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OVERVIEW
Brazil: The Sleeping Giant - Sao Paulo and Amazonia
This
video program features case studies on two very different
places in Brazil -- Sao Paulo: The Outer Ring
and A Second Chance for Amazonia?
The first case study, Sao Paulo: The Outer Ring,
shows how a small Portuguese settlement grew into the
world's third largest city and the largest city on the
South American continent. Located in southeastern Brazil,
the city has long been a leading center for Brazil's
manufacturing sector as well as the site of heavy industry,
financial organizations, and petroleum refining. In
addition, the Sao Paulo region leads Brazil's coffee
production, producing more than one-third of the country's
total output.
The
recent growth of Sao Paulo into a mega-city is part
of a trend of urbanization across South America. Over
seventy percent of the continent's population now live
in urban areas, nearly 20 million people in Sao Paulo
alone. Looking across the cityscape reveals the scale
of the city. Shanties ring the city for miles and miles,
full of new immigrants from northeastern Brazil. These
new settlers build with whatever materials they are
able to find and afford, but receive little help from
the cosmopolitan heart of the city. Most of the homes
in the shanty areas are built by squatters with no legal
ownership of the land, and no public services are provided
by the city.
The
update to this case study includes new data on Sao Paulo's
growth and new interview segments.
The
second case study, A Second Chance for Amazonia?,
explores how humans gauge their impact on the environment.
The case study uncovers a new use for geographic data
collection techniques -- to monitor sustainable development
policies in the rain forests of northeastern Brazil's
state of Para. There, research on the location of deforestation
activity may hold clues to future forest management
practices that balance agriculture, ranching, and forest
land-use prospects.
Updates
to this video program include maps and commentary from
ecologist Dr. Daniel Nepstad, discussing in part how
better logging techniques can preserve the rainforest.
Video
Key Words
Sao
Paulo
- Mega-City
- Urban
Geography
- Immigration
and Ethnic Diversity
- Squatter
Settlements and Self-construction.
Amazonia
- Tropical
Forest Ecology
- Human/Environmental
Interaction
- Infrastructure
and Transportation Cost
- Sustainable
Development.
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