Brasilia: 'the capital of hope.'

UNESCO Courier, July, 1984 by Briane Elisabeth Panitz Bica

NEXT year will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the inauguration of Brasilia and the twenty-eighth of the beginning of its construction. This is not a long time in the life of a city, but Brasilia's presence in the history of Brazil goes back more than a century. The idea of transferring the capital to the central plateau was first suggested in 1817, when Jose Bonifacio de Andrade e Silva, known as the "father of Brazilian independence", proposed what are now its permanent site and name. From then on, the proposal was periodically repeated, until it was finally adopted by Juscelino Kubitschek during the 1956 Presidential election campaign.

As the most extensive and complete application of the principles of modern city planning, Brasilia has made its own contribution to the history of urban development. It has its origins in an act of reason, without any roots in Brazil's urbran past, without any link with the land on which it was created. Each line traced on paper by Lucio Costa, the pupil of Le Corbusier who conceived Brasilia, was transformed into an avenue traced by a tractor across the countryside. The meeting of the two axes, "The first act of someone who takes possession of a site by tracing a cross on it", gave form to the city--"the capital of hope" towards which flocked, from every corner of the country, all those who, by participating in the epic of its construction, were embarking on the creation of a "new Brazil" which would make their dreams of a better life come true.

Through a dynamic of its own, the construction process of Brasilia adapted itself to the future site. On the one hand there is official Brasilia, seat of the central Government, and on the other its satellite towns designed to house the mass of the less privileged citizens. The former now has 300,000 inhabitants, and the seven satellite towns have a total population of one million, forming an aggregate which, by reason of its size and urbanizing influence, has overflowed towards the municipal centres of the neighbouring States and has led to the complex officially known as the Geo-economic Region of Brasilia. The principles of city planning applied in Brasilia have also influenced the configuration of new towns in other parts of Brazil and in other countries.

While the city has been experiencing a process going on between Brasilia's defenders and its critics. Some point to its advantages compared with other great cities--the comfort of living in its supermanzanas (complexes consisting of six-storey buildings, shops, schools, a patio, church and a spacious green area, situated along the major highway axis), the vast panoramic view with a diaphanous sky and clouds forming a backdrop to the plateau, the absence of atmospheric, sonic and visual pollution, the spacious green areas, the free flow of traffic and ease of parking. Others criticize the logic which the city imposes on its inhabitants and point out its defects: an excessive division of the city's activities into different topographical sectors; the gigantism which predominates even in residential districts; the long distances between buildings which make it difficult for pedestrians so get about the city, lead to an excessive use of cars, and bring an element of remoteness to personal relations; the divisions of the city caused by high-speed motorways; the famous "lack of corners" due to the fact that buildings are scattered in such a way that there are no angles formed by street intersections; and the excessive social stratification caused by the high cost of living in Brasilia.

Apart from the pros and cons there can be no doubt about the exceptional character and quality of Brasilia as an achievement of urban planning and architecture involving a synthesis between the rationalistic approach adopted by Lucio Costa and the exuberant architecture of Oscar Niemeyer, who designed the most important buildings. Brasilia is also notable for the fact that so far it has succeeded in preserving its integrity almost completely in spite of difficulties and the not always peaceful coexistence between the interests of the federal administration, for which the city was created, and those of the local authorities responsible for its functioning.

Brasilia's size and dynamism, together with its unity and physical homogeneity, are a matter of surprise for visitors, especially students of the urban process, who find themselves in a laboratory where theories which have been discussed all over the world have been given practical expression.

Notwithstanding its uniqueness and the careful attention paid to its conservation, certain developments in Brasilia are causing concern. The increase in land values in a city with strictly defined physical limits is leading to pressures that are difficult to control by an administration which lacks the necessary legal and procedural instruments. There is no regulatory plan or buildings code, and no clear-cut decision has been taken to treat Brasilia as part of Brazil's cultural heritage. As a result, certain criteria laid down in Lucio Costa's project have not been observed, leading, for instance, to the grant of permits to increase the height of buildings in certain parts of the city and to build on land unsuited for construction, and to the enlargement of parking sites and changes in the highway system.