at a glance

on this link by wikimapia it is possible to see a  satellite view of the district of centro, and rio de janeiro's prefecture, through the instituto pereira passos, makes data and statistics about centro available on this link, including data on land (território e meio ambiente), population (população) housing (domicílios), health (saúde), education (educação), buildings (imóveis), and infrastructure (infraestrutura).

Presented by the Vetor Pré-Vestibular comunitário, the study Passeio pelo centro histórico do rio de janeiro,(A trip through the historic center of Rio de Janeiro) addresses how Although the first European constructions in the guanabara bay region were situated on ilha de villegaignon, beside the location of where the Santo Dumont airport is today, and on the cara de cão hill in urca, the city only properly began to develop in 1567 between four old hills in the Center - São Bento, Conceição, Castelo, and Santo Antônio - Only after the court arrived, in 1808, did the city expand beyond these hills and, Even so, the principal region of the city has always been 'Centro', the political, economic, financial and cultural center.