branch of the Fede ...

, whose nomenclature includes a mixture of legislative assembly (legislative power of the other units of the federation) and of

municipal chamber A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(legislative of the municipalities). The Legislative Chamber is made up of 24 district deputies. Câmara Legislativa do Distrito Federal 2012

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 A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

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. By 2015, the forecast is 12.4 billion reais, of which more than half (6.4 billion) is spent on public security spending.

International relations

;Twin towns and sister cities Brasilia is twinned with: *

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, Nigeria *

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, Paraguay *

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium *

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina ''(since 2002)'' *

Gaza City Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba *

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, Sudan *

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal *

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

, Egypt *

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Uruguay *

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, South Africa *

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile *

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran *

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria *

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, United States ''(since 2013)'' *

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...

, China ''(since 1997)'' *

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Mexico. Of these,

and

were likewise 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 The IBSA Dialogue Forum ( India, Brazil, South Africa) is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South–South cooperation and g ...

(2003), signed by the

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

s of India, Brazil and South Africa regarding representation at the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

*Brasília Declaration on the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons in the Americas (2010) *Brasília Declaration on

Child Labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

(2013), issued by the Third Global Conference on Child Labour – hosted in Brasília by the Brazilian Government *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 hedevelopment of water justice jurisprudence" *The 15th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, meeting in Brasília in 2022, issued a Declaration condemning Russia's

invasion of Ukraine The territory of present-day Ukraine has been Invasion, invaded or Military occupation, occupied a number of times throughout History of Ukraine, its history. List See also *List of invasions *List of wars involving Ukraine References

...

Economy

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 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) is divided in Public Administration 54.8%, Services 28.7%, Industry 10.2%, Commerce 6.1%, Agrobusiness 0.2%. 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, 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

, 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 Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

'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 Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

(Novo Rio,

Rexam Rexam plc was a British-based multinational consumer packaging company headquartered in London, England. After spending much of its life as a paper producer known as Bowater, it diversified and became a leading manufacturer of beverage cans. It ...

, Latasa and others);

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

(União Química); and graphic industries. The main agricultural products produced in the city are

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

, lemons,

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

s, and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es. It has over 110,000 cows and it exports wood products worldwide. The

, 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 ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

. Its share of the total Brazilian GDP is about 3.8%. The Federal District has the largest

GDP per capita Lists of countries by GDP per capita list the countries in the world by their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The lists may be based on nominal or purchasing power parity GDP. Gross national income (GNI) per capita accounts for inflows ...

income of Brazil US$25,062, slightly higher than Belarus. 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 A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

. Brasilia has a range of tourist accommodation from inns, pensions and hostels to larger international chain hotels. The city's restaurants cater to a wide range of foods from local and regional Brazilian dishes to international cuisine.

Culture

As a venue for political events, music performances and movie festivals, Brasilia is a cosmopolitan city, with around 124

, a wide range of restaurants and a complete infrastructure ready to host any kind of event. Not surprisingly, the city stands out as an important business/tourism destination, which is an important part of the local economy, with dozens of hotels spread around the federal capital. Traditional parties take place throughout the year. In June, large festivals known as "

festas juninas ''Festas Juninas'' (, ''June Festivals'', "festivities that occur in the month of June"), also known as ''festas de São João'' for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), are the annual Brazilian celebrations ...

" are held celebrating Catholic saints such as Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint John the Baptist, and

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

. On 7 September, the traditional

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

parade is held on the Ministries Esplanade. Throughout the year, local, national, and international events are held throughout the city.

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

is widely celebrated, and

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

usually hosts major events celebrated in the city. The city also hosts a varied assortment of art works from artists like

Bruno Giorgi Bruno Giorgi (13 August 1905, Mococa – 7 September 1993, Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the ...

, Alfredo Ceschiatti,

Athos Bulcão Athos Bulcão (July 2, 1918 – July 31, 2008) was a Brazilian painter and sculptor. He was born in Rio de Janeiro. Biography Athos Bulcão was born in Rio de Janeiro on July 2, 1918. In the 1940s he assisted Cândido Portinari with the "São ...

, Marianne Peretti,

Alfredo Volpi Alfredo Volpi (April 14, 1896 – May 28, 1988), was a prominent painter of the artistic and cultural Brazilian modernist movement. He was born in Lucca, Italy but, less than two years later, he was brought by his parents to São Paulo, Brazil ...

