São José dos Campos

São José dos Campos
Municipality
The Municipality of
São José dos Campos

View of the city

Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): Capital of the Valley
and The Airplane Capital
Motto: "Aura terraque generosa"  (Latin)
"Generous are the winds of my land"

Location in the state of São Paulo and Brazil
Coordinates: 23°11′11″S 45°52′43″W / 23.18639°S 45.87861°WCoordinates: 23°11′11″S 45°52′43″W / 23.18639°S 45.87861°W
Country  Brazil
Region Southeast
State  São Paulo
Government
 • Mayor Carlinhos Almeida (PT)
Area
 • Municipality 1,099.77 km2 (424.62 sq mi)
 • Urban 298.99 km2 (115.44 sq mi)
Elevation 660 m (2,165 ft)
Population (2013)
 • Municipality 673,255
 • Density 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-3 (UTC-3)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Postal Code 12200-000
Area code(s) +55 12
Website São José dos Campos, São Paulo

São José dos Campos (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w̃ ʒuˈzɛ dus ˈkɐ̃pus], meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located in the Paraíba Valley, between the two most active production and consumption regions in the country, São Paulo (80 km (50 mi) from the city) and Rio de Janeiro (320 km (200 mi)). A native of São José dos Campos is called a joseense (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒozɛˈẽsi]).

Geographic information

Area

Borders

Cityscape

The municipality comprises three districts: São José dos Campos — the city itself, (also the seat), Eugênio de Melo and São Francisco Xavier. The last one is known for its natural sites and ecotourism.

The district of São José dos Campos is also subdivided into 2 subdistricts (São José dos Campos and Santana do Paraíba).

However, for administrative purposes, the city is composed of 7 urban regions: Center, North, South, West, East, Southeast and São Francisco Xavier.

Climate

The climate is humid and subtropical, with the dry season in winter. The greatest precipitation occurs from November to March, contributing to 72% of the annual volume.

The annual average relative humidity is 76%. Tropical air masses predominate during 50% of the year and colder air masses predominate for the rest of the year.

In the summer, the average maximum temperature is 29 °C (84 °F) and in the winter, the average minimum temperature is 10 °C (50 °F). The average annual temperature is 20 °C (68 °F).

Köppen climate classification: Cwa

Topography

Highlands predominate in the north region of the municipality, whose altitudes range from 660 to 975 m (2,165 to 3,199 ft). They are called Serra da Mantiqueira (Mantiqueira Range). There are also peaks and mountains that can reach up to 2,420.7 m (7,942 ft) (Pico dos Marins - Piquete - SP, Brazil) where the weather reaches −12 °C (10 °F).

In the urban area, there are rolling plateaus and hills.

In the south, the ridges of Serra do Mar form the boundary between the coastal plain and the inland plateau (planalto), which has an altitude of 400 to 500 m (1,300 to 1,600 ft).

Hydrology

The municipality is located in the Hydrological Basin of the Paraíba do Sul River that crosses the city longitudinally and names the region as Paraíba Valley. The river has larger tributaries on the left bank than the right. However, on the right banks, the Jaguari River, Buquira River,and other tributaries are an important part of the city's drainage system. Some of these other creeks are the Comprido River, the Pararangaba River and the Lambari River.

For the water supply of the population and livestock, the Rio do Peixe, tributary of the Jaguari River, stands out. It drains the north portion of the municipality and its waters contribute significantly to the Jaguari Dam, which forms an important reservoir used by CESP for electricity generation.

Along with the mountainous topography, there are a great number of fluvial elements, such as waterfalls.

The artesian wells of the region possess average outflow of 30m³/hour.

History

The origins of São José dos Campos lie at the end of the 16th Century when Jesuits founded a cattle farm, Aldeia do Rio Comprido. The farm was created through a concession of settlements around 1590 to the Society of Jesus. The farm was located on the banks of the Rio Comprido, natural division between São José and the city of Jacareí today.

Historical populations
Census
year 		Population
1940 36,279
1950 44,804
1960 77,533
1970 148,332
1980 287,513
1991 442,370
2000 539,313
2002 est. 559,710
2004 est. 589,050
2005 est. 600,089
2006 est. 610,965
2011 (IBGE) 636,876

The farm status was an artifice to hide a religious outpost, one of the several Jesuit Reductions in Brazil, known for their resistance to enslavement, from the Portuguese expedition leaders and indigenous people hunters, known as the Bandeirantes.

On September 10, 1611, the local was officially recognized and the farmers precluded from utilizing the Natives as slaves. However, a turmeric conflict between farmers and the religious led to the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1640 from the region and the consequent dispersion of the mission.

Nevertheless, the Jesuits returned and reestablished a new settlement, where the current city center is spotted. It was about 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of the previous mission, on a higher plain with a privileged view above a geological depression, which guaranteed security against invasions and floods. Again, despite being a new mission, it was officially treated as a cattle farm.

The initial urbanization plan is attributed to the Jesuit priest Manoel de Leão, whose main occupation was really to be an administrator of the community.

In 1692, documents named the village as Residência do Paraíba do Sul; in 1696 as Residência de São José.

At the beginning of the gold mining economic cycle in Brazil, the settlement goes through serious difficulties due to the exit of labor to the mines.

After the definitive expulsion of Jesuits from the Portuguese Empire in 1759, all the religious order's assets, such as farms, colleges and villages were taken under the Portuguese Crown's custody. The governor, D. Luis Antonio Botelho Mourão, had as a priority to turn these new assets into productive units and increase tax collection. For that, Boutelho Mourão successfully requested authorization from the Viceroy to create civil parishes, known as freguesias, and to change the fiscal status of villages to the category of Vila (town).

Then, on July 27, 1767, São José reached the official status of town, with a hall and a pillory, passing over the status of civil parish; and the name Vila de São José do Paraíba was formalized. But for many years it maintained the same rural characteristics. The main difficulty was the fact that the Estrada Real (Royal Road) passed by its limits, far from the village.

Cotton and coffee

In the middle of the 19th century, the village of São José do Paraíba had demonstrated some signs of economic growth through the development of agriculture. Cotton production evolved rapidly in the region, exported to the English textile industry. The production reached a peak in 1864.

In the same year, on April 22, the town became the seat of a municipality, acquiring finally, in 1871, the current name of São José dos Campos, followed by the creation of a judiciary district in 1872. Almost simultaneously, there was development of coffee crops in Paraíba Valley, which started to take off in 1870.

In 1886, after the opening of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil railway (1877), the coffee production peaked. Then started to decay, running steady until the 1930s.

Hydro-mineral retreat and industrialization

Former sanatoria (date of opening/beds):

Sanatório Vicentina Aranha (1924/130)
Sanatório Vila Samaritana (1928/70)
Sanatório Rui Dória (1934/68)
Sanatório Maria Imaculada (1935/na)
Sanatório Ezra (1936/120)
Sanatório Ademar de Barros (1936/na)
Sanatório Antoninho da Rocha Marmo (1952/na)
Sanatório São José (1957/110)

The call for the municipality of São José dos Campos for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis by sanatoriums became noticed at the beginning of last century, due to its supposedly favorable climate conditions. The city became to be known as the Sanatorium City. The country's then largest hospital, the Vicentina Aranha Sanitarium, was opened in town in 1924, and in 1935 the municipality was officially recognized as a health retreat.

With the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s, tuberculosis begins to be treated anywhere, thus ending the healthcare advantage carried out by São José, whereas the establishment of industries was about just to start.

The industrialization process of the municipality takes hold from the installation of the Technological Institute of Aeronautics in 1950 and also with the opening of the Dutra Highway (BR-116), thus making possible a faster connection between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and cutting into the urban area of São José dos Campos. Altogether, these factors allowed the municipality to make strides towards fulfilling its scientific and technological potential.

Demographics

Demographic Statistics

Population (IBGE 2010): 629,921 inhabitants
Population density (2010) 572.77 inhab./km²
Urban population rate (2000): 97.97%
Growth population rate (1991/2000) 2.23%
Life Expectancy: 73.89 (2000)

The built up regions of São José dos Campos and the neighboring city of Jacareí have merged in the last two decades. The estimated population of both cities is 841,000 inhabitants.

