Ipatinga, Brasil - The City that Steel Built

Ipatinga, like most of the smaller cities we have visited in this state sits in an area of many small mountains or hills. The main streets tend to be on the bottoms between the hills and the residential areas branch off, even going up into the hills themselves. (Enjoy these photos from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 by clicking on them.)

Only by knowing where the sun rises or sets can you figure North, South, East or West here.

Streets are put in and houses spring up along them with little apparent planning or consideration for the grades. This puts some of the houses on locations with great views. I suppose that property costs are not so much based on the views because some of the housing is not that well conceived. 

A view lot for sale but the grade is almost straight down!

Many houses look like long-term works in process and may never be completed, while other neighbors homes look expensive. Zoning seems to be non-existent here. Since the city began back in 1962 the most planned areas are around the steel mill which occupies a huge area including railroad facilities and a hospital. The rest of the town seems to have just grown around that beginning. Probably no one expected the number of vehicles that are now here as parking is a problem almost everywhere you go in commercial areas of the city. In the center where most of the popular shops are you literally have to be lucky to find a spot and have to buy a parking slip from one of the “meter maids” to avoid a fine. There are a few parking lots but they cost two or three times as much and are not always convenient to where you want to be. 

Officer, how can I get my car out of this space?

Of course walking is always part of the solution. The bus systems here seem to be well used with standing room only during rush hours. We haven’t had occasion to use the buses yet. There are lots of Policia Militar vehicles on the roads but they do not enforce traffic laws here. Speed limits and stop signs are posted but no one obeys them and in fact if you try to, you get honked at. 

At night, this is a peaceful place except during Soccer games.