, Di Cavalcanti, Dyllan Taxman,

Victor Brecheret Victor Brecheret, born ''Vittorio Breheret'' (December 15, 1894 – December 17, 1955), was an Italian-Brazilian sculptor. He lived most of his life in São Paulo, except for his studies in Paris in his early twenties. Brecheret's work combin ...

and Burle Marx, whose works have been integrated into the city's architecture, making it a unique landscape. The cuisine in the city is very diverse. Many of the best restaurants in the city can be found in the Asa Sul district. The city is the birthplace of Brazilian rock and place of origin of bands like:

Legião Urbana Legião Urbana (Portuguese for Urban Legion) was a Brazilian rock band formed in 1982 in Brasília, Distrito Federal. The band primarily consisted of Renato Russo (vocals, bass and keyboards), Dado Villa-Lobos (guitar) and Marcelo Bonfá (d ...

Capital Inicial Capital Inicial is a Brazilian rock band that flourished in the 1980s, saw a resurgence in the late 1990s, and extended into the 2000s. History The band has recorded fifteen studio albums, six live albums and seven DVDs in their 40-year career ...

Aborto Elétrico ''Aborto'' is a Bengali film released on 1 March 2013 and directed by Arindam Sil in his directorial debut. According to Sil, this film would be the greatest tribute to Satyajit Ray that has ever been made. The film stars Bangladesh actress Jaya A ...

Plebe Rude In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

and

Raimundos Raimundos is a Brazilian punk/hardcore band formed in 1987 by Digão and Rodolfo Abrantes, in Brasília, Distrito Federal. They had with major influences from 1980s punk bands, especially Ramones, from which their name is a play of. Raimundos wen ...

. Brasilia has the Rock Basement Festival which brings new bands to the national scene. The festival is held in the parking Brasilia National Stadium Mané Garrincha. Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro - Brasilia - DSC00311

Teatro Nacional Cláudio Santoro - Brasilia - DSC00311

Since 1965, the annual Brasilia Festival of Brazilian Cinema is one of the most traditional cinema festivals in Brazil, being compared only to the Brazilian Cinema Festival of Gramado, in Rio Grande do Sul. The difference between both is that the festival in Brasilia still preserves the tradition to only submit and reward Brazilian movies. The International Dance Seminar in Brasilia has brought top-notch dance to the Federal Capital since 1991. International teachers, shows with choreographers and guest groups and scholarships abroad are some of the hallmarks of the event. The Seminar is the central axis of the DANCE BRAZIL program and is promoted by the DF State Department of Culture in partnership with the Cultural Association Claudio Santoro

Brasilia has also been the focus of modern-day literature. Published in 2008, ''The World In Grey: Dom Bosco's Prophecy'', by author Ryan J. Lucero, tells an apocalyptical story based on the famous prophecy from the late 19th century by the Italian saint

. According to Don Bosco's prophecy: "Between parallels 15th parallel south, 15 and 20, around a lake which shall be formed; A great civilization will thrive, and that will be the Promised Land". Brasilia lies between the parallels 15° S and 20° S, where an artificial lake (

) was formed. Don Bosco is Brasilia's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

. ''

American Flagg! ''American Flagg!'' is an American comic book series created by writer-artist Howard Chaykin, published by First Comics from 1983 to 1989. A science fiction series and political satire, it was set in the U.S., particularly Chicago, Illinois, in th ...

'', the First Comics comic book series created by Howard Chaykin, portrays Brasilia as a cosmopolitan world capital of culture and exotic romance. In the series, it is a top vacation and party destination. The 2015

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Gr ...

series ''

Felizes para Sempre? ''Felizes para Sempre?'' (English: ''Happily Ever After?'') is a Brazilian television miniseries directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Euclydes Marinho. It aired from 26 January to 6 February 2015 on Rede Globo. It is a remake of ''Quem ...

'' was set in Brasilia.

Architecture and urbanism

At the Square of Three Powers, Brazilian architect

and Brazilian structural engineer

made buildings in the style of modern Brazilian architecture. The Congress also occupies various other surrounding buildings, some connected by tunnels. The National Congress building is located in the middle of the Eixo Monumental, the city's main avenue. In front lies a large lawn and reflecting pool. The building faces the

Praça dos Três Poderes Praça dos Três Poderes (; ''Three Powers Plaza'') is a plaza in Brasília, the Capital (political), capital of Brazil. The name is derived from the presence of the three governmental powers around the plaza: the Executive (government), Executive, ...

