Gravataí ( Tupi–Guarani: ''gravatá'', a kind of flower common in the region; ''y'', river.) is a Brazilian

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 ...

near

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 twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

at the

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

State. Its population is approximately 280,000 people, making it the sixth most populous city in the state.

History

The land where Gravataí is located was subject of dispute between Portugal and Spain until 1750, when they signed the Treaty of Madrid. Originally known as ''Aldeia de Nossa Senhora dos Anjos'', Gravataí was founded on April 8, 1763 by settlers designated by the Portuguese to consolidate the crown presence in the region, led by Pedro Gonçalves Sandoval and João Lourenço Veloso. In 1772, the São Pedro province governor José Marcelino de Figueiredo started to develop the town. He built schools, mills and pottery facilities. Then known as ''Aldeia dos Anjos'', in 1806 the town was declared a district of Porto Alegre. By 1880 Gravataí was chartered as a borough ("Vila" in Portuguese). On March 2, 1938, the

Executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

#311 declared Gravataí a city.

Geography

According to the

Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics 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 informatio ...

, the city has a total area of 463.5 km²IBGE Cidades@ – Gravataí
Accessed December 12, 2010. (192.2 square miles) divided into five separate districts (boroughs): Gravataí, Barro Vermelho, Ipiranga, Itacolomi and Morungava. The main supply of

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

is provided by 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 ...

, formed at Banhado Grande and flowing west into the city towards the

Guaíba Guaíba is a city located in the Metropolitan Porto Alegre of Porto Alegre, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is on the shores of the Guaíba Lake. History In the current territory of the municipality of Guaíba there hav ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

in Gravataí is

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( ''Cfa''). Summers are warm and the hottest month is February, with an average temperature of 25 °C (77 °F). Winters are cold (by Brazilian standards) and the coldest month is July, with an average temperature of 14 °C (57 °F). The wettest months are August and September, with 140 mm (5.51 in) of precipitation, with rain regularly falling all year long.

Neighbor cities

* North:

Novo Hamburgo Novo Hamburgo (Portuguese for ''New Hamburg''; german: Neu-Hamburg) is a municipality in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital. As of 2020, its population was 247, ...

and Taquara * South:

Alvorada Alvorada is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, adjacent to the city of Porto Alegre. The city is also known as "The Capital of Solidarity." Alvorada is primarily a bedroom community with most workers commuting to adjacent cities such as Por ...

and

Viamão Viamão is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In size it is the largest municipality in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and the seventh most populous in the state. The origin of the name Viamão is controversial. The more common explan ...

* East:

Glorinha Glorinha is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Brazil. Rio ...

* West:

Cachoeirinha Cachoeirinha (lit. "Little Waterfall") is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cachoeirinha is an alternative for the people who want to be near Porto Alegre (capital of Rio Grande do Sul). The city is situated at a strategic point ...

and Sapucaia do Sul

Economy

Agriculture was essential to Gravataí's economy during its first two centuries. After the 1950s the city started a process of industrialization. This process was accelerated in 2000 after the inauguration of a

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

manufacturing plant. Since its opening 600,000 cars have been built, more than one hundred thousand

Chevrolet Celta The Chevrolet Celta, also known as the Suzuki Fun, is a low cost supermini car produced by Chevrolet for the Latin American market between 2000 and 2015. A sedan version is marketed as the Chevrolet Prisma. 600,000 Celtas have been built in Gr ...

(also known as

Suzuki Fun Fun is defined by the '' Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining media, ...

) and Chevrolet Prisma per year. Today, manufacturing is the major economic driver and Gravataí has been classified as a blue collar city.

Government

The city elects a mayor, who serves a maximum of two four-year terms; Marco Alba is the current mayor. The city council ("Câmara de Vereadores" in Portuguese) is composed of 21

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

elected to office for four years. The council functions as a parliamentary or congressional style legislative body, proposing bills, holding votes (especially the municipal budget), and passing laws to help govern the city.

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census,Primeiros Dados do Censo 2010
Accessed March 22, 2012. Gravataí had a population of 255,660, with 92,425 households, and 82,442 families residing in the city. The population density was 551.8 people per km² (1,429.16/sq mi). There were 92,425 housing units at an average density of 199.4/km² (480.86/sq mi). The ethnic/racial makeup of the city was 84.7%

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 ...

, 8%

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

, 7%

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 ha ...

, 0.2% Asian, and 0.2%

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 A ...

.IBGE Censo 2010 - Painel
Accessed March 22, 2012. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was R$18,642 (US$10,965) in 2007.Produto Interno Bruto dos Municípios 2003-2007
Accessed December 16, 2009.

Religion

''Source:

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 informat ...

2010. ''

Education

Gravataí has three colleges and universities offering bachelor's and professional or master's degree programs: Universidade Luterana do Brasil, FACENSA, and Faculdade QI. *

Preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

: 69 *

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

and Middle school: 100 *

High school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

: 23

Transportation

By land, Gravataí is practically midway between

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 GaW ...

and

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 ...

, the two main economic centers of

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, commonly known by Spanish abbreviation Mercosur, and Portuguese Mercosul, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Arge ...

. The interstate highway BR-290 passes through the city and connects to

BR-101 The BR-101 (also called ''Translitorânea'' (transcoastal), officially named ''Rodovia Governador Mário Covas''.Brazilian Highway System, BR-290 – Runs east-west just south of the city and is accessible from Gravataí via exit 74 (RS-118) and exit 68 (General Motors plant); provides access to Porto Alegre (westbound) and to the coastline (eastbound). *RS-020 – Connects the town to Taquara and the

Serra Gaúcha The Serra Gaúcha (''Gaucho Highlands'') is a cultural region comprising the mountainous areas in the northeastern portion of Rio Grande do Sul state in southern Brazil. Most of its inhabitants are of German-Brazilian, German and Italian Brazilian ...

(the Gaucho Highlands). *RS-030 – Runs through the city parallel to BR-290 and connecting Gravataí to Santo Antônio da Patrulha and Osório, ending in Tramadaí City (in the Atlantic Coast). *RS-118 – Is a very important metropolitan perimeter highway connecting Gravataí to Esteio (northbound) and to Viamão (southbound), crossing by the Alvorada, Cachoeirinha and the Sapucaia do Sul Cities.

Airport

The closest airport to the city is the

Salgado Filho International Airport Salgado Filho Porto Alegre International Airport is the airport serving Porto Alegre and the region of Greater Porto Alegre, Brazil. It is named after the Senator and first Minister of the Brazilian Air Force Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho (1888� ...

, located off BR-290 highway, 14 miles west of Gravataí.

Public transportation

Public transit throughout the region is provided by SOGIL, Unesul, VICASA, and TransCal.

Waterways

Though it is not used for transporting goods and materials, the

is a navigable waterway for

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

References

External links

Gravataí Mayor's Office
(in Portuguese)
Sogil: Gravataí's Intercity bus system and schedule
(in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gravatai Municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul