Sorocaba
Encyclopedia
Sorocaba is a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 in the state of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Sorocaba is the fourth largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo
Greater São Paulo
The Greater São Paulo is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil.-Definitions:-Metropolitan Area:...

 region, it ranks behind only Campinas
Campinas
Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....

, Sao Jose dos Campos
São José dos Campos
São José dos Campos is a municipality and a major city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and one of the most important industrial and research centers in Latin America. It is located in the Paraíba Valley, between the two most active production and consumption regions in the country, São Paulo ...

 and Ribeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto
Ribeirão Preto is a municipality and city in the Northeastern region of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is nicknamed Brazilian California, because of a combination of an economy based on agrobusiness plus high technology, wealth and sunny weather all year long. With 605,114 inhabitants,...

. With an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 584,313 inhabitants, it is a regional capital of the Sorocaba microregion with 14 municipalities, totaling over 1.5 million inhabitants. It has an area of 456.0 km ², of which 349.2 km ² is urban and 106.8 km ² rural area.

Proportional to population, the municipality is the least violent in the interior due to the great performance of the Military Police, both Civil and Municipal, mainly between 2000 and 2002, who fought violence, child labor and drug trafficking.

Over the past twelve years the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 has been undergoing extensive urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....

 projects, improving streets and avenues, as well as infrastructure for the traffic which the city receive every day.

The city has 60 miles of exclusive bike paths that run along many of the city's main avenues. Plans for the future hope to make Sorocaba the largest cycling network in Latin America. The city is implementing a public bike system similar to the European cities of Barcelona and Paris. Sorocaba is currently the second largest cycling loop in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, after Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

.

It is the eighth and fourth municipality in the consumer market in the state outside the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, with a potential annual per capita consumption estimated at $ 2,400 for the urban population and $ 917 for rural areas (7200 people) and twenty-ninth largest city in Brazil with potential for consumption. Still, it is the 4th largest city of the state to receive new investments and one of the largest in the country, figuring in the list of 30 cities that generate more jobs in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

History

Dom Francisco de Sousa, general governor of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 (1591 to 1602), believing in the existence of gold in the region, settled the Pelourinho-- a Portuguese translation of the English "pillory" - symbol of the Royal power - as the village Nova Vila de Nossa Senhora da Ponte de Mont Serrat. When gold wasn't found there, the governor returned to the Royal Court. Twelve years later, Dom Francisco de Sousa changed the name of the village to Itavuvu.

Baltazar Fernandes
Baltazar Fernandes
Baltazar Fernandes was a Portuguese colonist of Brazil who led the expeditions called Bandeirantes into the interior and laid the foundations of Sorocaba in the year 1654.-External links:*...

, a member of an expeditionary group called Bandeirantes, laid the foundation of Sorocaba in the 1654. The chapel of Nossa Senhora da Ponte (which is now the Cathedral located in Fernando Prestes square, downtown) was built by him, along with the São Bento de Parnaíba monastery (now São Bento monastery) years later. It was also Fernandes who brought the first Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 monks to teach, assist the poor and the ill, and convert the Native Americans of the region. The monastery was donated to the Benedictines in the year 1660, after which Friar Anselmo da Anunciação and Friar Mauro were chosen to take office. The first streets and houses started to spread around the neighborhood.

In the year of 1661, Baltazar Fernandes went to São Paulo to request that Sorocaba be named a village from the governor, Correia de Sá e Benevides. Thus, on March 3, 1661, Sorocaba became known as Vila de Nossa Senhora da Ponte de Sorocaba. The organization of the Municipal Council followed shortly, with the main nominees being: Baltazar Fernandes and André de Zunega (judges), Cláudio Furquim and Pascoal Leite Pais (city councillors), Domingos Garcia (procurator) and Francisco Sanches (clerk).

With the arrival of colonel Cristóvão Pereira de Abreu and his troops in 1773, begins the main chapter of the history of Sorocaba: the Tropeirismo.

The transportation of goods on the back of mules, that traversed the North-South route of the country came across Sorocaba, which was strategically placed in the main route between Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

 and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

. Soon Sorocaba had its own Feira de Muares (mule/horse fair), where troops from all states came to feed and rest their cavalry on the way to the mineral and forest expeditions, and buy and sell goods, horses and enslaved Africans. Given the growing number of people working in the city, the commerce and the first industries began to appear. Goods bought in Sorocaba were known from across the Country, spread by the merchant troops. The main events of Tropeirismo comprehended a hundred years of the Sorocaba history, from 1770 to 1870.

