Goiânia is the capital and the largest city in the state of Goiás. It is also the largest city de facto in the Central-Western Region of Brazil. With a population of nearly 1.25 million people, Goiânia is the twelfth largest city in Brazil. It is the anchor of the Goiânia metropolitan area, which has a population of over 2 million people, making it the eleventh largest metropolitan area in the country.

Goiânia is a planned city founded on October 24, 1933 by Pedro Ludovico, the governor of the state at the time. It is located on a fertile plain criss-crossed by numerous rivers, the most important being the Meia Ponte River. Goiânia is located at the geographic coordinates of 16°40' S, 49°15' W. The total area of the municipality, as of 2002, was 739.5 km² (285 sq mi).

Santa Genoveva National Airport connects Goiânia with many Brazilian cities.

The city is home to the Federal University of Goiás.

History

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

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

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

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

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

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

Art deco

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

Radiation incident

In 1987 an old medical radiation source scavenged from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia caused several deaths and many more non-fatal cases of radiation poisoning.

Geography

Climate

The climate is continental tropical humid with an average temperature of 21.9°C (71.42°F). There's a wet season, from October to April, and a dry one, from May to September. The lowest temperature ever recorded was 1.2 °C in July, the coldest month, although such lows are rare. The most recent temperature below 5°C (41°F) occurred on July 18th, 2000: 1.5°C (34.7°F) in the suburbs, and 4.3°C (39.74°F) downtown. Annual rainfall is around 1,520 mm.

Vegetation

The "cerrado" landscape is characterized by extensive savanna formations crossed by gallery forests and stream valleys. Cerrado includes various types of vegetation. Humid fields and "buriti" palm paths are found where the water table is near the surface. Alpine pastures occur at higher altitudes and mesophytic forests on more fertile soils. More than 1600 species of mammals, birds and reptiles have been identified in the cerrado ("Cerrado's Fauna", Costa et al., 1981), including 180 reptile species, 113 amphibians, 837 birds and 195 mammals (WWF). Among the invertebrates, the most notable are the termites and the leaf-cutter ants ("saúvas"). They are the main herbivores of the cerrado, important to consuming and decomposing of organic matter, as well as constituting an important food source to many other animal species.

Economy

Today the economy of Goiania is based on various industries; primarily the economy finds its roots based in the Agricultural industry thriving in and around the city. The supplying of equipment, tools, fertilizer and all various agriculture products make up a large portion of the city industries.

Second to Agriculture is the motor trade industry. Sales, Repairs and reconditioning of motorcycles and general vehicles is very wide spread and visible in all areas of the city.

The Third Largest contributor to the economy is that of the Government civil service. As Goiania is the State Capital of Goias, it thus is home to many various Federal and State civil service agencies and provides a large number of jobs to the population.

It must be noted that in recent years the Telecommunication and IT industry have begun to expand into Goiania and one now find many large Brazilian companies setting up offices in the city of Goiania.

In addition there is also a large influx of investment from the United States and Great Britain, from the many Goianos who have moved overseas in order to earn money in various trades and services.

The GDP for the city was R$ 13,354,065,000 (2005).

The per capita income for the city was R$ 11,119 (2005).

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational institutions

• Universidade Católica de Goiás (UCG);
• Universidade Estadual de Goiás (UEG);
• Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG);
• Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Goiás (CEFET-GO);
• Universidade Paulista (UNIP);
• and many others.

Infrastructure

Transportation

There is a four lane highway which connects Goiânia to the federal capital, Brasília, by BR-060, and a two lane highway to São Paulo by BR-153 (soon to be a four lane highway).

Railway connections were never developed and all transportation of goods is carried out by highway. The main airport is the Santa Genoveva, which provides flights to major cities in Brazil. Modernization work is underway to construct a new runway and terminal to handle the growing number of air passenger in and out of Goiânia.

Anhagüera, one of the largest avenues in the city, went through a major reform in the late 1990s that provided it with an exclusive bus lane through all of its extension. The lane, however, is located on the center of the avenue, giving it a distinct look. Other avenues also have exclusive lanes for buses. Unlike most Brazilian cities, there are no ticket collectors on the buses in Goiânia; all the fares are collected using cards and electronic turnstiles.

The city has one of the largest numbers of cars per person in the country, which causes large traffic problems. It also has one of the largest numbers of motorcycles per person, including moto-taxis, which are controlled by the city government.

National Airport

Santa Genoveva National Airport is an airport located on the northeast side Goiânia, in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Currently six airlines are operating regular flights at Santa Genoveva Airport to several destinations in Brazil. Currently construction is underway for a new airport terminal. Modernization work will soon get under way at Goiânia Airport. With nominal yearly capacity of 600 thousand passengers, in 2004 it received 950 thousand. With its new terminal, it will be able to handle up to 2 million users a year.

Green areas

Goiânia is a sprawling city with numerous skyscrapers (see Photos of Goiânia for photos) dominating the center and one-floor family homes spreading out across the verdant tree-covered plain. Many of the streets are lined with tropical fruit trees and there are many parks with remnants of the original tropical vegetation. Thirty percent of the city area is planted in trees—3.75 of the 11 square km. The most important of these parks are the Parque Zoologico, Parque Vaca Brava, Parque Ecológico, Bosque dos Buritis and Parque Areião. In these places, refreshing lakes, vast vegetation and the sound of birds and animals can be appreciated. In Parque Areião there are still monkeys native to the area. Almost all of the parks are surrounded by walking paths. Approximately 30% of the city Goiania, the capital of Goiás, is green, with forests, avenues and parks. One of the biggest parks is the Bosque dos Buritis with an area of 140 000 square metres with many of the ‘buriti’ palm trees, which have a yellow fruit.

