São Paulo

For other uses, see the city.

São Paulo
São Paulo skyline
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Terra da Garoa (Land of Drizzle) and Sampa
Motto(s):  "Non dvcor, dvco"  (Latin) "I am not led, I lead"
Location in the São Paulo state.
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	São Paulo
Government
• Mayor	Gilberto Kassab (DEM)
Area
• City	1,522.989 km2 (588.029 sq mi)
• Metro	8,051 km2 (3,109 sq mi)
Elevation	760 m (2,493.4 ft)
Population  (2006)
• City	11,016,703
• Density	7,233/km2 (18,730/sq mi)
• Metro	22,677,506
• Metro density	2,277/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
HDI (2000)	0.841 – high
Website	São Paulo, São Paulo

São Paulo () is the capital of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is the largest in Brazil by population and is located in the South East of the country. The name means Saint Paul in Portuguese.

The city has an area of Template:Km2 to sq mi and a population of 11,016,703 (2006 IBGE estimate), which makes it the most populous in Brazil, South America, and the southern hemisphere (metro area: about 19 million).

People from the city of São Paulo are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from the whole of São Paulo state, including the paulistanos. The city's Latin motto is Non ducor, duco, which translates as "I am not led, I lead". A famous nickname for the city is "Sampa".

São Paulo is also known for its smog, the sheer size of its helicopter fleet, unreliable weather, multitude of skyscrapers and the largest gay parade event in the world [2].

History

Domingos Jorge Velho, one of the bandeirantes.

File:00009 copy.jpg

Museu Paulista in São Paulo the site where Brazilian independence was proclaimed in 1822

Jesuit missionaries Manuel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta founded the village of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga on January 25, 1554. Along with their entourage, they established a mission named Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga aimed at converting the Tupi-Guarani Native Brazilians to the Catholic religion. Located just beyond the Serra do Mar cliffs, overlooking the port city of Santos, and close to River Tietê, the new settlement became the natural entrance from the South East coast to the vast and fertile plateau to the West that would eventually become the State of São Paulo.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, groups of explorers who called themselves the Bandeirantes traversed forests and new territories within the South American continent searching for gold, diamonds and other riches. The Bandeirantes are regarded as being responsible for a great deal of the Brazilian territorial expansion beyond the Tordesilhas Line and for the discovery of many mines of precious metals and stones. There are several monuments in honor of their contribution to the city, including the Monumento das Bandeiras, one of the landmarks of São Paulo.

São Paulo officially became a city in 1711. In the 19th century, it experienced a flourishing economic prosperity, brought about chiefly through coffee exports, which were shipped abroad from the port of the neighbouring city of Santos. After 1881, waves of immigrants from Italy, Portugal, Spain, Germany and many other countries emigrated to São Paulo in order to, among other reasons, work at the enormous coffee plantations established in the State. At the beginning of the 20th century, the coffee cycle had already plummeted due to, among other factors, a sharp decline in international coffee prices. The local entrepreneurs then started investing in the industrial development of São Paulo, attracting new contingents of overseas immigrants to the city. In addition to Europeans, Japanese and Arab immigrants arrived in large numbers in the first half of the 20th century. Along the 20th century, the booming economy of the city also attracted huge waves of immigrants from poor regions of Brazil, specially from Northeast Brazil.

However, due to competition with many other Brazilian cities, which sometimes offer tax advantages for companies to build manufacturing plants in situ, São Paulo's main economic activities have gradually left its industrial profile in favour of the services industry over the late 20th century. The city is home to a large number of local and international banking offices, law firms, multinational companies and consumer services.

Another important historical landmark is the University of São Paulo's Law School, also known as Largo São Francisco, claimed to be one of the three first academic institutions in Brazil along with the Law School of Recife and the Universidade Federal do Amazonas. Originally installed into a monastery, it was founded by an Imperial Decree on 1 March 1828, shortly after the beginning of the Brazilian Empire, following the increasing need for lawyers and politicians. As wealthy Brazilians would often go to Europe to take undergraduate law courses, the Brazilian Emperor, Dom Pedro I, decided that it would be fitting to create a national law school. It began to attract students from across the country, who were a strong contributing factor to São Paulo's distinctly bohemian lifestyle.

Law and government

See also: List of Mayors of São Paulo

In light of its economic and demographic weight, São Paulo has always played a pivotal role in Brazilian politics. With a constituency larger than that of many Brazilian states, the mayor's office is viewed by politicians as a springboard for state and national-level offices.