During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, English textile industries ran out of cotton, which was imported from the Southern United States. Soon, manufactures from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 started to search around the world for alternative places to cultivate cotton - one of them was the then-Province of São Paulo, which included Sorocaba. In 1862, Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Gonçalves de Oliveira Machado started the first cotton plantation in Sorocaba. The local environment and weather were ideal, and the plantation flourished. The first harvest exceeded all expectations, starting another cycle of industrial and economic development. Several textile industries from England built branches in the city, changing the landscape with chimneys, saw-styled roofs, large, orange brick-built buildings and smoke. During this time, Sorocaba received the title of Manchester Paulista--"São Paulo native" in Portuguese, given the resemblance with its laboring twin
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 city.

With the opening of the Sorocabana railway on June 20, 1872 and its transport of cotton products, animals and passengers to São Paulo, Sorocaba had a major leap in development. Six locomotives and 62 bandwagons were brought from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, with seven stations initially planned.

Telegraphic services started on April 3, 1873. Years later, the railway expanded to the borders of the State, with Sorocaba station as the hub.

Location

The city is located in the southeastern region of the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

, 92 km away from the state capital. The main highways are Castelo Branco (SP-280) and Raposo Tavares (SP-270). It straddles the Sorocaba River
Sorocaba River
The Sorocaba River is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River. The river runs large and important part of the municipality of Sorocaba....

, a tributary of the left bank of the Tiete river
Tietê River
The Tietê River is a Brazilian river in the state of São Paulo.The source is in Salesópolis in the Serra do Mar, at 1,120 m altitude...

. The municipality of Sorocaba is located on the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...

, at latitude 23 ° 26 '16 " for the season of 2011, passes along the neighborhoods of Aparecidinha and Parque São Bento districts . At the junction of Highway José Ermírio José de Morais (SP-75) with the connection to the Raposo Tavares highway is a milestone signaling the Tropic. Among Brazil's largest cities (by population), Sorocaba is in 30th place. Sorocaba is among the major cities of Sao Paulo (population), is ranked ninth.

Demography

According IBGE, 2010 Census, the population of Sorocaba 586,311 inhabitants. There was growth of 18.81% compared to 2000. The population density is 1,305.46 inhabitants per sq.km. Women are the majority in Sorocaba, with 51.1% of the total. In absolute numbers, are 299,513 women and 286,798 men. indeed, Sorocaba has 12,715 women more than men. There are large predominance of urban population in Sorocaba, with only 1% of the population (5971 residents) living in rural areas, compared with 580,340 in urban areas. Among the largest cities of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 (in population), Sorocaba is in 30th place. Already among the largest cities of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

 (in population), is ranked ninth.

Climate

Sorocaba climate is subtropical, temperate, warm the coldest month being July and warmest in February. Precipitation is around 1300 mm. According to Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

, Sorocaba can be classified as a humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 "Cwa" featuring a warm climate with summer rainfall and temperature in the warmest month ≥ 22 °C.

The climate table below shows the monthly mean temperatures, maximum and minimum recorded, rainfall and rainy days with monthly and annual averages for the period from 1 January 1995 to January 1, 2011 for the city of Sorocaba.

Land relief

The terrain is classified as a wavy strands and characterized by local ridges, with an average altitude of 632 meters above the sea level. The highest altitude is 1028 meters, in the Serra de San Francisco. The lower altitude is 539 meters, in the valley of Sorocaba River
Sorocaba River
The Sorocaba River is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River. The river runs large and important part of the municipality of Sorocaba....

. In aspects of geomorphology, Sorocaba is located on the edge of the Peripheral Depression of São Paulo state, in the Appalachian Fall Line, as defined by Professor Aziz Ab'Saber
Aziz Ab'Saber
Aziz Nacib Ab'Sáber is an environmentalist and one of Brazil´s most respected scientists, honored with the highest awards of Brazilian science in geography, geology, ecology and archaeology...

