Canoas
Encyclopedia
Canoas which won city status in 1939, is the fourth largest city
in the state of Rio Grande do Sul
, Brazil
. Its population is over 300,000 people. The city is adjacent to the capital of the gaúcho
state: Porto Alegre
. Canoas is the center of some important industries and the Canoas Air Force Base
, used by the Brazilian Air Force
.
According to the IBGE
, Brazil's Geography and Statistics Institute, Canoas currently has no rural areas, but it started as a village of large landowners. The first of them was conquistador Francisco Pinto Bandeira, who received from the Portuguese
Crown, in 1740, an area north of the Gravataí River
.
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
was inaugurated. Canoas was then part of the municipalities of Gravataí
and São Sebastião do Caí
. Soon large farms would lose space to small properties.
After obtaining city status, Canoas experienced rapid growth, especially after 1945. Today, many call it a "cidade-dormitório" (Portuguese for "bedroom city"), because thousands of people commute to neighboring Porto Alegre
to work, as happens with all cities in the greater Porto Alegre metropolitan area.
oil refinery
. In addition, a new high-end district is gradually emerging in the suburbs. As happens with many Brazilian cities, there can arguably be seen two different countries in the same municipality: it does not take too long for one to drive from an impoverished slum
to a rich neighbourhood.
The city's poorest neighbourhoods are completely unplanned. The Guajuviras subdivision, the old Guajuviras Farm that was developed by the government, was originally settled by squatters before the government officially opened the property for inhabitation. Poorer favelas or slums fill some of the forest or green space areas in the subdivision).
Canoas has one of the richest and most important universities in southern Brazil: the Ulbra (Lutheran University of Brazil), as well as UnilaSalle and Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis
. The enormous wealth, manifest in the Ulbra, and crushing poverty, manifest in the slums of the city, are characteristic of the economic divide of Brazil. Many wealthy citizens in Canoas and the greater Porto Alegre metropolitan area fail to acknowledge the existence of poverty in their cities and most have never walked through the slums of their own cities.
Largest cities in Rio Grande do Sul by population
Largest cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil by population, in descending order:-References: , Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, Accessed on 2007-03-20....
in the state of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Its population is over 300,000 people. The city is adjacent to the capital of the gaúcho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
state: Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
. Canoas is the center of some important industries and the Canoas Air Force Base
Canoas Air Force Base
Canoas Air Force Base – BACO is a base of the Brazilian Air Force, located in Canoas, Brazil.-History:The history of Canoas Air Force Base begins in 1937, when the 3rd Army Aviation Regiment was transferred from Santa Maria Air Force Base to Canoas. When the Air Force Ministry was created in...
, used by the Brazilian Air Force
Brazilian Air Force
The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...
.
According to the IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...
, Brazil's Geography and Statistics Institute, Canoas currently has no rural areas, but it started as a village of large landowners. The first of them was conquistador Francisco Pinto Bandeira, who received from the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Crown, in 1740, an area north of the Gravataí River
Gravataí River
Gravataí River is a river that runs along Gravataí .The river was considered the 2nd most polluted of Brazil!...
.
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
São Leopoldo is an important Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul. It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² at circa 30 km from the State Capital, Porto Alegre. Climate is sub-tropical, with temperatures varying from 2°C minimum at Winter to more than...
was inaugurated. Canoas was then part of the municipalities of Gravataí
Gravataí
Gravataí is a Brazilian city near Porto Alegre at the Rio Grande do Sul State...
and São Sebastião do Caí
São Sebastião do Caí
São Sebastião do Caí is a city near to Porto Alegre in the 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 to UCS...
. Soon large farms would lose space to small properties.
After obtaining city status, Canoas experienced rapid growth, especially after 1945. Today, many call it a "cidade-dormitório" (Portuguese for "bedroom city"), because thousands of people commute to neighboring Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
to work, as happens with all cities in the greater Porto Alegre metropolitan area.
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 that provide the city with the second highest GDP in Rio Grande do Sul, among them the Refinaria Alberto Pasqualini (REFAP), a PetrobrasPetrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...
oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
. In addition, a new high-end district is gradually emerging in the suburbs. As happens with many Brazilian cities, there can arguably be seen two different countries in the same municipality: it does not take too long for one to drive from an impoverished slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
to a rich neighbourhood.
The city's poorest neighbourhoods are completely unplanned. The Guajuviras subdivision, the old Guajuviras Farm that was developed by the government, was originally settled by squatters before the government officially opened the property for inhabitation. Poorer favelas or slums fill some of the forest or green space areas in the subdivision).
Canoas has one of the richest and most important universities in southern Brazil: the Ulbra (Lutheran University of Brazil), as well as UnilaSalle and Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis
Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis
The Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis , better known as UniRitter, is a private university in Brazil, with two campuses in the cities of Canoas and Porto Alegre, the state capital of Rio Grande do Sul...
. The enormous wealth, manifest in the Ulbra, and crushing poverty, manifest in the slums of the city, are characteristic of the economic divide of Brazil. Many wealthy citizens in Canoas and the greater Porto Alegre metropolitan area fail to acknowledge the existence of poverty in their cities and most have never walked through the slums of their own cities.
External links
- Canoas Mayoral Office (in PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) - Satellite view of Canoas
- Images of the city and its History (in PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) 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)