Centro () is a neighbourhood of

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, located in the central region of the city.

History

The site where the Center is located today was a village that was previously called Arraial de Nossa Senhora do Curral Del Rey, expropriated to make way for the new capital of the State of Minas Gerais in 1893. The decision was made through Law No. 3, an addition to the Constitution. It was designed by engineer Aarão Reis, head of the New Capital Construction Commission. He innovated by creating a plan in which the avenues crossed diagonally, instead of the classic checkerboard pattern of the big cities of the time, such as Washington and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The project was ambitious and pharaonic, but it was designed with an eye to the future, in which avenues and

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

s were wider than conventional ones. That same year, lots for the construction of businesses were auctioned. Those who acquired the lots would have a period of four years to build. The idea was to make

the commercial center of the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

in a short time.

References

Neighbourhoods in Belo Horizonte {{MinasGerais-geo-stub