São Paulo's most recent mayors were:

Mayor	Entry in	Left Office in	Political Party
Gilberto Kassab	2006	-	Democratas
José Serra	2005	2006	PSDB
Marta Suplicy	2001	2004	PT
Celso Pitta	1997	2000	PPB, later PTN
Paulo Maluf	1993	1996	PPB (PP)
Luiza Erundina	1989	1992	PT
Jânio Quadros	1986	1988	PTB
Mário Covas	1983	1985	PMDB

Geography

Cathedral of São Paulo, built in the mid 20th century one of the world's most recent major buildings in the Gothic style.

São Paulo Old Downtown

Physical setting

São Paulo is located on a plateau that is part of the Serra do Mar (Portuguese for "Sea Range"), itself a component the vast region known as the Brazilian Highlands, with an average elevation of around 800 metres (2,625 ft) above sea level - though at a distance of only about Template:Km to mi from the Atlantic Ocean. This distance is covered by two highways, the Anchieta and the Imigrantes, (see "Transportation" section below) that roll down the range, leading to the portuary city of Santos and the beach resort of Guarujá. Rolling terrain prevails within the urbanized areas of São Paulo but in the North of the city - where the Serra da Cantareira Range boasts higher elevations and a sizable remnant of the Atlantic Rain Forest. The entire region is very stable tectonically, and no significant seismic activity has ever been recorded.

The river Tietê was once a source of freshwater and leisure for São Paulo. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, it became grossly polluted by raw sewage and industrial effluents, much like its tributary river Pinheiros. However, a substantial clean-up program for both rivers are in the pipeline, financed by international development banks such as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Neither river is navigable in the stretch that flows through the city, however water transport becomes increasingly important on the river Tietê further downstream (towards South, near river Paraná), as the river is part of the River Plate basin.

There are no large natural lakes in the region, but the Guarapiranga and Billings reservoirs in the outskirts of São Paulo are used for power generation, water storage, and leisure activities such as sailing.

The original flora consisted mainly of a great variety of broadleaf evergreens. Today, non-native species are common, as the mild climate and abundant rainfall permit a multitude of tropical, subtropical and temperate plants to be cultivated, with eucalyptus being especially ubiquitous.

Climate

According the Köppen climate classification São Paulo has a humid subtropical climate. Temperatures seldom reach 30°C (86°F) during summer, while frost is rare during winter. All-time record temperatures are 35.3°C (96.6°F) on November 15, 1985 and -2.1 °C (28°F) on August 2, 1955 (both at the Mirante de Santana National Weather Station, in the north region). In the mountains around the city (Horto Florestal), -3.9°C (25°F) was recorded also in August 2, 1955 (unofficially). Snow flurries were reported officially just on one occasion in June 25, 1918. Rainfall is abundant, especially in the warmer months, but rare between June and August. Neither São Paulo nor the nearby coast has ever been hit by a tropical cyclone, and tornadic activity is uncommon. August is a month which, in the last years, despite of belonging to the winter, is mostly dry and hot, sometimes reaching temperatures of 28°C (82.4°F). This is a phenomenon called "veranico" (in portuguese, "little summer").

Metropolitan region

Main article: Greater São Paulo

The central square in São Paulo

São Paulo is officially inserted in a larger metropolitan region named "Grande São Paulo" ("Greater São Paulo"). The region holds 39 municipalities in total, and a population of more than 19 million inhabitants (as of 2005, according to IBGE).

Because São Paulo is sprawling like Los Angeles, it has two definitions for its metropolitan area. By its CSA (Combined Statistical Area) type definition of metropolitan area, it is the second largest city in the world with 29 million inhabitants (Complexo Metropolitano Expandido),. The more narrowly defined Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, which doesn't include Campinas, Baixada Santista and many other nearby areas (Região Metropolitana de São Paulo) has around 19.7 million inhabitants (2006), making it the fifth most populous metropolitan area in the world.

Boroughs

Aerial view of Itaim Bibi and Morumbi, two important financial districts in São Paulo.

Buildings in the region of Luís Carlos Berrini Avenue.

One of the financial centers of the city

The city of São Paulo is divided into 31 boroughs, called subprefectures (subprefeituras in Portuguese). Each subprefecture is divided into several districts (in most cases, two or three). The subprefectures with the largest number of districts are the boroughs of Sé, in the historical downtown, Butantã, the location of USP, Lapa, Penha and Mooca, all having eleven districts.Together with the administrative division, there is also a geographic radial division established in 2007 by the mayor Gilberto Kassab. The city is divided in ten regions (historical downtown, extended downtown, north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest), each one identified with a distinct color in the buses and in the street plaques. These divisions have no relationship with the subprefectures and districts, and, in some cases, the same district may be in two or more geographic regions. The district where the headquarters of the subprefecture is located receives the same name of the subprefecture, with exception of M'Boi Mirim.

Economy

São Paulo is the 19th richest city of the world . According to data of IBGE, its Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 was R$ 175.253.702.274,00 (about US$ 95.000.000.000,00), equivalent to approximately 7% of the Brazilian GDP and 29% of all production of goods and services of the State of São Paulo.