The large population growth that occurred in the city was a result of continuous migration from other regions of the country. As a consequence, in 1991, people that were born in São José dos Campos represented only 47% of population (according to IBGE). According to a new research from Univap, this number increased to 49.83% in 2004.

In the city, the population (according to census 2000) was spread out with:

The city's ethnic composition (according to census 2010) is 72.61% whites; 21.4% brown; 4.48% blacks; 1.44% Asian; 0.08% amerindian.

Government

São José dos Campos has a "strong mayoral" system in which the mayor is vested with extensive executive powers, as it is in all municipalities in Brazil. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by universal voting. The City Council is elected every four years with the mayor. The current mayor is Carlinhos Almeida, from the political party PT and was elected in 2012.

The address of local government is: Rua José de Alencar 123, Jd. Santa Luzia Cep 12209-530 São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil.

The state administrative region of São José dos Campos

The State of São Paulo is divided politically and administratively into 15 regions. São José dos Campos is the seat and the name of the 3rd Administrative Region, which includes the North Coast of São Paulo state and the Paraíba Valley.

The region comprises 39 municipalities with sharp contrasts. São José dos Campos is a densely populated city, with approximately 2,100 inhabitants/square kilometers in urban area, whereas the quiet municipality of São José do Barreiro has only seven inhabitants/square kilometer. There are both highly industrialized cities and the others in the region are focused on agriculture and tourism. São José dos Campos is well known as the Capital do Vale which means that São José dos Campos is the most important city of the Paraíba Valley.

It is one of the state's most dynamic areas, the fourth one in terms of population density, and covers 11.3% of the state's territory. The main municipalities are São José dos Campos, Taubaté, Jacareí, Guaratingueta, Caraguatatuba, Campos do Jordão, São Sebastião, Lorena, Pindamonhangaba, Ubatuba and Caçapava.

notable mayors

Shopping areas

All the major hypermarkets, supermarket chains and discount and department stores are in city. The largest malls are:

Besides those malls, the most important commercial centers include:

And newer areas such as:

The Vila Ema district has sites for nightlife including bars and restaurants.

Business, tourism and sites

Several fairs and expositions are done at the two pavilions located in the city.

A list of touristic sites:

Heritage and culture

In 1985, the municipality established the Cassiano Ricardo Cultural Foundation, named after the Brazilian poet. It aims to promote and sponsor cultural activities and events. The foundation stimulates creation and emerging of new artists in different sectors. The foundation was also charged with the preservation and expansion of the Municipal Public Archives and to provide support to the Municipal Historic Preservation Council (COMPHAC). Several cultural centers are maintained by the foundation including Cine Santana, Centro Cultural Clemente Gomes, Espaço Cultural Chico Triste, Helena Calil Arts Center and Espaço Cultural Mário Covas

The city is home to the São José dos Campos Symphony Orchestra, fomented by Cassiano Ricardo Cultural Foundation. The city also houses choirs (such as Libercanto, Vocalis, Vozes and ITA), with popular and eclectic performances.

São José is an important center for dance. It is the headquarters for several dance schools (Cristina Cará, Ana Araújo, Rosilene Sánchez, Damares Antelmo), that already have taken part in several international contests. Jazz, step dance, ballet, techno, aerobic, among other dance forms, are presented to the public in December every year at municipal competitions. The Cassiano Ricardo Foundation is also starting a dance company.

Popular parties are also important events. Perhaps the most distinguished is the Festa Junina (Saint John's Festival). It is mainly celebrated on key days following the Catholic feast days of Saint Anthony, John the Baptist and Saint Peter. It happens at different churches, schools and parks in June.

The Sports Museum was opened on July 30, 1999. In exhibition are trophies, medals, photos and newspapers about the history of sports of São José dos Campos since 1910.

The City Anniversary Run is a 12 kilometer run taking place on the streets of the city center in the morning, with hundreds of athletes from the city and from the Vale do Paraíba region on July 27.

Notable residents

Sister city

A Japanese garden is open for visits within the Santos-Dumont Park, celebrating the sister cities.

