Sao Paulo

INTRODUCTION

Sao Paulo is in South East Brazil. Brazil is an emerging country in South America. Sao Paulo is the largest city in the country, but not the capital city.

SITE

Sao Paulo is 820 meteres above sea level, on a plateau. The Tiete River runs through the city.

SITUATION

Sao Paulo is in the Serra do Mer mountains. It is 70 km to the nearest ocean - the Atlantic to the South East. Sao Paulo is 1000 km South of Brasillia (the capital city) and 350 km from Rio de Janiro.

CONNECTIVITY

The city has 16,000 buses, 2 international airports, a motorway (Rodonia dos Imagrantes) and underground and overground railways. Sao Paulo is connected to the rest of the world by roads and railways.

LAND USE

In the CBD, there is a variety of land uses and a mix of older and newer buildings. The rurul-urban fringe is mostly residential. The inner city is mostly housing for the poor and industry. The suburbs are a mixture of rich and poor housing and business/office.

POPULATION TRENDS

Sao Paulo's population increased rapidly from the 1960s to 2000 because of increased migration (from other…