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My only experience would involve Lima, Peru, and it may be in a class by itself. It has close to ten million residents in something like 42 distinct districts with 42 mayors who sort of cooperate while controlling their own district. There is a city-wide government with some umbrella powers and duties. There are over 400 private bus/transit operators but traffic is horrendous. It seems to be very segregated by wealth with some districts, like Miraflores, being wealthy and resembling the US in a lot of ways. Then there are large areas of extreme poverty and close to 80% of the population is below the local poverty level. Like a lot of Latin American cities, Lima experienced a huge influx of rural population looking for a better life economically but also escaping the violence of the Shining Path insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s. Peru's economy was strong while the rest of the world was in recession. Maybe Lima is the exception but I can't say that it resembles Europe or the US.
In what way didn't it work as opposed to you don't just like it? Those are two different things. Personally, I also think it is pretty sterile. That doesn't mean it wasn't a resounding success.
Much larger population than expected, highest income in Brazil, highest HDI in Brazil. Brazil is a strongly socialist country, so it's not surprising there's a lot of people who don't like it or Brazil's regressive tax and pro-rich policies. On the other hand, it's also hard to argue with success. Brazil has done remarkably well for the past 20 years.
I can't argue the income and HDI, and the city certainly does function.
In my opinion it's a failure because of the sterility and everything else Think4Yourself wrote. I really do like the modern architecture though.
Here's an old video from The Shock of the New about Brasilia. It's a bit melodramatic, but interesting.
Cities with a good standard of living usually are more European than American. In Brazil many people don't have a car, many walk and go by bike or moped. There is public transport, buses are very common and not more or less for the poor like in the US.
The whole way of life is rather European and African, Latin Americans tend to be very social and it shows in the way cities are built. Many people live in small rented city apartments, just like in Europe. Calling someone a suburbanite is a kind of insult in Brazil.
Brasilia is an terrible city in my view, I would never want to live there, despite its high HDI rating.
From what I can tell Brazil has large differences in development, the north is less developed than the south. But barrio is just spanish for neighborhood.
From what I can tell Brazil has large differences in development, the north is less developed than the south. But barrio is just spanish for neighborhood.
Was just reading the extensive Portuguese Wiki page on Manaus. Seems it has a lot of problems due to the enormous economic activity in that vulnerable jungle region: water, pollution, housing, traffic, sprawl, you name it
Buenos Ayres looks definitely European: comparing to European cities I have ben at, parts of it resemble Paris or Barcelona or Athens.
Too bad Buenos Aires isn't on streetview
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