There is also cooperation with:

Entertainment, leisure and sports

Although São José is an industrial center, the city still preserves green areas and quiet town districts. Around 62% of the area from the municipality is characterized as an environmental preservation area. On the oustskirts of the urban area, Augusto Ruschi Ecology Reserve has many local plant species. The natural reserve has 2,500,000 m2 (27,000,000 sq ft), being a government protect area for the local flora. São Francisco Xavier is a community the offers many of those attributes as well.

Furthermore, there is easy access to the mountain cities (Campos do Jordão, Santo Antônio do Pinhal) and to the beaches of the Northern Coast of São Paulo.

The city has three parks and several sports and country clubs. Tenis Clube and Associação Esportiva São José have hosted the 35th Banana Bowl International Tennis Federation Juniors Circuit in 2005 and 2006.

A soccer stadium, called Estádio Martins Pereira, is the home ground of São José Esporte Clube, a professional soccer team.

Notable teams from the city:

Club Sport Arena Foundation of the Club Logo
Associação Esportiva São José Basketball Ginásio Linneu de Moura 1913
Associação Esportiva São José Swimming Ginásio Linneu de Moura 1913
São José Esporte Clube Football Estádio Martins Pereira 1933
Tenis Clube São José Basketball Ginásio Municipal José Edvar Simões 1948
Tenis Clube São José Volleyball Ginásio Esportivo Manoel Bosco Ribeiro 1948
São José Rugby Clube Rugby union Estádio Martins Pereira 1987
Clube Atlético Joseense Football Estádio Martins Pereira / Estádio ADC Parahyba 1998
Scott-Marcondes Cesar-São José dos Campos Cycling n/a 1993 N/a
São José/Vale Sul Futsal Indoor Soccer/Futsal Tenis Clube São José na n/a
FC Primeira Camisa Football Estádio ADC Parahyba 2007

There are 19 movie theaters and 2 theaters including one inside the Univap - University of Vale do Paraíba.

Education and research centers

Library of ITA, designed by Oscar Niemeyer

The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has its headquarters in São José dos Campos. It coordinates intensive research and development in areas such as Earth observation, space sciences and space technologies. Also the Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA) has its facilities in the city. There are 53 secondary schools, 54 primary schools and 109 preschools.

Universities and colleges

Research centers

Technical schools

Infrastructure

Transportation and Communication

Number of Vehicles
1996 138,540
1997 147,290
1998 161,154
1999 172,800
2000 185,560
2001 198,182
2002 207,367
2003 216,787
2004 225,386
2005 234,786
2011 335,679
São José dos Campos.

The city has two bus stations, having lines to cities in all regions of the country and international routes to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.

São José dos Campos boasts an extensive bus system. Operated by three companies (Expresso Maringa, Julio Simões and Viação Capital do Vale), these lines serve nearly all areas in the city with 319 buses. São José dos Campos also has an alternative system with minivans to supplement the regular buses.

The city uses a ring road system, that interconnects it to important national and state highways:

Tamoios Highway

The city is also served by a railway (the former Central do Brasil), administered by MRS Logística, which today only carries freight.

The ports of São Sebastião and Santos can be reached by the highways SP-099, SP-155, and BR-101. The transportation of cargo to the domestic and foreign markets is made through both ports.

São José dos Campos Airport

The São José dos Campos Airport (IATA: SJK, ICAO: SBSJ) has a heavy passenger flow, mainly business trips during weekdays, and it is an important connection between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. With a 3,000 m (9,800 ft) runaway, the airport also serves people who come to visit the tourist city of Campos de Jordão. The airlines Azul Brazilian Airlines and TRIP Linhas Aéreas fly from São José dos Campos to several destinations and presently are the only commercial airlines operating on São José dos Campos.

It is also used for the transportation of cargo from the several industries located in the so-called Cone Leste Paulista ("São Paulo's East Cone"). Infraero and the Federal Revenue Agency are also introducing a new concept called airport-industry, that will offer fiscal incentives and fast importation and exportation procedures. The municipality has also a Customs Station for the Hinterland (dry port), controlled by the Federal Revenue Agency.

