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Assembling Nusantara pp 165–183Cite as

Lessons from Brasília: Reasoning and (Un)intended Consequences of a Capital City Relocation

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Part of the Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements book series (ACHS)

Abstract

Constructed in the 1950s, Brazil’s planned capital city Brasília offers manifold insights and lessons. Predeceasing Nusantara’s construction by 66 years, the rationale was similar. From its beginning, the city was designed for geopolitical reasons, as a means for developing the periphery and as a symbolic departure into modernity. Oriented at European modernism, the city was planned and constructed in only 4 years according to the principles of the Athens Charter. The result was not only an impressive landmark of modernity but also a city without urbanity. Soon, satellite towns developed, characterised by informal dynamics and fragmentation. Today’s metropolitan region reflects Brazil’s society: fragmented and uneven. Based on decades of field research in Brasília this paper aims to provide insights into the city’s historical urban development from a geographic perspective and lessons learned. In doing so, it reveals drawbacks, achievements as well as (un)intended consequences of this centennial project.

Keywords

  • Brasília
  • Capital city relocation

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52F, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Christian Obermayr, Martin Coy, Robert Hafner & Tobias Töpfer

Authors
  1. Christian Obermayr
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  2. Martin Coy
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  3. Robert Hafner
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  4. Tobias Töpfer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Obermayr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research Centre for Society and Culture, National Res. & Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia

    Henny Warsilah

  2. Research Centre for Society and Culture, National Res. & Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia

    Lilis Mulyani

  3. Centre for Sustainable Asian City, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Ivan Kurniawan Nasution

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Cite this chapter

Obermayr, C., Coy, M., Hafner, R., Töpfer, T. (2023). Lessons from Brasília: Reasoning and (Un)intended Consequences of a Capital City Relocation. In: Warsilah, H., Mulyani, L., Nasution, I.K. (eds) Assembling Nusantara. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3533-8_12

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