Bovespa, eighth bigger stock exchange of the world

One of the biggest financial centers of Brazil and the world , São Paulo's economy is going through a deep transformation. Once a city with a strong industrial character, São Paulo's economy has become increasingly based on the tertiary sector, focusing on services and businesses for the country.

Many analysts point to São Paulo as an important global city, even though this assignment can be criticized considering its serious problems of social exclusion and spacial seggregation . Although being the most important financial center of the country, São Paulo's economy also presents a high degree of informality .

The GDP for the city was R$ 263,177,148 (2005).

The per capita income for the city was R$ 24,083 (2005).

Demographics

São Paulo is the most ethnically diverse city of Brazil. After the end of the slave traffic in the country (1850), São Paulo started to replace the African manpower for immigrants in the coffee plantations. The pioneer in this new project was the senator Nicolau Vergueiro, who brought German, Swiss and Portuguese people to work in his own properties.

After the abolition of the slavery (1888), São Paulo received large numbers of immigrants, most of them coming from Italy. In 1897, Italians were over half of the city's population. Portuguese, Spaniards, Germans, Lebanese, Syrians and Jews also came in significant numbers. In 1908, Japanese immigrants started to immigrate.In the mid-20th century, many people from the poor Northeast Brazil started to migrate to São Paulo.

Nowadays, people of 100 different ethnicities make São Paulo their home. Some communities are more visible:

• There are 6 million Italians (including descendants) in São Paulo.
• There are 3 million Portuguese (including descendants).
• There are 326 thousand Japanese (including descendants).
• There are 120 thousand Jews (including descendants)..

Ethnically, São Paulo is made up of 8 million Whites (64%), 2.6 million Pardos (Brown) (23%), 527 thousand Blacks (5%), 456 thousand Asians (4%) and 18.7 thousand Amerindians (0,1%).

Old town

Religion

Religion	Percentage	Number
Catholics	68.11%	7,107,261
Protestants	15.94%	1,663,131
No religion	8.97%	936,474
Kardecists	2.75%	286,600
Budists	0.65%	67,591
Jews	0.36%	37,500

Source: IBGE 2000.

Culture

Music

The Municipal theater

Sala São Paulo

Ibirapuera Auditorium

Adoniran Barbosa was a famous samba singer and composer that became successful in São Paulo's radio era. Born in 1912 in the town of Valinhos, Barbosa became the composer of the lower classes of São Paulo, particularly the poor Italian immigrants living in the quarters of Bexiga (Bela Vista) and Brás, and the poor who lived in the city's many shanties and cortiços (degraded multifamily row houses). The topics of his songs are drawn from the life of low-wage urban workers, the unemployed and the vagabonds. His first big hit was Saudosa Maloca ("Shanty of Fond Memories", 1951), where three homeless friends recall with nostalgia their improvised shanty, which was torn down by the landowner to make room for a building. In his Trem das Onze ("The 11 PM Train", 1964) record, which has been ranked one of the five best samba songs ever, the protagonist explains to his lover that he cannot stay any longer because he has to catch the last train to the Jaçanã suburb, for his mother will not sleep before he arrives. An old-school samba band called Demônios da Garoa still plays his songs in the traditional Bar Brahma venue in Centro.

In the late 1960s, a psychedelic rock band called Os Mutantes led the way in the national avant garde music scene. Their success is sometimes related to that of other tropicalia musicians, but they also had a musical style and ideas of their own. They were regarded as very paulistanos in their behaviour and clothing. Os Mutantes released five albums together before lead singer Rita Lee departed in 1972 to start a solo career. Although almost exclusively known in Brazil at that time, Os Mutantes became quite successful abroad after the 1990s (a well-spread legend has it that one Brazilian girl in an exchange programme in California, U.S., forgot one Mutantes' vinyl record in her American host family, leading the way to the popularisation of the band in that U.S. state). In 2000, a record sung in English, Tecnicolor, was released with artwork designed by Sean Lennon.

After the two oil price shocks in the 1970s, the country suffered from an economic recession during the 1980s, a phenomenon that was named the lost decade. A late punk and garage scene became strong in the 1980s, perhaps associated with the gloomy scenario of unemployment and few actual prospectives from the viewpoint of the youth. Underground rock bars and clubs in town were full of thriving musicians and artists waiting for their moment to come. Examples of bands originating from this movement include Ira! and Titãs. In the 1990s, drum & bass became another musical movement in São Paulo, with artists such as DJ Marky, DJ Patife, XRS, Drumagick, and Fernanda Porto. Many heavy metal bands also originated in São Paulo, such as Angra, Tortured Squad and Mad Dragzter. Many "alternative" cultures of São Paulo mingle at a small shopping mall dubbed Galeria do Rock (English: "Rock Gallery"), which includes shops which cater to a broad range of alternative niches.