. This configuration is due to the fact Sorocaba lie at the boundary between the Atlantic Plateau, which covers the area of crystalline rocks, with higher relief and the rocks of the Parana Sedimentary Basin
Parana Basin
The Paraná Basin is a large sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande do Sul states. The remainder area is distributed in eastern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and northern...

 and gently rolling topography with lower altitudes. The Sorocaba River
Sorocaba River
The Sorocaba River is a river of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is a tributary of the Tietê River. The river runs large and important part of the municipality of Sorocaba....

 and its hydrographic basin are responsible for the relief dissection.

Soil

The soil is characterized as red-yellow podzolic type, with gravelly clay, heavy clay, Typic dark clayey; oxisol with clay loam. Lithosols also occur, which are usually developed with little depressions.

Vegetation

The original natural vegetation was the Atlantic Forest, with local regions in a Montana Tropical Rainforest. Predominate the savannah vegetation in various stages of secondary succession.

Geology

Sorocaba is located exactly on the limit between the sedimentary rocks of Parana Sedimentary Basin
Parana Basin
The Paraná Basin is a large sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande do Sul states. The remainder area is distributed in eastern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and northern...

 (Itararé Group, in glacial and deltaic environments of Permian-Carboniferous age) and crystalline basement (Neoproterozoic). Important granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

 massifs are Sorocaba Massif (calc-alkaline I-Type) and São Francisco Massif (Subalkaline A-Type). Metamorphic low grade rocks as phyllites, metacalcareous, metarenites, are marine metassediments included in Sao Roque Group (Neoproterozoic
Neoproterozoic
The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1,000 to 542.0 ± 1.0 million years ago. The terminal Era of the formal Proterozoic Eon , it is further subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran Periods...

) with structural trend northwest-southwest. The Ipanema Hill
Ipanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...

 or Araçoiaba Ridge
Ipanema Hill
The Ipanema Hill , "also known as Araçoiaba Ridge or "Serra de Araçoiaba", is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation in area about 5069 ha, located in the region of Sorocaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil...

 is a prominent and isolated topographic elevation, it comprises ultrabasic-alkaline intrusion age(Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...

, Early Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

), remnant of ancient volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

. It was the first iron mine, ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...

 and metallurgy of Brazil, Ipanema
Royal St. John of Ipanema Iron Foundry
Royal St. John de Ipanema Iron Foundry as known Ipanema Iron Foundry or Factory, Fazenda Ipanema was the first ironworks in Brazil. It is located in Sorocaba region, near city of Iperó, state of São Paulo.- Background :...

. The ore was exploited from magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...

, probably associated to carbonatite
Carbonatite
Carbonatites are intrusive or extrusive igneous rocks defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50 percent carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble, and may require geochemical verification....

 body.

Industry

Sorocaba's industrial park is well-served by roads, highways, and public transportation. The industrial park boasts more than 25 million square meters and over 1600 industries. Main economic activities are: industrial machinery, heavy metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

, ironmaking and steelmaking
Steelmaking
Steelmaking is the second step in producing steel from iron ore. In this stage, impurities such as sulfur, phosphorus, and excess carbon are removed from the raw iron, and alloying elements such as manganese, nickel, chromium and vanadium are added to produce the exact steel required.-Older...

, automotive parts, industrial textiles, agricultural equipment
Farm equipment
Agricultural machinery is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor.-Soil cultivation:*Cultivator*Cultipacker*Chisel plow*Mulch tiller*Harrow**Spike harrow**Drag harrow...

, chemical
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...

 and petrochemical
Petrochemistry
Petrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the transformation of crude oil and natural gas into useful products or raw materials. These petrochemicals have become an essential part of the chemical industry today.-Origin of Petroleum:...

, cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 production, eolic energy, pharmaceutics
Pharmaceutics
Pharmaceutics is the discipline of pharmacy that deals with all facets of the process of turning a new chemical entity into a medication able to be safely and effectively used by patients in the community. Pharmaceutics is the science of dosage form design...

, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

 and cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....

, electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...

