Ibaneis rocha

        Famous for its imposing modernist architecture and the great epic of its laborious pioneers, Brasília is also a city born of geographical planning. Even before the models outlined the monumentality of Brasília and the builders traversed its territory, this city already appeared in the national cartographic projections. This strategy would allow the cautious identification of the ideal space to erect the capital of Brazilians. It is more than fair, therefore, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Brasília – a city transposed from maps to materiality – with the updating of the Atlas of the Federal District.

If in the past, the efforts of great scientists such as Luís Cruls guided the national integration project through the demarcation of the future capital, the new edition of this Atlas, prepared since 1984 by the Federal District Planning Company – Codeplan, is an indispensable intellectual subsidy to face the challenges of the 21st century. It is an essential instrument in the elaboration of public policies and decision making by the Government.

This Atlas, in its 2020 edition, is at the service of the entire population. The material is a valuable resource in the search for knowledge, understanding of local identity, and planning of enterprises.

However, not only the State will benefit from this publication. Containing richly collected and systematized data on the climate, geology, vegetation, land use, urbanization, and demography of the Federal District, this Atlas, in its 2020 edition, is at the service of the entire population. The material is a valuable resource in the search for knowledge, understanding of local identity, and planning of enterprises.

Translated into English and Spanish, our Atlas also links Brazil with the peoples of the world, who followed the construction of the Capital of Hope with admiration and are still interested in its future. Tourists will have in it a synthetic guide of the material and immaterial heritage that the city has to offer. Moreover, foreign investors will be able to observe in it the socioeconomic indicators that attest to the progress achieved and highlight the potential for growth. This work, therefore, meets the purpose of the current administration to renew the internationalist vocation of the Federal District.

Traced on the maps since the colonial period, Brasilia resorts to them to position itself to face the winds to come. The information about the territory and society, meticulously embodied by Codeplan in this Atlas, indicates new paths, which, from plan to action, lead the Federal District to fulfill its historic mission: to integrate Brazil and provide quality of life and citizenship to its residents.

Ibaneis Rocha

Governor of the Federal District.