The classical music in São Paulo is also very prevalent. Many of the most important classical Brazilian composers who are still alive, like Amaral Vieira, Osvaldo Lacerda and Edson Zampronha are born and live in São Paulo. São Paulo has two important opera houses: Teatro Municipal de São Paulo and Theatro São Pedro, and some opera performances are sometimes hosted in other theaters like Credicard Hall. The São Paulo State Symphony is one of the outstanding orchestras in Latin America and in the world.

Literature

To be expanded. Please help contributing and explaining the historical roles of these artists. The Modernist Revolution started in São Paulo in 1922. Both these authors were influential writers form the Modernism in Brazil:

• Mário de Andrade
• Oswald de Andrade

Sites of interest

File:Masp - aérea.jpg

View of MASP, on Paulista Avenue.

The Estação da Luz in downtown

São Paulo is a major cultural centre. The city has an ethnically diverse metropolitan area, with heavy Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, African, Jewish, Arab and Japanese influences.

The city is known for its varied and sophisticated cuisine, ranging from Chinese to French, from fast food chains to five star restaurants. There are approximately 62 different types of cuisines in São Paulo, and more than 12,000 restaurants. Other venues such as bars, pubs, lounges and discos cater to a variety of music tastes.

São Paulo is home to the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) and "Pinacoteca do Estado" art museums, a symphonic orchestra (São Paulo State Symphony (OSESP - based in the Sala São Paulo theatre), and a Formula One Grand Prix racing circuit (Interlagos).

Landmarks

• Pátio do Colégio (founding site of the city, former Jesuit church and school)
• Praça da Sé (Large square next to the São Paulo Cathedral. Official center of the city)
• Catedral da Sé (the metropolitan cathedral, a symbol of the city)
• Edifício Itália (skyscraper with observation deck)
• Banespa Building (skyscraper with observation deck and museum)
• Museu do Ipiranga (museum built where the Independence of Brazil was proclaimed in 1822)
• Estação da Luz (historical railway station built 1895-1901)
• Museum of the Portuguese Language (located inside Estação da Luz)
• Municipal Theatre of São Paulo (magnificent opera house built in the early 20th century)
• Solar da Marquesa (rare example of 18th century architecture)
• Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (important museum of Brazilian art)
• Avenida Paulista (one of the most important thoroughfares of the city and the site of many cultural centers and museums, such as the MASP and Centro Cultural Itaú)
• Ibirapuera Park (the second largest park of the city (Parque do Carmo is the biggest), is also home to several museums. It is known for its buildings designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, such as the Oca and the new Ibirapuera Auditorium)
• Edifício Copan, also designed by Oscar Niemeyer, in the Centro neighbourhood. Built between 1951 and 1966, its wavy shape gives the building an impression of movement, and the integration of small businesses and residential flats are of innovative urbanism.

Events

There are some websites and magazines specialized in the cultural events in the city, including the Agenda Cultural de São Paulo (São Paulo's Cultural Calendar).

Bienal de São Paulo

2006 Brazilian GP in Interlagos

São Paulo Art Biennial

The São Paulo Art Biennial is a cultural event hosted in town every two years. Almost 1 million people visited the 26th Bienal in 2004. Its theme was chosen to enable a wide range of artistic positions to feel comfortable. The concept of "Free Territory" involved various dimensions: it had a physical-geographical, a socio-political as well as an aesthetic dimension — the latter, of course, being of greatest interest in the context of this exhibition.

In order to emphasise the thematic unity of the overall exhibition, the invited artists and those representing the countries are mixed together on the 25,000 square metres of the spacious Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion. Despite the complexity of individual voices, the final result was intended to be a unity.

In addition to an intensification of the North-South dialogue inside Brazil, the Bienal's aims include the promoting of links between non-European cultures along a South-South orientation. The next edition of the Biennale will take place in 2008.

São Paulo Fashion Week

Brazil first entered the international fashion circuit with the increasing reputation of famous Brazilian top models such as Adriana Lima, Gisele Bündchen, Alessandra Ambrosio, Fernanda Tavares, Ana Beatriz Barros, Izabel Goulart and Ana Hickmann, and the "discovery" of some fresh talents such as Alexandre Herchcovitch by some international fashion magazines. As a consequence of this, SPFW is the place to see and to be seen in Brazilian fashion scene, always attracting a number of international editors and models.

São Paulo Fashion Week is nowadays the fifth most relevant fashion events in the world. It takes place twice a year at the building of Bienal de São Paulo.