, telecommunications, tool
Tool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...

s, commerce and services. Its tools, automotive parts and pharmaceutics industry are the biggest in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

Some of the industries which are a part of this diverse offering are: JCB,Dynapac, Enertec, Metso, INA-Schaeffler, Cooper Tools, Case IH, Lufkin Industries, ZF Friedrichshafen, DANA Corporation, Villares Metals, YKK Group, Wobben Windpower, Pirelli, GM, Metalac, Luk, Allied Signal/Honeywell, Yashika, Kyocera, Hartmann-Mapol, Nipro Medical, GE Infrastructure Water & Process Technologies, Sealy, Campari, CSM, Flextronics, Hewlett-Packard, W.R. Grace Andrew Telecommunications, and Coca-Cola

The Ferroban railroad (formerly Sorocabana Railway and FEPASA) are connected to São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 and the Santos
Port of Santos
The Port of Santos is located in the city of Santos, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. It possesses a wide variety of cargo handling terminals - solid and liquid bulk, containers and general loads. It is Brazil's leading port in container traffic...

 Seaport, the largest seaport in South America. The railroad is also an important link to Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...

, reaching both Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

.

Sorocaba also boasts a dry port terminal, which provides efficient road linkages to the various ports and airports of the region including Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport
Sorocaba Airport
Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport is the airport serving Sorocaba, Brazil.It is operated by DAESP.-History:The airport was inaugurated in 1942 and it is presently dedicated to general aviation.-External links:*...

, which has one of the busiest cargo terminals in the State. A second airport, with much higher traffic and passenger capacity is currently being planned for the upcoming years.

Economy

Sorocaba's economic development is 5th in the State, with investments in the order of US$ 3,5 billion, with US$ 3 billion in Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

. Its industries export to over 115 countries, with an income of US$370 million per year. There are over 8 thousand commerce organizations and another 8 thousand service businesses.

Education

Sorocaba has nine universities, seven private: University of Medical and Health Sciences at the Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), University of Sorocaba (UNISO), ESAMC Sorocaba, Anhanguera, Uirapuru Superior, Academia de Letras de Sorocaba, University Paulista (UNIP), and two public Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho | Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP
Unesp
Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho is one of the six public universities of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, with USP, UFABC, UNIFESP, UFSCar and UNICAMP. It's a part of the state’s higher education system.UNESP has a combined student body of almost 40,000 spread among its 23...

) and University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar).

It also has nine colleges: Law School of Sorocaba
Law School of Sorocaba
The Faculty of Law of Sorocaba is one of the best law schools in Brazil, besides presenting the best results among the law schools of Sorocaba and São Paulo state, keeping indices separately in the ranking order that accredits lawyers in Brazil , was approved in 2010 to 30.61%.The FADI is, since...

 (FADI), recommended by OAB the year 2007 the FADI received the seal of quality issued by the institution to law courses that have had the best quality indexes in recent years. College of Engineering Sorocaba (FACENS
FACENS
Faculdade de Engenharia de Sorocaba, also known as FACENS, is an engineering college in Sorocaba, Brazil. It gave its first courses in January 1978 in civil engineering and electrical engineering, actually the college have five courses to offer, Computing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and...

), College of Technology of São Paulo - Sorocaba (FATEC-SO), College of Physical Education YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

 Sorocaba (FEFISO), Manchester Paulista Institute of Higher Education (IMAP), Academy of Higher Education (AES), Graduate School of Management, Marketing and Communication (ESAMC) Anhanguera Educational Sorocabano Uirapuru Education Center and the Union of Educational Institutions of São Paulo (UNIESP), among others schools.

They are four hundred public schools, municipal and private, elementary to high school education, many with professional courses. Are also present in the large city institutions like the SENAI
SENAI
Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial , Portuguese language for National Service for Industrial Training is a network of not-for-profit secondary level professional schools established and maintained by the Brazilian Confederation of Industry...

 SENAC
Sénac
Sénac is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-References:*...

 | Senac, State Technical School (London) | State Technical School and Rubens de Souza Farias, State Technical School ( São Paulo) | Technical School Fernando Prestes de Albuquerque and the Polytechnic School of Sorocaba (charity), also houses the standart school of Sorocaba, Antonio Padilha school.

Excellence in Law

One of the best law schools in the state of Sao Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 is in Sorocaba. The Law School of Sorocaba
Law School of Sorocaba
The Faculty of Law of Sorocaba is one of the best law schools in Brazil, besides presenting the best results among the law schools of Sorocaba and São Paulo state, keeping indices separately in the ranking order that accredits lawyers in Brazil , was approved in 2010 to 30.61%.The FADI is, since...

 (FADI), recommended by the Bar Association of Brazil in 2004 and 2007, received the seal of quality issued by the institution to law courses that have had the best quality indexes in recent years.

