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Fun Fact: Goiana prides itself on the fact that on a per capita basis it has the 2nd most green space in the world!
Question: What city is 1st? Hint: I guess technically it should be more often called white space.
The answer is at the end.
Did some exploring today but gave up early afternoon because it was just too hot. Hit in the mid-30's. Even all the green didnt help.
Goiania is a planned city built from scratch. Nothing existed here when it was incorporated in 1933. It wasn't until a few years later that much actual construction started. The original plan called for a city of 50,000.
So how do you grow from 0 to 2.2 million in about 75 years with a plan for 50,000. Chaotically.
As a result it is a suburban city with little in the way of geographical cohesiveness. I'm told there are some very nice residential areas and shopping malls in the suburbs. I can believe it because all those people have to be hiding somewhere.
Touring the nominal centre of the city certainly drove that home. Most of the buildings were built in the '40's and I expect haven't seen a coat of paint since except for the graffiti. The streets are not crowded at all.
Because the planning ended up haphazard, a car is essential. They are trying to build up the bus system but there is still a ways to go. On a per capita basis there are more cars here than anywhere else in Brazil. There are over 1 million cars here but I have not seen anything close to a traffic jam. Which shows you how spread out the city is.
The other thing I saw today was the major downtown park. It is two short blocks from hotel. I never met a park I didn't like and this one was OK but I kept comparing it to Trianon.
They are about the same size with similar topography and designs but whereas Trianon is very well maintained this one isn't. Workers were always cleaning, clipping, fixing there and here there were no visible signs of any workers. The water was dirty and all the signs and waste baskets had graffiti.
I may have to go on the Subway diet. Even though there are numerous restaurants in the area they all close at 3 PM. The only thing I've found open past 6 is a little Subway outlet across the street.
This is really surprising because there are several large high end hotels along this avenue. It must be because these are business hotels and they are being entertained by clients in other parts of the city because I've only noticed a handful of people in the hotel restaurant and it's only open from 7-10. And this is a 20 story building
Tonight is Laundry night. Payment for packing light but worth it.
The answer to the question: Edmonton. Did you know that? I sure didn't.
- comments
Keith Wright Yay Edmonton! However, I must admit I didn't know that. Mind you, I'd never heard of Goiania until today either. Thanks for these blogs - you continue to have an interesting way of writing. (That's a compliment, by the way.)
C Have fun with the laundry. Hope the sheets work well for you. Here at home we are celebrating one month today. You'll be here in time for month number 2.