Goiânia (/ɡɔɪˈɑːniə/;Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡojˈjɐ̃ɲɐ]) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,301,892, it is the second-largest city in the Central-Western Region and the 13th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a total population of 2,063,744, making it the 11th-largest in Brazil.
Goiânia is a planned city founded on October 24, 1933 by then Governor Pedro Ludovico to serve as the new state capital and administrative center. Prior to this date, the state capital was the town of Goiás. Goiânia has the largest green area per inhabitant in Brazil, and the second-most in the world, after Edmonton, Canada.
History[edit]
The idea of creating a new state capital had been bounced around from early on in the history of the state of Goiás. The first plan came from D. Marcos de Noronha who in 1753 wanted to establish the state capital in the municipality of Pirenópolis, then again in 1863 José Vieira Couto de Magalhães put forward a plan to move the capital to the edge of the river Araguaia.
The impetus behind the efforts to move the state capital was the need to locate it in accordance with the economic interests of the state. The first state capital, Vila Boa (today City of Goiás), had been chosen when the economy was based on gold extraction. Later, when cattle-raising and agriculture came to dominate the state's development, the old state capital was considered remote.
Legislators kept the idea of a change alive for a long time. In 1891, the constitutional delegates made the idea of the transfer of the capital official, including it in the constitution, ratifying it in 1898 and again in 1918.
Vaguely remembered until 1930, the idea of change became a reality during the government of Pedro Ludovico, who was the new governor appointed for the state of Goiás after the military revolt of 1930. In 1932, a commission was created to choose the place where the new capital would be built. In 1933 the commission decided on the present location and the foundation stone was laid.
The plan was for a city of 50,000 with the shape of a concentric radius – streets in the form of a spoke, with the Praça Cívica as the center, with the seats of the state and municipal government – The Palace of Emeralds and the Palace of Campinas.
In 1937, a decree was signed transferring the state capital from the Cidade de Goiás to Goiânia. The official inauguration only occurred in 1942 with the presence of the president of the republic, governors, and ministers.
The name, Goiânia, came about in 1933 after a contest was held by a local newspaper. Readers from all over the state contributed, with some of the most popular names being Petrônia, Americana, Petrolândia, Goianópolis, Goiânia, Bartolomeu Bueno, Campanha, Eldorado, Anhanguera, Liberdade, Goianésia, and Pátria Nova, among others. In 1935 Pedro Ludovico used the name Goiânia for the first time, signing a decree creating the