The FADI
Law School of Sorocaba
The Faculty of Law of Sorocaba is one of the best law schools in Brazil, besides presenting the best results among the law schools of Sorocaba and São Paulo state, keeping indices separately in the ranking order that accredits lawyers in Brazil , was approved in 2010 to 30.61%.The FADI is, since...

 is since 2004, among the top ten ranking institutions that offer law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 classes in the state of Sao Paulo in the Examination of Approval for the occupation of the Bar Association of Brazil. The institution was well evaluated in the National Course Examination in the various editions of the Examination Order and the analysis done by the Committee on Legal Education of the Federal Council of the Bar Association, which takes into account the results obtained through the "series"of performance of course.

Considered the most competitive private vestibular region of Sorocaba, and perhaps one of the busiest of Sao Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, the organization of the college selection process is undertaken by the Foundation Vunesp. The vestibular annual FADI is the second busiest in the region, behind only public university Unesp.

Today, 53 years after its founding, more than 6,000 lawyers were trained by the institution that is among the best higher education in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

Health

The city is served by a good infrastructure in health care with many hospitals like Hospital Santa Lucinda, Conjunto Hospitalar de Sorocaba, Santa Casa de Misericordia (founded over 200 years ago), Evangelical Hospital, Samaritan Hospital, Hospital Unimed, etc. The Ophthalmological Hospital is the hospital that performs more transplants and corneal uptake in Brazil. It was honored at the Distinction Award in Organ Donation of the Secretariat of Health of Brazil and has succeeded in eliminating the waiting list for transplants in the region of Sorocaba and the entire city of Sao Paulo.

Hospital Santa Lucinda reached the 100th kidney transplant in 2004. In 2007, we opened 12 rooms with high tech equipment, the result of an investment of about $ 2.5 million from the St. Paul Foundation.
The Sorocaba Hospital Complex is responsible for servicing the tertiary level of 48 municipalities in southwest São Paulo with a population of over 3 million inhabitants. Reference state is the treatment of burn victims and in 2009 over R$5 million were investing into building a new matternity ward. The scientific work in the area of burns in the year 2009 awarded by the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery and was coordinated by Dr.Hamilton Aleardo Gonella and held at CHS. For a year, Gonella's team researched the application of nanocrystalline silver dressings. The technique, tested in five patients of CHS, showed positive results, expanding the range of dressing change which reduces the patient's suffering and costs in hospital care. The Plastic Surgery Service CHS has 34 awards for scientific work in various areas. About burns, are at least ten.

The Ambulatory Hernia Surgery is the CHS model, several training sessions are conducted for surgeons throughout the country. Sorocaba is a technique performed the cut is between 2 and 2.5 cm, smaller than the procedures used elsewhere.

The Faculty of Medicine of Sorocaba
Faculty of Medicine of Sorocaba
The School of Medicine of Sorocaba belongs to the Faculty of Medical Sciences and Health of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, which is the unit of PUC-SP dedicated to teaching and research in health. The FCMS has three courses: Medicine, Nursing and Sciences...

 - the first medical school in the interior of Brazil - was founded in 1950 and is one of the most responsible for Sorocaba be a reference center for health in Brazil having formed many renowned professionals.

Administrative Region

Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba will include:
  • Aluminio
    Alumínio
    Alumínio is a Brazilian city of the state of São Paulo. The population in 2003 is 16,019 and the area is 83.7 km². Its latitude is 23.5331/23°32'6" S and the longitude is 47.5625/47°15'43" W The elevation is 790 m. Alumínio is located east of Sorocaba and is also a suburban area...

  • Araçariguama
    Araçariguama
    Araçariguama is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 is 13,324 and the area is 146.7 km². The origin of the name comes from the Tupi language The elevation is 695 m...

  • Araçoiaba da Serra
    Araçoiaba da Serra
    Araçoiaba da Serra is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 22,521 and the area is 256.15 km². The elevation is 625 m...

  • Boituva
    Boituva
    Boituva is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil, on the margins of "Castelo Branco Expressway". The population in 2005 was 41,402 and the area is 249.63 km². The elevation is 637 metres.Its known as the "National Skydive Capital"...

  • Cabreúva
    Cabreúva
    Cabreúva is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 is 36,106, the density is about 138/km² the area is 261 km² The elevation is 640 m...