São José dos Campos receives natural gas from two gas pipelines, and large companies such as General Motors, Kodak, Monsanto and Embraer are among the main users. The city is the third largest in the country referring to the distribution net of natural gas for residential use.

It has also a large network of fiber optics, with broadband services covering 75% of the city. There is 1 telephone for each 3 inhabitants and a vast service network of cellular telephones.

Health and utilities

96% of the residences have running water and 89% are connected to the sewage system. Around 45% of the sewage and 97% of the water from the city are treated. Sabesp has been doing new investments. The city counts on a selective domestic waste collection, for recycling.

In the health sector, São José dos Campos is the focal point of the Northern Coastline and Southern Minas Gerais regions. It has 18 hospitals, 15 emergency centers, 33 health attendance posts and 9 specialized clinics.

Economy

See also List of companies in São José dos Campos area.

Economic statistics
GDP BRL 17.6 billion (2004)
Value added BRL 14,795 million (2005)
GDP per capita BRL 29,950 (2004)
Labour force 267,332 (2003) (from 45% to 50% of pop.)
Labour force by occupation industry (19.4%), commerce (17.3%), services (50.9%), construction (2.2%), public sector (9.6%), other (0.5%) (2003)
Main industries aerospace, defense, automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, components, consumer durables, oil and petrochemical
Foreign commerce
Exports BRL 4,947 million (2005)
Imports BRL 2,619 million (2005)
Public finances
Municipal Budget BRL 868 million (2005)
Announced investments $0.436 billion (2004)
Social statistics
Human Development Index (UNDP) 0.849 - high (2000) versus Brazilian HDI of 0.800 - high (2005)
Literacy rate 96.3% (2003)

Agriculture

The municipality cultivates different crops: rice, tomato, potatoes, orange and many vegetables; cattle are raised for beef and milk supply. There are also farms for production of eggs and chicken.

Industry

Embraer Aircraft: the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, the company is headquartered at São José dos Campos

In contrast to the rural town in 1950s, today São José is an important manufacturing center and holds a large array of industries. Over 1,251 industries are in the municipality and nearby 47,000 inhabitants work for industries. The three main industries are automotive, oil/petrochemical and aerospace. There are significant pharmaceutical, consumer durables, chemical, and telecommunication companies in the city.

It is also known as the "Brazilian aeronautics capital" because it is home of CTA and one of the biggest aircraft manufacturers in the world, Embraer.

Service industry

Since the 1990s, the local economy has been evolving in a different direction. The manufacturing economy has been downsized or replaced by tertiary and quaternary sectors of industries.

For instance, the Entrepreneurial District of Chacaras Reunidas concentrates companies of micro, small and medium size, which are mainly the result of downsizing from old large local industries. Yet even though most of these are industries, these companies provide service as well.

Two technological parks and five (one in project) business incubators have been created within universities or industrial facilities.

There are incubators with technological start-up companies installed at Univap and at Henrique Lage Refinery of Petrobrás. The CTA houses other incubator, Incubaero, specialized in the aeronautical field.

Univap features a technological park with capacity for around 40 small to medium sized innovating companies in the areas of materials, electronics and telecommunications, information technology, aerospace, energy, environment control, biotechnology, bioinformatics, chemical engineering, and software among others. A new technological park, managed by the municipality and the state government of São Paulo, will house two new think tanks: the Institute for Technological Research (IPT) and the ItecBio (Instituto de Tecnologias Biomédicas).

As a result of its geographical location, the city became an important distribution center, having several logistics providers. Activities like purchasing, transport, planning and warehousing have employed many people recently.

Commerce and real estate ventures have developed in the last years, reflecting the changes in the economy. For instance, the largest shopping mall in the region was an old manufacturing facility. Serving the region's population of approximately one million, the city is the regional hub for shopping and services for the Vale do Paraíba, the northern coast of São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais.

Advertising agencies have been established alongside television stations.

References

  1. ↑ "A lista de cidades-irmãs". Estadão.com.br. October 13, 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  2. ↑ "S. José tem cidade-irmã no Japão desde 1973". Vale Paraibano. June 18, 2003. Retrieved 18 March 2009.

External links