Brazilian City Where There Are No Traditional Intersections or Corners

Written by Bruno Teles

Published on 01/04/2025 at 12:53

Brasília: cidade brasileira onde não há cruzamentos tradicionais nem esquinas

Be the first to react!

Brasília Is The Only Planned Brazilian City Designed To Eliminate Traditional Intersections In Most Of Its Territory. Designed By Lúcio Costa, With A Layout Inspired By An Airplane, It Was Recognized By UNESCO And Remains A Global Reference In Modern Urbanism.

Have you ever imagined driving through a Brazilian city without intersections, without having to stop at every corner or compete for right of way in the middle of traffic? It seems out of this world, but this city exists — and it is the capital of Brazil. In Brasília, the road system was designed to avoid traditional intersections, replacing them with roundabouts, tunnels, and expressways that ensure fluidity, safety, and a lifestyle quite different from the rest of the country.

This model, which may seem strange to first-time visitors, was meticulously planned back in the 1950s. And to this day, it impresses architects, urban planners, and tourists from all over the world.

Brasília: The Brazilian City That Was Born From Paper

Inaugurated on April 21, 1960, Brasília was designed by Lúcio Costa and built with a strong influence from the modernist architecture of Oscar Niemeyer. The Pilot Plan, shaped like an airplane seen from above, was designed to ensure that different functions of the city — housing, work, leisure, government — were separated into specific sectors and connected by fast ways, without interruptions by intersections.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Superblocks: The Heart Of A City Without Intersections

The concept of superblock is another point that differentiates Brasília. They are residential blocks designed with:

Large green areas
Public schools
Local commerce easily accessible
Low-speed internal streets

Each superblock functions like a miniature neighborhood, and the goal is for residents to find everything within a short walk from home. With this, the Brazilian city tries to reduce the need for long travels and prioritizes collective well-being.

And Mobility?

Although it is efficient for cars, Brasília today faces criticism regarding public transport and active mobility. With large distances between sectors, it is difficult to get around on foot or by bicycle. And since the city was designed for private cars, the bus and metro system needs improvements to meet current demand.

Even so, the model is still considered a global reference in urban planning. So much so that Brasília was declared a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1987, thanks to the boldness of its layout and the integration between architecture, landscaping, and mobility.

Curiosities About The Most Planned Capital In Brazil

The Monumental Axis is the widest road in the world, at 250 meters wide
The Pilot Plan was chosen through a public contest and beat more than 50 proposals
There are no traditional traffic lights on the central axis
The airport is aligned with the “cockpit” of the airplane imagined by Lúcio Costa
The National Congress, Palácio do Planalto, and Supreme Court are located side by side, in the same sector

0 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

Brazilian City Where There Are No Traditional Intersections or Corners

Brasília Is The Only Planned Brazilian City Designed To Eliminate Traditional Intersections In Most Of Its Territory. Designed By Lúcio Costa, With A Layout Inspired By An Airplane, It Was Recognized By UNESCO And Remains A Global Reference In Modern Urbanism.

Brasília: The Brazilian City That Was Born From Paper

Superblocks: The Heart Of A City Without Intersections

And Mobility?

Curiosities About The Most Planned Capital In Brazil

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

Workers were opening a new road connection near the Marginal Tietê when they found, in the underground of the construction site, remnants of locomotives, wagons, and boilers from the 19th century linked to the forgotten history of Lapa.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

The river that “dies” in the desert never reaches the sea and yet gives life to one of Africa’s largest natural refuges in a truly impressive way.

Greek island offers free housing for volunteers, but there’s a condition: you need to take care of rescued cats.

Measuring 13m in wingspan, the F-15 Eagle is a tactical fighter that combines power, advanced electronic systems, large weapon capacity, and high maneuverability to dominate the skies in any condition.

Macabre garden in Poland: 34 fetuses found on former property of a doctor reveal a disturbing story of silence, pain, and unanswered questions

Free regenerative agriculture course open for registration until July 3, promising to prepare producers in Minas to reduce costs, restore soil, and tackle drought.

Man builds house with concrete made from recycled paper and attracts attention in Portugal; named Porta do Caracol, the home features solar panels, a vertical garden, and a pool with natural filters.

Goodbye to conventional plaster? New material used on walls reduces waste and steps in construction and draws the attention of engineers by offering faster application and greater construction efficiency – discover the advantages of smooth gypsum.

Brazilian City Where There Are No Traditional Intersections or Corners

Brasília Is The Only Planned Brazilian City Designed To Eliminate Traditional Intersections In Most Of Its Territory. Designed By Lúcio Costa, With A Layout Inspired By An Airplane, It Was Recognized By UNESCO And Remains A Global Reference In Modern Urbanism.

Brasília: The Brazilian City That Was Born From Paper

Superblocks: The Heart Of A City Without Intersections

And Mobility?

Curiosities About The Most Planned Capital In Brazil

Mother and daughter build a 70 m² house with more than 8,000 discarded glass bottles and impress with their creativity; known as the Casa de Sal, the property is located on Itamaracá Island, in Pernambuco.

Workers were opening a new road connection near the Marginal Tietê when they found, in the underground of the construction site, remnants of locomotives, wagons, and boilers from the 19th century linked to the forgotten history of Lapa.

Instead of burning or burying old tires, an American city is transforming about 2,000 of them into the street itself, paving its first sections with a quieter and more durable rubber asphalt.

He transformed an abandoned plastic water tank into an underground house in the “hobbit hole” style, using only repurposed pallet wood, without heavy machinery or expensive labor.

China transforms desert-devastated area into the world’s largest artificial forest, planting trees for 60 years, blocking sand that reached Beijing, and creating a “green lung” of 92,000 hectares in a region once considered lost.

The river that “dies” in the desert never reaches the sea and yet gives life to one of Africa’s largest natural refuges in a truly impressive way.

Greek island offers free housing for volunteers, but there’s a condition: you need to take care of rescued cats.

Man builds house with concrete made from recycled paper and attracts attention in Portugal; named Porta do Caracol, the home features solar panels, a vertical garden, and a pool with natural filters.

Goodbye to conventional plaster? New material used on walls reduces waste and steps in construction and draws the attention of engineers by offering faster application and greater construction efficiency – discover the advantages of smooth gypsum.

Norway will excavate 3 million cubic meters of rock to open a 1,700-meter maritime tunnel, where ships will pass through a mountain in 10 minutes, escaping a stretch that has killed more than 30 people since 1900.

How much does it cost to build a sidewalk with interlocking pavement in 2026? See the average construction prices and the most common extra expenses that can increase the final budget.

Blocks made of salt challenge traditional construction, emerging from salt flats and salt pans like translucent stone, shining in hotels and pavilions in the desert, and transforming a material that melts in humidity into an extreme symbol of an impossible mineral architecture.

Measuring 13m in wingspan, the F-15 Eagle is a tactical fighter that combines power, advanced electronic systems, large weapon capacity, and high maneuverability to dominate the skies in any condition.

Macabre garden in Poland: 34 fetuses found on former property of a doctor reveal a disturbing story of silence, pain, and unanswered questions

Free regenerative agriculture course open for registration until July 3, promising to prepare producers in Minas to reduce costs, restore soil, and tackle drought.

Man builds house with concrete made from recycled paper and attracts attention in Portugal; named Porta do Caracol, the home features solar panels, a vertical garden, and a pool with natural filters.

Goodbye to conventional plaster? New material used on walls reduces waste and steps in construction and draws the attention of engineers by offering faster application and greater construction efficiency – discover the advantages of smooth gypsum.