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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The site of the present day Rio de Janeiro was first identified
by Portuguese explorers in January 1502. Finding what they
believed to be the mouth of a great river, they named the area
"River of January". A permanent settlement was established in 1536.
In 1763, Rio displaced Salvador de Bahia as the colonial capital
of Brazil, and for the next two centuries the city went
unchallenged as the urban center of Brazil.
Following the independence of Brazil from Portugal in 1822, Rio became the
capital city of the independent empire of Brazil. But this
imperial period came to an end and a republic was established in
1899; this was the first blow to the supremacy of Rio. Even then
it continued to be the capital, but eventually in the 1960's the
creation of a new capital, Brasilia, was a statement that the
political supremacy of Rio had run its course.
Currently the second largest city in Brazil (Sao Paolo being
the largest), Rio has experienced steadily declining population
growth over the past several decades and is currently the most
slowly growing mega-city in the developing world.
Even though the growth of competing metropolitan regions has
eroded its leading edge, Rio continues to be an important urban
centre. Industry has continued to grow. The clothing industry and
pharmaceutical as well as the medical and food industries are
highly important.
As in many other major cities, air pollution, housing,
homelessness and sanitation, are problematic. These, however, are
problems which the government works on constantly. While there is
pollution leaking into the water supply from industry, the water
is treated and made available to 77% of the city's population
(93% in the city centre).
One cannot write of Rio without mentioning the Carnival when
all the city comes together in a week of processions and
festivities. Not only does the whole city come together, it
seems at times during this week that the whole world converges on
Rio.
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