São Paulo Gay Parade

2004 Gay Pride Parade in São Paulo

The tourist event in the city, the São Paulo Gay Parade attracted about 2.5 million people to Paulista Avenue in 2006. It is usually opened by the city's mayor. A large carnival runs along the avenue, with several Trio Elétricos. The last parade was held on June 10, 2007, and its organizers claimed a record-breaking 3.5 million attendees, though no official estimate was given by the Polícia Militar.

March for Jesus

The March for Jesus is a Protestant parade that takes place every year in Paulista Avenue, now in another downtown avenue. It is organized by the Renascer Church, a Pentecostal denomination created in the 1980s and which has grown significantly in the first decade of the 21st century. In 2007, about two million people took part in the event, according to official estimates.

Electronic Language International Festival

The Electronic Language International Festival is a non-profit cultural organization, whose purpose is to disseminate and to develop arts, technologies and scientific research, by means of exhibitions, debates, lectures, and courses. The festival promotes a yearly meeting in Brazil, in the city of São Paulo. The event is open to the public, and intends to expand its educational reach to local and eventually remote audiences, thus sharing the experiences learned with FILE, through technologies of education, communication, registration and memory. The File Festival show in its events web art, net.art, artificial life, hypertext, computer animation, real time teleconferences, virtual reality, panoramas, interactive movie, e- video, electronic art installations and robotics through interactive and immersive rooms.

Festival for Electronic Art

Every two years, Associação Cultural Videobrasil's International Electronic Art Festival brings groundbreaking work by cream-of-the-crop artists from all over the world to São Paulo. In keeping with the constant transformations in media and support, the curatorship has added installations, performances, VJs, CD-ROM art, and internet art to the programme.

The Festival includes a competitive exhibition of so-called southern circuit and an extensive parallel programme. Art shows, debates and meetings introduce new ideas and art work, setting new guidelines for contemporary art in Brazil.

Exhibitions featuring work by prominent electronic artists are also part of the Festival. Brazilian pioneers such as Rafael França and Olhar Eletrônico, and international guests such as Nam June Paik, Bill Viola and Gary Hill, have featured in the event’s past editions. Each edition has a theme of its own.

Other events

File:Cópia de Vila Maria Abre-Alas.JPG

Carnival of São Paulo

• São Paulo Fashion Week
• Anima Mundi (an international competitive video and film festival devoted exclusively to animation)
• AnimeCon - International Anime Convention
• AnimeDreams - International Anime Convention
• Anime Friends - International Anime Convention
• Comdex
• Mercado Mundo Mix
• São Paulo International Film Festival
• São Paulo International Short Film Festival
• Carnival of São Paulo
• Skol Beats
• Tim Festival, indie music festival
• Nokia Trends
• Festa de N. S. Achiropita
• Fenasoft (International Computer and Software Trade Fair)
• UD Fare (Domestic Utilities Fair)
• Feira Internacional do Livro (Book International Fair)
• São Paulo Restaurant Week

Sports

Football

Morumbi Stadium.

Pacaembu Stadium.

As in the rest of Brazil, football is by far the most important sport in the city. The major teams in São Paulo are Corinthians, Palmeiras and São Paulo FC. There are two other small clubs in the city, Juventus and Nacional. Another popular club in São Paulo is Santos FC from the nearby coastal city of the same name, Santos.

São Paulo is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the host nation.

Soccer/Football teams

Club	League	Venue	Established
Corinthians	Série B(Second Division)	Parque São Jorge Stadium - Not used for matches due to small size.	1910
Palmeiras	Série A(First Division)	Palestra Italia Stadium	1914
São Paulo FC	Série A(First Division)	Morumbi Stadium	1935
Portuguesa	Série A(First Division)	Canindé Stadium	1920
Juventus	Série C(Third Division)	Rua Javari Stadium	1924
Nacional	Série C(Third Division)	Nicolau Alayon Stadium	1919

Corrida de Sao Silvestre

The São Silvestre Race takes place every New Year's Eve (31 December). It was first held in 1925, when the competitors ran about 8,000 metres across the streets. Since then, the distance raced has varied, and it is now fixed at 15 km. Registration takes place from 1 October, with the maximum number of entrants limited to 15,000.

Brazilian Grand Prix

The Brazilian Grand Prix (Portuguese: Grande Prêmio do Brasil) is a Formula One championship race which occurs at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos. In 2006 the Grand Prix was the final round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The Spanish driver Fernando Alonso won the 2006 drivers championship at this circuit by coming second in the race. The race was won by the young Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, driving for the Scuderia Ferrari team.

Other sports

Volleyball, basketball and tennis are other major sports. There are several traditional sports clubs in São Paulo that are home for teams in many championships. The most important are Esporte Clube Pinheiros (waterpolo, volleyball, swimming, basketball and handball), Clube Atlhetico Paulistano (basketball), Esporte Clube Banespa (volleyball, handball and futsal), Associação Atlética Hebraica (basketball) and São Paulo Athletic Club (rugby union).

