Canoas (), which earned city status in 1939, is a municipality in the Brazilian state of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
. With more than 340,000 inhabitants, it is part of the
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
conurbation and has the second 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 ofte ...
in the state. It is also the fourth
largest city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...
in the state by population. Canoas boasts a strong manufacturing-based economy and is the home to
Canoas Air Force Base - ALA3, one of the 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 ...
.
According to the
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 ...
, Brazil's Geography and Statistics Institute, Canoas currently has no rural areas, but it started as a village of large
landowners
In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...
. The first of them was ''conquistador'' Francisco Pinto Bandeira, who received from the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
Crown, in 1740, an area north of the
Gravataí River
Gravataí River () is a river that runs along Gravataí (a city located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1, ...
.
History has that 1871 was the beginning of the village of Canoas, when the first section of the railway that would link Porto Alegre to
São Leopoldo
São Leopoldo () (Portuguese for ''Saint Leopold'') is a Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Geography
It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² (around 80 km² urban area) at ''circa'' 30 km fro ...
was inaugurated. Canoas was then part of the municipalities of
Gravataí
Gravataí ( Tupi–Guarani: ''gravatá'', a kind of flower common in the region; ''y'', river.) is a Brazilian municipality near Porto Alegre at the Rio Grande do Sul State. Its population is approximately 280,000 people, making it the sixth most ...
and
São Sebastião do Caí
São Sebastião do Caí is a city near Porto Alegre in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It has a population of about 25,000 inhabitants. The principal university is the University of Caxias do Sul, often abbreviated as UCS. Through the mi ...
. Soon large farms would lose space to small properties.
After obtaining city status, Canoas experienced rapid growth, especially after 1945. At that time, it would be called a (Portuguese for '
bedroom city'), because thousands of people would commute to neighboring
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
to work. However, de-industrialisation in Porto Alegre, the setting-up of numerous manufacturing plants in Canoas and a strong demographic growth have reverted that situation and nowadays Canoas has a
per capita 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 ofte ...
higher than Porto Alegre.
City conditions and subdivisions
Canoas ('canoes' in English) consists of mostly large sprawling neighborhoods and a lively business district, as well as numerous large factories, among them the
Refinaria Alberto Pasqualini (REFAP), a
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state owned enterprise, state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name transla ...
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
. The city's neighbourhoods follow a common pattern in Brazil, combining new high-end districts showing rapid urban development with working-class areas which turn into slums as one moves away from the city centre.
The city's poorest neighbourhoods were originally unplanned. The
Guajuviras subdivision, the old Guajuviras Farm that was developed by the government, was originally settled by
squatters
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
before the government officially opened the property for inhabitation. Although traditionally crime-ridden, Guajuviras has experienced lower criminality levels as of lately due to government intervention and the better living conditions experienced by Brazilians in general.
Canoas has one of the richest and most important universities in southern Brazil: the
Ulbra
The Lutheran University of Brazil (Portuguese: or ULBRA) is a university which covers several states throughout Brazil.
History
The university has its roots in the parish school of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Canoas (CELSP), in Canoas, Rio ...
(Lutheran University of Brazil), as well as
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
La Salle University (
UnilaSalle) and
Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis
The Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis ("Ritter dos Reis University Center" in English), better known as UniRitter, is a university in Brazil, with two campuses in the cities of Canoas and Porto Alegre, the state capital of Rio Grande do Sul. ...
. In sports, the volleyball team
Canoas Vôlei
Canoas (), which earned city status in 1939, is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. With more than 340,000 inhabitants, it is part of the Porto Alegre conurbation and has the second highest GDP in the state. It is also t ...
plays in the Brazilian
Superliga de Vôlei, whereas the football team
Canoas Futebol Clube
Canoas Futebol Clube, also known simply as Canoas is a football team of Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its mascot is a lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a mus ...
plays in the
Campeonato Gaúcho
The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 (Gaúcho Championship A1 Series or Série A1), officially named as Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF - Divisão Especial - Série A1 and commonly known as Campeonato Gaúcho or Gauchã ...
.
Pictures of Canoas
Image:Canoasmap.png, Canoas subdivisions
Image:Guajuviras canoas rs brazil.jpg, Guajuviras neighbourhood
Image:Base canoas.jpg, Canoas Air Base
Image:Centro canoas.jpg, Canoas Downtown
Image:Bairro Getulio Vargas Canoas.jpg, Getulio Vargas neighbourhood
Image:Jogo Ulbra X Joinville Serie C.jpg, Soccer game at the Ulbra
The Lutheran University of Brazil (Portuguese: or ULBRA) is a university which covers several states throughout Brazil.
History
The university has its roots in the parish school of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Canoas (CELSP), in Canoas, Rio ...
Sport Club in the São José neighbourhood
Image:Ulbra canoas.jpg, Ulbra
The Lutheran University of Brazil (Portuguese: or ULBRA) is a university which covers several states throughout Brazil.
History
The university has its roots in the parish school of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Canoas (CELSP), in Canoas, Rio ...
University
Image:Museudaulbra.jpg, ULBRA Technological Museum
Image:CapelaUlbragr-1-.jpg, Chapel at the ULBRA
Image:Unilasalle.jpg, La Salle University
Image:Estrada de ferro na tabaí.jpg, Old rail line in the Industrial neighbourhood
Image:Postoagasnatural.jpg, Gas station in the Igara neighbourhood
Image:Zaffaribourbon.jpg, Zaffari
Companhia Zaffari (Portuguese to "Zaffari Company") is the fifth largest Brazilian company that has a chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets in Rio Grande do Sul, and some shopping malls, two being in São Paulo. Currently the company has 37 supe ...
Bourbon grocery store in the Getulio Vargas neighbourhood
Image:Fundaçao cultural de Canoas.jpg, Cultural Foundation of Canoas
Image:Base canoas.jpg, Canoas Air Force Base
Image:DCP Canoas.jpg, Getulio Vargas Federal Boulevard (BR-116) in Canoas
Image:Trensurb.JPG, Urban Train (Trensurb) which passes through Canoas
Image:Rodoviaria de Canoas.jpg, Canoas Intermunicipal Bus Station (Rodoviária)
Image:Estaçãoferrea.jpg, Canoas' train station, in 1874
Image:Igrejamatriz1931.jpg, Main Catholic Church in downtown in 1931
Image:Vegetaçaocanoas.jpg, Typical vegetation in Canoas
See also
*
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...
*
Alvorada
External links
Canoas Mayoral Office(in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
)
Satellite view of Canoas(in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
) Images of homes are not representative of the rest of the city - the homes shown are part of one wealthy subdivision in the city
SOGAL - Sociedade de Ônibus Gaúcha: Canoas City's Bus Transport(in Portuguese)
ULBRA - Lutheran University of Brazil(in Portuguese)
References
{{Authority control
Municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul