Project urban infrastructure in Brazilian Amazonia

Abstract

Brazilian Amazonia has drawn diverse resource extracting and managing projects into its sphere, notably since WWII. Large resource extracting and managing operations necessitated the planning and building of urban infrastructure to serve specific projects in proximity to select local resources. First to enter the regions was the Ford Motor Company at Boa V (Tapajos River) in 1928. Relocation to Belterra a few years later introduced improved housing stock, which has proven its viability by its current inhabitants dedication to its preservation and recent political decision to form a "municipio" independent of Santarem. Serra do Navio and Vila Amazonas were created to serve a large manganese mine in Amapa. Here, the key decision maker created optimal building stock, which carne to serve for the next three decades as model for comparable projects in the region. The formation of these urban places has not been copied or imitated in the open arena. Furthermore, as the products from the region increasingly enter the global economy, for how much longer can the firms provide suitable urban service infrastructure to its cost part of its products in the world Market? Indications point to active thinking of how to provide shelter for technical staff and professionals. A first idea is a platform rotation, which would constitute a radical change. Another possible venue would be federal and/or state government (s) active participation in such project place formation (s) to insure long-term urban system viability, even after the original function for a specific resource operation ended.