Goiania is famous for being the ‘spring capital’ and was planned as a modern city, growing outside from the centre. In the starting years this building plan worked well, but through the quick growth the plan was not followed to the letters,with the exception of the green areas, causing severe infrastruture problems in some areas such as public transport and health care system.

In the Bosque dos Buritis one finds the Monument for World Peace, designed by Siron Franco. This monument contains a 7 metre high ampoule with walls of glass and the soil of more than 50 countries from all over the world. Every year on World Environment Day there will be scattered soil of a new country added.

Another attraction is the Chico Mendes Botanic Garden (s), where trees and flowers like bromelia’s, orchids, fruit trees and a lake can be found.

Parque Zoológico

Created in 1946, it contains over one thousand animals, including mammals, birds, and reptiles. Five streams have their source in the park, which, besides the Zoo itself, also contains the Horto Florestal and the Lago das Rosas (Lake of Roses). The park is located in the Setor Oeste, one of the richest and most beautiful residencial areas of Goiânia.

Buritis Park

Situated in the center of the city this is Goiânia’s oldest green area. It has an area of 120,000 square meters. There is a running track and exercise area, that has pull up bars and situp benches with various inclines. There are three artificial lakes created by Buriti Stream. We can also find the Goiânia Art Museum and the Free Center of Arts. The interior of the park is currently being renovated and is closed to the public as of 22 July 2007.

Vaca Brava Park

Every day at dawn hundreds of people begin their daily activities by walking or jogging along the sidewalk that encloses Parque Vaca Brava. It has an area of 18,000 square meters and contains a lake, a forest with native species and places for exercise. Vaca Brava (which could be roughly translated as Angry Cow) has become a symbol of the new thriving area of the Setor Bueno, which has flourished in the past decades and is now one of the most important zones of Goiânia.

Areião Park

The Areião is one of the biggest green areas of Goiânia. Located in a wealthy area, it is famous for its dense vegetation, full of monkeys. Besides the many trails, there is also a lake, a jogging route and many wooden buildings, including a beautiful small theater, consisting of a stage and many seats in the middle of a bamboo forest.

Cobra Veiga—center for snake research

Located in an area of 44,000.5 m² (10.87 acres), it has an infrastructure for 750 serpents of different species, in addition to a laboratory and a rodent house. Its main activities are the extraction of poison for medicinal purposes, research on behaviour of serpents in captivity and the recuperation of degraded areas and the preservation of springs and their forest.

Leisure

The leisure options are diversified. There are five shopping centers. In sports there are numerous gyms, public and private. The city has one of the most beautiful Brazilian football stadiums, the Serra Dourada, in addition to the International Racetrack Ayrton Senna, a karting track and a horseracing track. It is also known by its night life heavily based on bars.

Museums

The most important museums are the Museu Antropológico da Universidade Federal de Goiás, Instituto Goiano de Pré-História e Antropologia, Fundação Museu de Ornitologia, Museu de Arte Contemporânea and Museu Zoroastro Artiaga. One interesting place is the so-called Memorial do Cerrado

Rock Scene

Goiânia is home to one of the most important rock scenes from Brazil. It has started in the early 90s, with the creation of the first independent rock festivals in the city. Indie Labels like Monstro Discos, Two Beers or Not Two Beers and Insetus flourished and have been crucial to support and broadcast the scene, which, due to the fact of being completely independent from the mainstream media, sometimes is not known even to native Goianienses. The main styles are Alternative or Indie rock represented by bands like MQN, Violins, Hang The Superstars, Valentina, NEM, Réu e Condenado, Fantasma de Agnes and Flores Indecentes; punk and hardcore by bands like Desastre, Vacilo, Resistentes, Descarga Negativa, Señores, Umbral and HC-137 and metal with bands like Ressonância Mórfica (unlike most Metal bands they sing in archaic Portuguese) Spiritual Carnage, Eternal Devastation and Euphonia. There are currently two major independent festivals held in the city, Bananada (usually held in May) and Goiânia Noise (usually in December). It is interesting to notice that Goiânia, as the capital of a rural state, has been traditionally influenced by the sertanejo style, strongly connected with the country lifestyle. Though the sertanejo is still an icon of Goiás' culture, the rock scene is seen by some as a response to it, and Goiânia is now a leading center in the underground rock movement in Brazil.

Health

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

Health data

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

Ranking on the Municipal Human Development Index

• HDI-M: 0.832 (2nd in the state and 115th nationally)
• HDI-M - Income: 0.813
• HDI-M - Education: 0.933
• HDI-M - Life expectancy: 0.751

(Data are from 2000)

Sports

Goiânia is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Brazil.

References

External links

• site Photos of Goiânia
• Official site of Goiânia
• Goiânia Yellow Pages
• Photos of Goiânia
• Hotel reservation at Goiânia
• Federal University of Goiás in Goiânia