where the

Palácio do Planalto The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

are located. The Brazilian landscape architect

designed landmark modernist gardens for some of the principal buildings. In residential areas, buildings were built that were inspired in French modernist and bauhaus design. Although not fully accomplished, the "Brasilia utopia" has produced a city of relatively high quality of life, in which the citizens live in forested areas with sporting and leisure structure (the ') surrounded by small commercial areas, bookstores and cafés; the city is famous for its cuisine and efficiency of transit. Even these positive features have sparked controversy, expressed in the nickname "ilha da fantasia" ("fantasy island"), indicating the sharp contrast between the city and surrounding regions, marked by poverty and disorganization in the cities of the states of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, around Brasilia. Critics of Brasilia's grand scale have characterized it as a modernist bauhaus platonic fantasy about the future: Brasilia aerea eixo monumental

Vista_aérea_da_Asa_Sul_em_direção_ao_Lago_Sul

Notable structures

The

Cathedral of Brasilia A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

in the capital of the Federative Republic of Brazil, is an expression of the atheist architect

and the structural engineer

. This concrete-framed hyperboloid structure, seems with its glass roof reaching up, open, to the heavens. The cathedral's structure was finished on 31 May 1970, and only the diameter of the circular area were visible. Niemeyer's and Cardozo's project of Cathedral of Brasilia is based in the

hyperboloid In geometry, a hyperboloid of revolution, sometimes called a circular hyperboloid, is the surface generated by rotating a hyperbola around one of its principal axes. A hyperboloid is the surface obtained from a hyperboloid of revolution by defo ...

of revolution which sections are asymmetric. The hyperboloid structure itself is a result of 16 identical assembled concrete columns. There is controversy as to what these columns, having hyperbolic section and weighing 90 t, represent, some say they are two hands moving upwards to heaven, others associate it to the chalice Jesus used in the last supper and some claim it represent his crown of thorns. The cathedral was dedicated on 31 May 1970. At the end of the '' Eixo Monumental'' ("Monumental Axis") lies the ''Esplanada dos Ministérios'' ("Ministries Esplanade"), an open area in downtown Brasilia. The rectangular lawn is surrounded by two eight-lane avenues where many government buildings, monuments and memorials are located. On Sundays and holidays, the Eixo Monumental is closed to cars so that locals may use it as a place to walk, bike, and have picnics under the trees. ''

'' ( Portuguese for ''Square of the Three Powers'') is a plaza in Brasilia. The name is derived from the encounter of the three federal branches around the plaza: the Executive, represented by the

Palácio do Planalto The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.National Congress ''National Congress'' is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures . Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress (Guyana) *India: Indian National Congress *Iraq: Iraqi Nati ...

(Congresso Nacional); and the Judiciary branch, represented by the

Supreme Federal Court The Supreme Federal Court ( pt, Supremo Tribunal Federal, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for consti ...

(Supremo Tribunal Federal). It is a tourist attraction in Brasilia, designed by

and

as a place where the three branches would meet harmoniously. Fotos produzidas pelo Senado (36736219051)

The

Palácio da Alvorada The Palácio da Alvorada () is the official residence of the President of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília, on a peninsula at the margins of Paranoá Lake. The building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and built between 19 ...

is the official residence of the

president of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

. The palace was designed, along with the rest of the city of Brasilia, by

and inaugurated in 1958. One of the first structures built in the republic's new capital city, the "Alvorada" lies on a peninsula at the shore of

. The principles of simplicity and modernity that in the past characterized the great works of architecture motivated Niemeyer. The viewer has an impression of looking at a glass box, softly landing on the ground with the support of thin external columns. The building has an area of 7,000 m² with three floors consisting of the basement, landing, and second floor. The auditorium, kitchen, laundry, medical center, and administration offices are at basement level. The rooms used by the presidency for official receptions are on the landing. The second floor has four suites, two apartments, and various private rooms which make up the residential part of the palace. The building also has a library, a heated Olympic-sized swimming pool, a music room, two dining rooms and various meeting rooms. A chapel and heliport are in adjacent buildings. The

Palácio do Planalto The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.president of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

. It is located at the

in Brasilia. As the

seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

, the term "Planalto" is often used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the executive branch of government. The main working office of the President of the Republic is in the Palácio do Planalto. The President and his or her family do not live in it, rather in the official residence, the

. Besides the President, senior advisors also have offices in the "Planalto", including the

Vice-President of Brazil The Vice President of Brazil ( pt, Vice-Presidente do Brasil), officially the Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (''Vice-Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil''), or simply the ''Vice President of the Republic'' (''Vice-P ...

and the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

. The other Ministries are along the Esplanada dos Ministérios. The architect of the Palácio do Planalto was

, creator of most of the important buildings in Brasilia. The idea was to project an image of simplicity and modernity using fine lines and waves to compose the columns and exterior structures. The Palace is four stories high, and has an area of 36,000 m². Four other adjacent buildings are also part of the complex.

Education

The city has six international schools: American School of Brasilia, Brasilia International School (BIS), Escola das Nações,

Swiss International School The SIS Swiss International Schools are a group of 17 private school, private day schools in Switzerland, Germany and Brazil offering continuous education from kindergarten through to secondary education, college. As of 2020, more than 3,700 stude ...

(SIS), Lycée français François-Mitterrand (LfFM) and Maple Bear Canadian School. August 2016 will see the opening of a new international school – the British School of Brasilia. Brasilia has two universities, three university centers, and many private colleges. The main tertiary educational institutions are:

Universidade de Brasilia The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

– University of Brasilia (UnB) (public); Universidade Católica de Brasilia – Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB); Centro Universitário de Brasilia (UniCEUB); Centro Universitário Euroamaricano (Unieuro); (UDF); (UNIP); and Instituto de Educação Superior de Brasilia (IESB).

Transportation

The average commute time on public transit in Brasilia, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 96 min. 31% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 28 min, while 61% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 50% travel for over in a single direction.

Airport

Brasilia–Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport serves the metropolitan area with major domestic and international flights. It is the third busiest Brazilian airport based on passengers and aircraft movements. Because of its strategic location it is a civil aviation hub for the rest of the country. This makes for a large number of takeoffs and landings and it is not unusual for flights to be delayed in the holding pattern before landing. Following the airport's master plan,

Infraero Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862,INFRAERO: 40 ANOS SERVINDO PESSOAS, EMPRESAS E O BRASIL. Retrieved 01/10/2014linha%5D/ref> being ...

built a second runway, which was finished in 2006. In 2007, the airport handled 11,119,872 passengers.Airport Statistics for 2007
(PDF). The main building's third floor, with 12 thousand square meters, has a panoramic deck, a food court, shops, four movie theaters with total capacity of 500 people, and space for exhibitions. Brasilia Airport has 136 vendor spaces. The airport is located about from the central area of Brasilia, outside the metro system. The area outside the airport's main gate is lined with taxis as well as several bus line services that connect the airport to Brasilia's central district. The parking lot accommodates 1,200 cars. The airport is serviced by domestic and regional airlines (TAM, GOL, Azul, WebJET, Trip and Avianca), in addition to a number of international carriers. In 2012, Brasilia's International Airport was won by the InfraAmerica consortium, formed by the Brazilian engineering company ENGEVIX and the Argentine Corporacion America holding company, with a 50% stake each. During the 25-year concession, the airport may be expanded to up to 40 million passengers a year. In 2014 the airport received 15 new boarding bridges, totaling 28 in all. This was the main requirement made by the federal government, which transferred the operation of the terminal to the Inframerica Group after an auction. The group invested R$750 million in the project. In the same year, the number of

parking Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...

spaces doubled, reaching three thousand. The airport's entrance have a new rooftop cover and a new access road. Furthermore, a

VIP room A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

was created on Terminal 1's third floor. The investments resulted an increase the capacity of Brasilia's airport from approximately 15 million passengers per year to 21 million by 2014. Brasília Air Force Base - ALA1, one of their most important bases of the

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

, is located in Brasília.

Road transport

Hora_mágica_no_lago_Paranoá_e_Ponte_JK_em_Brasília

Like most Brazilian cities, Brasilia has a good network of taxi companies. Taxis from the airport are available outside the terminal, but at times there can be quite a queue of people. Although the airport is not far from the downtown area, taxi prices do seem to be higher than in other Brazilian cities. Booking in advance can be advantageous, particularly if time is limited, and local companies should be able to assist airport transfer or transport requirements. The

Juscelino Kubitschek bridge Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge ( pt, Ponte Juscelino Kubitschek), commonly called Ponte JK ( en, JK Bridge), is a steel and concrete arch bridge across Lake Paranoá in Brasília, Brazil. It connects the eastern shore of the lake – where Lago Sul, ...

, also known as the 'President JK Bridge' or the 'JK Bridge', crosses

in Brasilia. It is named after

, former

. It was designed by architect

Alexandre Chan Alexandre Chan (born ) is a Brazilian architect best known for designing the President Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge in Brasília, Brazil with structural engineer Mario Vila Verde, and the Bridge of Knowledge in Rio de Janeiro. He has been describ ...

and

Mário Vila Verde. Chan won the

Gustav Lindenthal Gustav Lindenthal (May 21, 1850 – July 31, 1935) was a civil engineer who designed the Queensboro and Hell Gate bridges in New York City, among other bridges. Lindenthal's work was greatly affected by his pursuit for perfection and his lov ...

Medal for this project at the 2003 International Bridge Conference in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

due to "...outstanding achievement demonstrating harmony with the environment, aesthetic merit and successful community participation". It consists of three tall asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally. With a length of 1,200 m (0.75 miles), it was completed in 2002 at a cost of US$56.8 million. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway and is accessible to bicyclists and skaters. Rodoviária do Plano Piloto

The main bus hub in Brasilia is the Central Bus Station, located in the crossing of the Eixo Monumental and the Eixão, about from the Three Powers Plaza. The original plan was to have a bus station as near as possible to every corner of Brasilia. Today, the bus station is the hub of urban buses only, some running within Brasilia and others connecting Brasilia to the satellite cities. In the original city plan, the interstate buses would also stop at the Central Station. Because of the growth of Brasilia (and corresponding growth in the bus fleet), today the interstate buses leave from the older interstate station (called Rodoferroviária) located at the western end of the Eixo Monumental. The Central Bus Station also contains a main metro station. A new bus station was opened in July 2010. It is on Saída Sul (South Exit) near Parkshopping Mall with its metro station, and is also an inter-state bus station, used only to leave the Federal District.

Metro

There is no passenger rail service in Brasilia, but the

Expresso Pequi Expresso Pequi or Expresso Brasília-Goiânia is a planned rail line linking the Brazilian capital city Brasília with Goiânia. The name ''Pequi'' refers to the '' Caryocar brasiliense'' fruit which is grown in the region. History In 2009, const ...

rail line is planned to link Brasilia and Goiânia. A 22 km light rail line is planned, estimated to cost between 1 billion reais (US$258 million) and 1.5 billion reais with capacity to transport around 200,000 passengers per day. The Brasilia Metro is Brasilia's underground metro system. The system has 24 stations on two lines, the Orange and Green lines, along a total network of , covering some of the metropolitan area. Both lines begin at the Central Station and run parallel until the Águas Claras Station. The Brasilia metro is not comprehensive so buses may provide better access to the center. The metro leaves the Rodoviária (bus station) and goes south, avoiding most of the political and tourist areas. The main purpose of the metro is to serve cities, such as Samambaia, Taguatinga and

Ceilândia Ceilândia is an administrative region in the Federal District in Brazil. With about 398,374 inhabitants, it is the administrative region of largest population in the Federal District. History Ceilândia was created by the government in the 1970s ...

, as well as Guará and Águas Claras. The satellite cities served are more populated in total than the Plano Piloto itself (the census of 2000 indicated that

had 344,039 inhabitants, Taguatinga had 243,575, and the Plano Piloto had approximately 400,000 inhabitants), and most residents of the satellite cities depend on public transportation. A

high-speed railway High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, line ...

was planned between Brasilia and

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

, the capital of the state of Goias, but it will probably be turned into a regional service linking the capital cities and cities in between, like Anápolis and Alexânia.

Sport

The main stadiums are the Brasilia National Stadium Mané Garrincha (which was re-inaugurated on 18 May 2013), the Serejão Stadium (home for Brasiliense) and the Bezerrão Stadium (home for Gama). Brasilia was one of the host cities of the

and

, for which Brazil is the host nation. Brasilia hosted the opening of the Confederations Cup and hosted 7 World Cup games. Brasilia also hosted the football tournaments during the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

held in Rio de Janeiro. Ginásio Nilson Nelson - Brasilia - DSC00168

Brasilia is known as a departing point for the practice of unpowered

air sports The term "air sports" covers a range of aerial activities, including air racing, aerobatics, aeromodelling, hang gliding, human-powered aircraft, parachuting, paragliding and skydiving. Recognized and regulated air sports Many air sports ...

, sports that may be practiced with hang gliding or paragliding wings. Practitioners of such sports reveal that, because of the city's dry weather, the city offers strong thermal winds and great " cloud-streets", which is also the name for a maneuver quite appreciated by practitioners. In 2003, Brasilia hosted the 14th Hang Gliding World Championship, one of the categories of free flying. In August 2005, the city hosted the second stage of the Brazilian Hang Gliding Championship. Brasilia is the site of the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet which hosted a non-championship round of the 1974 Formula One Grand Prix season. An

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

race was cancelled at the last minute in 2015. The city is also home to Uniceub BRB, one of Brazil's best basketball clubs, who became NBB champion in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The club hosts some of its games at the 16,000 all-seat Nilson Nelson Gymnasium.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Regional Administration of Brasilia website

Government of the Federal District website
*
Explore Brasilia in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts & Culture
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brasilia 1960 establishments in Brazil Architecture articles needing attention Capitals in South America Modernist heritage districts Oscar Niemeyer buildings Planned capitals Planned cities in Brazil Populated places established in 1960 Urban design World Heritage Sites in Brazil