  • Capela do Alto
    Capela do Alto
    Capela do Alto is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 is 16,030 and the area is 170.47 km². Its latitude is 23.27/23°28'14" S and the longitude is 46.33/47°44'05" W. The elevation is 625 m.-Population history:...

  • Ibiuna
    Ibiúna
    Ibiúna is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 72,181 and the area is 1062.1 km². The elevation is 860 m...

  • Iperó
    Iperó
    Iperó is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. Its latitude is 23.35/23°28'14" S and the longitude is 46.69/47°44'05" W. The population in 2004 was 22,390 and the area is 171.44 km². The elevation is 590 m...

  • Itu
    Itu
    Itu is an old and historic municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2009 was 157,384 and the area is 641.68 km². The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, meaning big waterfall. Itu is linked with the highway numbered the SP-75 and are flowed...

  • Mairinque
    Mairinque
    Mairinque is a small city near Sorocaba, in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The city has a population of 45,376, and an area of 210.28 km², which includes an urban area of 18 km² plus a surrounding hinterland...

  • Piedade
    Piedade, São Paulo
    Piedade is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 is 53,492 and the area is 747.22 km². The elevation is 781 m.-Neighboring Cities:* Ibiúna* Pilar do Sul* Salto de Pirapora* Tapiraí* Votorantim...

  • Porto Feliz
    Porto Feliz
    Porto Feliz is a municipality in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. As of 2004, The population was 49,915, the density was 89.5/km², the area is 557.98 km², and the elevation is 523 m...

  • Salto
    Salto, São Paulo
    Salto is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The elevation is 555 m. The city has one main river, rio Tietê. Poll from 2004 shows the population is 103.884.The city has an important geological park: "Moutonée Park"....

  • Salto de Pirapora
    Salto de Pirapora
    Salto de Pirapora is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 40,063 and the area is 281.67 km². The elevation is 630 m....

  • Sarapuí
    Sarapuí
    Sarapuí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 8,486 and the area is 355.35 km². The elevation is 590 m....

  • São Roque
  • Votorantim
    Votorantim
    Votorantim is a city located at the southwest of São Paulo State in Brazil with an estimated population of 107,157 as of 2006. The city is located about 100 km away from the capital of the state. It has 147 km² of rural area, 30 km² of urban area and a total area of 177 km².-Geography:It is located...


Resources

Visitors can count on several options for leisure, culture and business while in the city. There are many options for accommodations varying from inexpensive to high-class hotels and lodgings, including International hotel chains like Transamerica Flat, Ibis Hotel, Alpha Inn and others. For the foreigner, there are currency exchange houses and a Convention & Visitors Bureau. Two International Convention Centers are available. Sorocaba's three main newspapers are the Jornal Bom Dia, Cruzeiro do Sul
Cruzeiro do Sul (newspaper)
Cruzeiro do Sul is the largest newspaper of Sorocaba city, São Paulo, Brazil. It was founded on June 12, 1903, the brothers Firmino Joaquim Pires de Camargo and João Clímaco Pires de Camargo. He began his movement in the same year and initially had four pages, with circulation bi-weekly...

 and the Diário de Sorocaba.

Sorocaba is served by an extensive infrastructure of public transportation composed of bus fleets and terminals, comprising a system that reaches practically every point of the city.

There are many parks open to the public, such as historical churches, walking and racing courses, historical monuments, museums, mausoleums and memorials, various spas and horse farms. The municipal Zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 "Quinzinho de Barros", is one of the largest zoos in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

The nightlife in the city offers many options, ranging from theaters to bars and gourmet international cuisine restaurants.

Airport

Airport Bertram Luiz Leupolz
Sorocaba Airport
Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport is the airport serving Sorocaba, Brazil.It is operated by DAESP.-History:The airport was inaugurated in 1942 and it is presently dedicated to general aviation.-External links:*...


Sorocaba airport was once a great center of trade in the state of Sao Paulo, performing domestic flights often.
Currently, the airport is used by small aircraft, are made almost no commercial flights. Among the services provided are mainly for the transport of cargo, there are few clues to takeoff.

Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A is a Brazilian domestic low-cost airline based in Barueri. It was established on 5 May 2008 by Brazilian-born David Neeleman, founder and former-CEO of JetBlue. The airline began service on December 15, 2008 and has ordered a fleet of 76 Embraer 195 jets...

 offer for its passengers free bus transfers between Sorocaba and Campinas-Viracopos International Airport
Viracopos International Airport
Viracopos-Campinas International Airport is the international airport serving Campinas, Brazil. On January 6, 1987, the airport name was officially normalized to its present form....

 at regular times.

Highways

  • SP-75
    SP-75
    The Rodovia Sen. José Ermírio de Moraes or SP-75 is a highway in the southeastern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It begins in Sorocaba and ends at the SP-308 near Salto.-Highway names:...

      - Rod. Santos Dumont (Sorocaba - Campinas)
    Rodovia Santos Dumont
    Rodovia Santos Dumont is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.It runs in a North-South direction and interconnects the cities of Campinas, Indaiatuba, Salto, Itu and Sorocaba, crossing with two other major highways, Rodovia Castelo Branco, nearby Sorocaba, and the Rodovia dos Bandeirantes...

  • SP-79
    SP-79
    The SP-79 is a highway in the southeastern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil.-Names:*Celestino Americo, Tenente *Convençao Republicana, Rodovia *Guilherme Hovel-Svd, Padre...

      - Rod. Waldomiro Correa de Camargo (Sorocaba - Itu), Rod. Raimundo Antunes Soares (Sorocaba - Piedade)
    SP-79
    The SP-79 is a highway in the southeastern part of the state of São Paulo in Brazil.-Names:*Celestino Americo, Tenente *Convençao Republicana, Rodovia *Guilherme Hovel-Svd, Padre...

  • SP-91/270 - Rodovia Dr. Celso Charuri (interligação entre as rodovias Raposo Tavares e Senador José Ermírio de Morais (Castelinho)
  • SP-97
    SP-97
    SP-97 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in Brazil....

      - Rod. Emerenciano Prestes de Barros (Sorocaba - Porto Feliz)
    SP-97
    SP-97 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in Brazil....

  • SP-264
    SP-264
    SP-264 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in Brazil....

      - Rod. João Leme dos Santos (Sorocaba - Salto de Pirapora)
    SP-264
    SP-264 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in Brazil....

  • SP-270  - Rod. Raposo Tavares (Sorocaba - São Paulo, Sorocaba - Presidente Prudente)
    Rodovia Raposo Tavares
    Rodovia Raposo Tavares is the longest highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with 664 km.The highway starts in the city of São Paulo and continues westward, serving the main cities of Cotia, Vargem Grande Paulista, São Roque, Sorocaba, Itapetininga, Angatuba, Ourinhos, Assis, Presidente...

  • SP-280  - Rod. Castelo Branco (Sorocaba - São Paulo, Sorocaba - Ourinhos e Norte do Paraná)
    Rodovia Castelo Branco
    Rodovia Presidente Castelo Branco is a tollway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It was first opened on November 10, 1968, by, then, the Governor of the state of São Paulo, Abreu Sodré...

  • SP-354
    SP-354
    SP-354 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in Brazil....

      - Rod. Sorocaba - Iperó
    SP-354
    SP-354 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in Brazil....


Bike/cycle lanes

The city has 60 kilometers of bike lanes created in the city's main avenues, and you can cross it only using bicycles for transportation. The planning of the municipality provides for the construction of the largest cycling network in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

 in coming years and implement a public bike system, similar to European cities as Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.
Sorocaba is currently the second largest cycling loop of Brazil, after Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

.

Administration

The current Mayor is Vitor Lippi, from the Brazilian Social Democratic Party--(PSDB). His term began on Jan. 1, 2005 and should end on Dec. 31, 2008, but he was re-elected for a second term on October 5, 2008 until December 31, 2012.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities

- Nanchang
Nanchang
Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites...

, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. - Wuxi
Wuxi
Wuxi is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south...

, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. - Hammana
Hammana
Hammana is a town in Lebanon, about 26 km East of Beirut. Hammana sits at an altitude of 1200m above sea-level. It is in the Mount Lebanon Governorate in the district of Baabda. Nearby are the towns of Falougha, Chbaniyeh and Mdeyrig.Hammana has multiple water sources...

, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. - Anyang
Anyang
Anyang is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, People's Republic of China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively....

, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

.

External links

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