Barra da Tijuca
From Freepedia
Image:Barra da tijuca beach.jpg
Barra da Tijuca is a residential neighbourhood located in the Western Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Its beach is 18 km long, and there are 3 great main lakes, and also minor lakes and channels. There are 3 main avenues in Barra: Avenida das Américas (which connects the neighbourhood with the city's Southern Zone and with the other Western Zone neighbourhoods), Avenida Ayrton Senna (former Avenida Alvorada, which connects Barra to Jacarepaguá neighbourhood) and Avenida Sernambetiba (which passes along the beach). In all directions, the view includes lakes and mountains, or even the sea. The connection works of Barra with the rest of the urban network, transposing the Maciço da Tijuca (Lagoa-Barra Highway and Via Amarela) are among the most expensive works already carried out in Rio, confirming the city's highway transport choice.
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Etymology
The name Barra da Tijuca is composed of two words, Barra and Tijuca and the preposition da. Barra means port entrancy, sandbank, and Tijuca is a word originally from the Tupi ty-yúc and means putrid water, mud, swamp, puddle, clay or clay-pit. The preposition da means of, from. So, the name Barra da Tijuca can be roughly translated as Swamp Sandbank.
History
The neighbourhood area was originally a sandbank, composed of white sand dunes covered by shrubby vegetation. In its central sand stripe, extends the Avenida das Américas, a section of BR-101 highway, along of the neighbourhood started to grow.
In 1969, started the neighbourhood's pilot plan project, elaborated by Lúcio Costa. The project foresaw the construction of two avenues, Avenida das Américas and Avenida Ayrton Senna, besides a regulation to the Barra da Tijuca and adjacent neighbourhoods development, with the limitation of the buildings maximum height and the creation of conservation areas. In the middle of the 1970s, there were already some isolated enclosed condominiums in the middle of the predominant vegetation, with some small and medium sized business organizations.
During the 1980s, Barra da Tijuca had a population explosion, with virtually all the ground plots along its avenues being occupied by large residential areas, parks, supermarkets, shopping malls, schools and hospitals. The avenues were duplicated and received traffic signs. In this time, there was an emancipation movement of Barra da Tijuca and its neighbour neighbourhoods, but the plebiscite result was unfavourable.
Today the region established itself as the most important city's middle and upper classes real estate attraction area, which adopted a life style inspired by the American suburbs, based in apartment buildings and townhouses, automobiles and shopping malls. The resulting job offer also attracted favelas. Due to the Rio de Janeiro downtown real estate degradation and plastering, Barra attracted too an increasing number of companies, most of them of the petroleum sector.
As of 2005, a new Rio de Janeiro concert room is being built in Barra da Tijuca named Cidade da Música (Music City), inspired by the Cité de la Musique located at La Villete park, in Paris. The invited architect, Christian de Portzamparc, is the author of the original Cité de la Musique project.
The beach
The 18 km long beach is the biggest Rio de Janeiro beach. Barra da Tijuca beach starts at Morro do Joá and ends at Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood, in Pontal de Sernambetiba, along of Avenida Sernambetiba. Most of its waters are clear and greeny, and have a uncommon wave formation. The pollution levels are growing fast, most of it originating at Canal da Joatinga, and is estimated that in 2007 [1], it will reach Avenida Ayrton Senna. Barra da Tijuca beach is one of the most seeked beaches by surf, windsurf, bodyboarding and fishing practisers. There is also a bike way along the beach.
Barra in sports
The football (soccer) club Barra da Tijuca Futebol Clube is named after Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood, and its headquarters are located in the near neighbourhood of Recreio dos Bandeirantes.
Vasco da Gama's training ground, which is called Vasco Barra, is also located in Barra neighbourhood.
Surf competitions, like Rio Marathon Surf Internacional, Festival Petrobras de Surfe, Campeonato Velox Surf Amador and Circuito Petrobras are played in Barra. Because of the popularity of these competitions, there are several surf schools in the neighbourhood.
