at a glance

Presented by the    Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, the study O Projeto 'Porto Maravilha' e a transformação espacial da Zona Portuária do Rio de Janeiro - The 'Porto Maravilha' Project and the spatial transformation of the Port Zone of Rio de Janeiro, by Nana Vasconcelos Orlandi proposes that The Port Zone, formed mainly of the neighborhoods of Saúde, Gamboa and Santo Cristo, due to its location, has a strategic importance in the development of the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the economic, political and social spheres.

This is largely because until the beginning of the 18th Century the city was almost entirely constituted of the current central area, situated between the mountains of Castelo, São Bento, Santo Antônio e Conceição. The area was originally only of interest to fishermen, who lived amongst farms and idyllic scenery, which would be profoundly modified and mutilated during the 18th Century when the region now known as the Port Zone - being one of the primary areas of urban expansion in the city - assumed over time an increasingly important role (AMADOR, 1992).