International sports events

The following international sports events have been held in São Paulo:

• 1950 — FIFA World Cup (football)
• 1963 — Pan American Games (Multi-sports)
• 1971 — FIBA World Championship for Women
• 1977 — Women's U20 Volleyball World Championship
• 1983 — FIBA World Championship for Women
• 1993 — Volleyball World League
• 1994 — Women's Volleyball World Championship
• 2000 — FIFA Club World Championship (Football)
• 2005 — World Cup in Artistic Gymnastics
• 2006 — International Police and Fire Games (Multi-sports)
• 2006 — FIBA World Championship for Women (Basketball)
• 2006 — 13th World Cup Final in Artistic Gymnastics
• 2007 — 3rd International Blind Sports Association World Championships and Games

Transportation

Motorways

Imigrantes highway, one of two major roads connecting São Paulo to the Atlantic coastline through a range of hills known as Serra do Mar

The city is crossed by many of the most important Brazilian motorways, such as the BR-116, Rodovia Raposo Tavares, Rodovia Anhangüera, Rodovia dos Bandeirantes, Rodovia Anchieta, Rodovia Castelo Branco and Rodovia dos Imigrantes. Automobiles are still the main means to get into the city.

Rodoanel

São Paulo grew quickly from the 1940s to the 1980s and many roads and buildings were built without major planning. As a result, heavy traffic is common on the city's main avenues, and traffic jams are relatively common on its largest highways. The main means of commuting into the city is by car and by bus. An effective way of avoiding heavy vehicles traffic in the city, such as buses and trucks that crossed the city for other destinations, was planned by ex-governor Mário Covas as a road ring that circles the city, called Rodoanel Mario Covas, and is being built by DERSA.

Railways

Luz railway station in downtown

Although poorly served by heavy rail services, there is an infrastructure project to build a high-speed railway service linking Brazil's two largest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The trains would go as fast as 280 km per hour (the trip would last about 1 hour and 30 minutes). This specific project is still waiting an official announcement by the Brazilian government, who is trying to obtain international financing through a public-private partnership.

Another important project is the "Expresso Bandeirantes", which is a medium-speed rail service (about 160 km/h) from São Paulo to Campinas, which would reduce the journey time from the current one hour and a half by car to about 50 minutes by train, linking the towns of São Paulo, Jundiaí, Campinas Airport, and Campinas city center. This service is also going to be connected to the railway service between São Paulo city center and Guarulhos Airport.

Major works on an express railway service between São Paulo city center and Guarulhos International Airport were announced by the São Paulo state government in 2007, which will be a milestone in the revitalisation and improvement of the Brazilian passenger railway services.

Airports

Congonhas-São Paulo International Airport

São Paulo has three airports. There are two major airports in the São Paulo metropolitan area: São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU, for domestic and international flights) and Congonhas, (CGH, for domestic flights). There's also a small airport known as Campo de Marte north of the Old Center for small, private aircraft and helicopters. Campo de Marte also hosts the Ventura Goodyear Blimp.

Congonhas Airport operates domestic and regional flights, mainly to Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. Campo de Marte airport handles some private and small-sized airplanes. Guarulhos International Airport, also known to São Paulo dwellers as "Cumbica", is located 25 km North East of the city centre, in the neighbouring city of Guarulhos. Guarulhos airport operates both domestic and international flights.

On July 17, 2007, the worst airline accident in Brazil's history occurred at Congonhas airport, blamed on rain and a shortended runway. Nearly 200 people from the plane and on the ground died. Following the accident, pilots refused to land under rainy conditions and the Brazilian President signed an act so that ticket sales for flights to the airport be stopped. Aviation throughout the entire country reached a crisis state, which is slowly being overcome by new safety measures such as the introduction of a grooved pavement in the runways.

In 2006, about 34,3 million people went through the city's airports (mainly from Congonhas and Guarulhos International Airport, the only two operating commercial flights). Infraero - Brazil's main aviation authority - estimates that with the remodelling of Guarulhos Airport, São Paulo's airports will be able to handle about 45 million passengers a year within the next five years. There are also plans to expand the Viracopos-Campinas International Airport at Campinas, a city about 90 km North of São Paulo.

São Paulo has allegedly one of the highest per capita helicopter ownership in the world. The owners are an elite wealthy class who take advantage of around one hundred helipads and heliports to conveniently avoid heavy traffic.

Underground and light rail system

Train of São Paulo Metro

The city has 61 km of underground railway systems (34.6 km fully underground) (the São Paulo Metro, locally known as the Metrô), with 4 lines in operation and 55 stations, complemented by another 253,2 km of Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM, or "Paulista Company of Metropolitan Trains") railways. Both CPTM and the underground railway lines carry some 3.5 million people on an average weekday, and a few new underground lines to be constructed are expected to add another million people to the system within the next five years. The projects expected to expand São Paulo's urban railway system from the current 330 km to more than 500 km on the next 10 years.

