A transformação da natureza e a urbanização do interior de Goiás a partir da construção de Goiânia

Abstract

The present study analyzes the importance of the creation of Goiânia as the capital of the Brazilian state of Goiás, seeking to understand the influence of Attílio Corrêa Lima’s progressive urbanism and political actions on the state’s interior, as well as the role of nature, particularly in relation to Mato Grosso de Goiás. This event entailed a shift in thinking that reflected the modernization ideals of Getúlio Vargas’s government and his “March to the West,” leading to the replacement of the rural model with an urban-industrial project that aligned the state with the idea of national development. The construction of Goiânia, based on progressive urban planning, aimed to tame and exploit nature as a source of wealth. The documentary analysis includes newspapers, maps, laws, and reports from the period, and is grounded in accounts such as those of Speridião Faissol and in the theoretical-methodological perspectives of William Cronon. The cities of Ceres and Goianésia, created as part of the National Agricultural Colony of Goiás (CANG) project, illustrate the use of planned urbanism as a means of domination and economic exploitation of the territory. Anápolis, once a small village, became an important agricultural trading post and later an industrial hub with the establishment of is industrial and agricultural district (DAIA) in 1976, favored by its strategic location between Goiânia and Brasília. However, this growth was marked by contradictions between planning and reality: urbanization prioritized the logic of land occupation through subdivisions and road networks, neglecting natural elements such as preservation areas and watercourses, which were seen as obstacles to progress. The research shows that urban planning, often limited to lot demarcation, contributed to environmental degradation. The subordination of nature to urban rationality caused damage that, in the long term, required high public investments in remediation. The use of tools such as the Avoided Cost Method (ACM) can help mitigate these impacts by indicating sustainable alternatives, such as detention basins

for urban drainage. Finally, the study proposes reflecting on the past to envision a model of urban development that integrates nature as an essential element, which it is not only subordinated to profit but recognized as a public and non-negotiable good, guiding future analyses of land occupation and the effectiveness of master plans.