Rio de Janeiro: The make-up of a modern megacity

Despite its international popularity as a centre of tourism, there is much more to Rio de Janeiro than its Carnival, soccer and tropical beach life. This paper gives background on the lesser noted characteristics of this megacity, including its history and how it developed, its metropolitan region, its government and management, its economic base, the transportation system, the problems of social inequalities and the physical planning system which attempts, sometimes successfully, to organise these various activities. The examination of Rio de Janeiro concentrates on examining two questions from various vantage points: why a megacity population? why a megacity space? The paper concludes with a look to the future, suggesting that the challenges and opportunities facing Rio de Janeiroʹs administrators are similar to those confronting other rapidly growing metropolises in the developing world.