São Paulo has three rapid transport systems:

• The underground rail system (called "metrô", short for "metropolitano"), with three complete lines:

• The suburban rail system, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), has six lines that serve many regions not reached by the underground system, and even some other cities in the metropolitan region. The CPTM network is longer than the underground rail system.

• The fast-lane bus system: there are many such bus lines in the city, called "Passa Rápido", which are street-level, placed on large avenues, and connected with the underground or suburban train stations.

São Paulo has no tram lines, although trams used to be common in the first half of the 20th century.

São Paulo's underground train system is modern, safe, clean and efficient, considered one of the best subway systems in the world, as certified by the NBR ISO 9001. It has four lines (the newest one, the Yellow line, is under construction, thus unavailable at the moment) and links to the metropolitan train network, the CPTM.

• Line 1 - Blue: The first Metrô line built connects the North and the South Side of São Paulo. Connections are available for the Green, Red and Yellow lines and also for CPTM trains. Tietê and Jabaquara bus terminals are also reachable through the use of this line.

• Line 2 - Green: The Green line transverses the Avenida Paulista ridge, connecting Ipiranga to Vila Madalena, and also integrating the Blue and Yellow lines.

• Line 3 - Red: One of São Paulo's busiest lines, it connects the East Side to the West Side. Connections to the Blue and Yellow lines are possible, as are with CPTM trains. The Barra Funda bus terminal is located on this line.

• Line 4 - Yellow (under construction): Scheduled to be open in the near future, the Yellow line will connect the central Luz station to the South side in a route constructed immediately below the Consolação and Rebouças avenues. Connections will be available to the Blue, Green and Red lines and to CPTM trains.

• Line 5 - Lilac: Built for users who need to reach specific places in São Paulo's South Side. Only a short distance of the line is already available (six complete stations), connecting to CPTM trains at Santo Amaro station.

New underground lines

Map of the subway net (it includes lines in construction)

By 2009, the new Line 4 - Yellow, will be ready for use. The state government has built some underground stations in the Line 5 - Lilac, but although operating fully, this line is yet to be integrated with the main subway system. The lilac line serves only the subprefecture of Santo Amaro, but it is planned to be extended and connected with the lines 1 and 2.

On January 12, 2007, at 3:15 p.m. local time, a huge hole in the ground opened by accident in the future line 4 (yellow) Pinheiros station of São Paulo's underground system. Seven people were killed (four of them in a passing shuttle bus which was swallowed and buried by the cave-in). The accident caused serious structural damage to many houses in the surrounding area, forcing their households to move to hotels and the homes of relatives. Prior to the accident, many reports concerning fissures in the walls of these houses had been noticed. Officials of the company hired by the State of São Paulo Government to build the station blamed excessive rain as a primary cause, although outside pundits say what really happened was insufficient soil analysis, since the future Pinheiros underground station is very close to the river Pinheiros. After the accident, another concern was a large crane that threatened to fall over neighboring homes, until it was later dismantled by engineers working in the project.

Buses

The bulk of the public transport (government and private companies) is composed of approximately 17,000 buses (including about 210 trolley buses), coloured uniformily according to the non-central region served (ex.: light green for the buses that go South West, dark blue for the Northern area). Until the past few years, there was a strong presence of informal transport vans (dab vans), but the vast majority of such vans are already fully registered with the city council, legalized and operating under the same color scheme of the main system.

Current critical problems

Since the beginning of the 20th century, São Paulo has been the major economic center of Latin America. With the arrival of the two World Wars and the Great Depression, coffee exports to the United States and Europe were critically affected, leading wealthy coffee farmers to invest in industrial activities which eventually turned São Paulo into Brazil's largest industrial hub. The new job positions thereof contributed to attracting a significant number of immigrants from other regions of the country, especially northeastern states. From a population of merely 32,000 inhabitants in 1880, São Paulo increased its population to approximately 250,000 in 1900, 1,800,000 in 1940, 4,750,000 in 1960 and 8,500,000 in 1980. The effects of this population boom have been:

• Although urban planning has been implemented in some areas, São Paulo has developed quickly without major planning leading to some neighborhoods not having streets
• Ineffective public transport associated with a high number of cars and other vehicles in circulation lead to consistently congested traffic on many roads of the city.
• Due to heavy usage and poor maintenance, the quality of the pavement on certain roads (especially in the outskirts of the city) is problematic, and potholes and other asphalt defects are common.
• Crime rates and gang violence are high, especially in the numerous city slums and peripheral neighbourhoods.
• Approximately 13.3% of the population in São Paulo lived in poor conditions
• High air pollution, mainly due to the high circulation of automobiles and buses in town.
• The two major rivers crossing the city, River Tietê and River Pinheiros, are also highly polluted. A major project intended to clean up these rivers is in the pipeline.

