The relief of Rio de Janeiro reveals several rocky outcrops resembling sugar loaves that make up a mountainous landscape carved by numerous coves along the coastline. Right at the entrance to Guanabara Bay we find Praia Vermelha, and the coves of Praia da Saudade (now the Yacht Club), Botafogo, Flamengo, and Glória, all the way to Praça XV. Small hills and rocky outcrops support these bay-shaped beaches, giving shape to this coastline, along with a few islands that line the shore.
Image description: This is a panoramic photograph of a large city, seen from above. On the left side, there are green areas with many trees. In the center, there is a dense cluster of buildings of different heights. On the right, there are more green areas and a mountain. On the horizon, there is a sea with a few distant ships. The sky is partly cloudy, with white and blue clouds. At the bottom of the image, there is a person standing on a rock, looking out over the city.Linha de costa da Baía de Guanabara, desde o Centro até o Caju e em primeiro plano a baixada da grande Tijuca.
The founding of the city is directly related to the distribution of these rocky outcrops and coves, when the Portuguese arrived to drive out the French and later the indigenous peoples from Guanabara Bay. The isolated peninsula of Pão de Açúcar served as a military base for the war campaigns of Estácio de Sá, commander of the Portuguese troops, for the battle fought between Ilha de Villegagnon and Praia da Glória, the sites where the Antarctic France colony had settled.
Image description: This is a photograph of a coastal landscape with a clear blue sky and some white clouds. On the left side, there is an urban area with buildings close to the water. In the center, there is a green island surrounded by blue water. On the right, there is an area covered with dense vegetation. In the background, there is a mountain range and a city in the distance.Face norte do Maciço da Tijuca e o “salpicado” de ilhas no interior da Baía de Guanabara.
With the Portuguese conquest, the city moved to the cove at Praça XV, the first cove providing access to arable mainland, since the beaches of Botafogo and Flamengo only give access to narrow valleys or sandy, salty plains toward what is now the Zona Sul.
Image description: This is a photograph of an urban landscape with mountains and a sea in the background. On the left side, there is a mountain covered in dark green vegetation, with a light-colored structure at the top. In the center, a densely populated city is located among several other green mountains. On the right, there is another series of mountains and a large body of water. The sky is light blue with some scattered clouds.Pontões rochosos da face Sul do Maciço da Tijuca, evidenciando a conexão com baixadas de alagadiços salobros, impróprios para o cultivo de cana de açúcar, portanto, de pouco interesse para os primeiros colonizadores.
The city expands between three great rocky massifs: Maciço da Tijuca, Maciço da Pedra Branca, and Maciço de Gericinó-Mendanha. This already presents an important physical factor: the massifs are forested, with steep slopes and surrounded by flooded, swampy lowlands, which reach the sandy coastline full of coastal lagoons, with salt or brackish water.
Image description: This is an aerial photograph of a coastal city during the day. On the left side, we see a large body of water with a bridge crossing over it. In the distance, there are several modern and traditional buildings, including tall and short structures. In the center, there is a unique architectural structure with a curved roof and a pool surrounding it. On the right, more tall buildings stand out against the clear sky. The horizon shows a distant mountain and a clear blue sky.Produções espaciais contemporâneas, contrastando o investimento diferencial do capital no espaço.
Neighborhoods evolve within this spatial arrangement and always respond to capital investment from colonial times to modern capitalism, thus creating a city with distinct materialities that favor certain neighborhoods in terms of urban services and infrastructure.
This distinction goes back to the time when the city was restricted to the lowland between Praça XV and Saco de São Diogo, an enormous inlet of the sea that reached from Gamboa, where the bus terminal is today, all the way to what is now Cidade Nova, forming an important mangrove swamp at the mouth of the Maracanã and Joana rivers. The mangrove swamp was the city's periphery until 1900, where the "Pequena África" took shape, at Praça XI, the birthplace of samba, along with the first favela on Morro da Providência.
Image description: The image is a color photograph of three people on the beach. On the left side, there are two women walking together, both wearing swimsuits. The woman in front is wearing a bikini, while the other is wearing a swimsuit with a top and shorts. She has a red headband. On the right, there is a man in blue striped swim trunks, who appears to be talking with them. The background shows the sea with waves and a mountain in the distance. In the bottom right corner, there is some text in Portuguese, but it is not fully legible.Os morros do Centro foram os primeiros obstáculos do relevo que influenciaram na construção da cidade. Morro da Conceição no primeiro plano e o Pico da Tijuca, ponto culminante do Maciço, ao fundo.
Later, already as the Federal District and full of hygienist urban plans, the city's marshes and estuaries were filled in, and the division between working-class and luxury residential neighborhoods was designed.
Image description: This is a photograph of a city with a panoramic view. On the left side, we see an area covered by dense vegetation, while on the right there is a clear view of the horizon. In the center, there is a large urban complex with many buildings. In the distance, we see a bridge over the sea and a mountain range in the background. The sky is light blue, and the sea is calm.Visão da Zona Norte, com a Baía de Guanabara ao fundo e a imponente Serra dos Órgãos em seu contorno.