Recent news

Effective January 1, the city will implement the first of it's new 'Clean City Law' policy. All outdoor signage, public transportation and video screens will be removed in an effort to reduce the amount of 'visual pollution'.

Famous Paulistanos

• Bob Burnquist
• Fabiola da Silva
• Alex Atala
• Ayrton Senna
• Rubens Barrichello
• Leandro Barbosa
• Luciano Burti
• Hélio Castroneves
• Mário de Andrade
• Oswald de Andrade
• Emerson Fittipaldi
• Eder Jofre
• Amyr Klink
• Rita Lee
• Anita Malfatti
• Felipe Massa
• Fernando Meirelles
• Jair Oliveira
• Roberto Rivellino
• Robert Scheidt
• Alex Barros
• Alexandre Herchcovitch
• Ruy Ohtake
• DJ Marky
• DJ Patife
• David Neeleman
• Constantine Andreou
• William Bonner (executive producer/journalist)

Major holidays

• January 25 – São Paulo's Anniversary — city holiday
• Between February and March – Carnival (Brazilian national holiday, it starts on the Friday to Tuesday preceding Lent. The holiday ends at noon on Ash Wednesday)
• Between May and June – Corpus Christi
• July 9 – 1932's Constitutional Revolution
• September 7 – Independence Day
• November 15 – Republic Day
• November 20 – African-Brazilian People Consciousness Day

Sister cities

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (1981) Algiers, Algeria (2005) Amman, Jordan (1997) Asunción, Paraguay (1998) Bamako, Mali (2000) Barcelona, Spain Beijing, PR China (1999) Beirut, Lebanon Belo Horizonte, Brazil Budapest, Hungary (2000) Buenos Aires, Argentina (1999) Cairo, Egypt Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2000) Coimbra, Portugal (1996) Córdoba, Spain (2001) Damascus, Syria (1999) Funchal, Portugal (1998)

Góis, Portugal (2000) Havana, Cuba (1997) Johannesburg, South Africa (1995) La Paz, Bolivia (1999) La Plata, Argentina (1989) Leiria, Portugal (1996) Lima, Peru Lisbon, Portugal (1995) Luanda, Angola (1993) Macau SAR, China (1999) Mendoza, Argentina (1998) Mexico City, Mexico Miami, USA (1988) Milan, Italy (1962) Montevideo, Uruguay (2001) Naha, Japan (1998)

Osaka, Japan (1985) Presidente Franco, Paraguay (1994) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1995) San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain (1990) San José, Costa Rica Santiago, Chile (1998) Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2000) Seoul, South Korea (1977) Shanghai, PR China (1988) Sydney, Australia (1997) Tel Aviv, Israel (2004) Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1999) Yerevan, Armenia (1999)

See also

• List of municipalities in the state of São Paulo by population
• Conservatório Dramático Musical de São Paulo
• 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo
• Sister cities of São Paulo
• São Paulo Turismo S/A - Official Tourism Board of the City of São Paulo
• Large Cities Climate Leadership Group

References

External links

Official websites

• Template:En icon São Paulo Tourism Office home page
• Template:En icon City of São Paulo home page
• Template:Pt icon São Paulo official tourist agency website Site
• Template:Pt icon São Paulo City Hall website
• Template:En icon São Paulo Metro Underground official website
• Template:En icon Template:Pt icon Bovespa - São Paulo Stock Exchange website
• Template:En icon Template:Pt icon Template:Es icon São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau

Other websites

• Template:Pt icon Agenda Cultural de São Paulo
• São Paulo Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Template:En icon Gringoes Website
• Template:En icon The New York Times São Paulo's Travel Guide
• Template:En icon UK House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee report on Brazil

Related wiki links

• Template:Wikitravel

Maps

• Template:Pt icon São Paulo Museums Site
• Template:Pt icon Maplink - São Paulo Street Guide and Maps

• Maps

News

• Template:En icon Rich Brazilians Rise Above Rush-Hour Jams
• Template:En icon São Paulo mayoral race 2004 pages
• Template:En icon Global Cities exhibition at Tate Modern, London
• Template:En icon [3]
• The Times, "Cutting-edge style in Sao Paulo", by Alex Bello.
• The Times, "Where cafezinho is the key to commerce", retrieved 06 Dec 2007.
• Guardian Unlimited, "Blog by blog guide to … Sao Paulo".

Photographs

• A very complete photo album
• Virtual postcards (requires to locate and click on the option entitled "postcards")
• skyscrapers
• Photo gallery of São Paulo's rail systems