The surrounding area is growing at a rapid pace and requires integrated public policies

The population of the region surrounding the Federal District has grown rapidly each year (see Metropolitan area). The urban area, that is, the areas in hectares, has also grown significantly in recent decades. The demographic and territorial explosion affects the DF directly, since, according to the DF Surroundings Secretariat (SEDF-GO), around 224 thousand people who live in the DF travel to the DF daily. A total of 12 municipalities in Goiás make up the Brasília Metropolitan Area (AMB).

It is a territory made up of more than 1.2 million people, in addition to the 2.8 million inhabitants of the DF. In this second report about the DF Surroundings (the most recent, last Sunday, dealt with the elections in the region), Correio heard experts, government representatives and residents of the Surrounding Municipalities to map the biggest bottlenecks and improvement actions.

In order for there to be orderly and sustainable growth, the Federal District Research and Statistics Institute (IPEDF) is finalizing the Expanded District Household Sample Survey (PDAD), a broader survey that will map data from surrounding municipalities — the forecast is expected to be completed in June. “The planning of public policies aimed at the particularities of each city depends on updated information about the local population. This is essential for the development of public policies efficiently and the result will contribute greatly to improving the work that the government of Goiás has been developing in the region”, highlighted the DF Surrounding Secretary, Caroline Fleury, about the partnership with the GDF.

Mobility

Among the main bottlenecks to be faced is mobility. At the beginning of the year, a working group was implemented between the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT), the Ministry of Transport, the DF Transport and Mobility Secretariat (Semob), the General Secretariat of Government of Goiás (SGG-GO ) and the DF Surrounding Secretariat (SEDF-GO) and Infra S/A, to seek solutions in relation to public transport.

“It is necessary to work on tripartite governance between DF, Goiás and the Union. This working group will create a design on how to integrate and make transport fares between DF and Surroundings cheaper. Currently, depending on the stretch, bus fares reach R $11.70,” said secretary Caroline Fleury. “We need to view transport as public policy. If transport is bad, this can generate a cascade effect and even cause unemployment, school dropouts, etc.”, she added.

According to her, 70% of the 224,000 people who travel daily from Entorno to the DF are laborers who work for the GDF or the federal government. “Of the seven bus lines, only one is put out to tender. The others operate precariously. There are people who spend four hours a day on the bus, we need quality transport”, observed Caroline Fleury.

Valparaíso (GO) resident Silas dos Santos, 29, works installing and maintaining air conditioning in DF and complains that he spends a lot of his day on a bus. “Depending on traffic, there are times when I spend three hours on the bus to get to work and this is a negative point for those who live in the surrounding area”, he lamented.

Leaving at 4:30 am to get to work at 6 am, attendant Laíse Maria, 25, complained about the quality of public transport. “Transport is not maintained, it is very precarious and, with the growth of the population, it is necessary to have quality transport with more offers”, said the resident of Águas Lindas (GO).

Architect and urban planner Pedro Grilo believes that transferring the administrative center of the DF to Taguatinga would be a way of relieving the flow of transport to the central region of the DF. “The DF Administrative Center (Centrad) was built, but was never used. Decentralizing is a way of diversifying and facilitating transport, also multiplying employment possibilities in other regions”, he suggested. “It is also necessary to invest in transport, since transport from Entorno to DF is interurban and of poorer quality. Assuming Entorno as a metropolitan region would facilitate this investment”, he added.

The Government Secretary of the Federal District, José Humberto Pires, reinforced the need for improvements in mobility between the Surrounding Area and the DF. “We need to work to find a public transport management mechanism with the participation of the Union to improve quality,” he said.

“Cross public policies are necessary. The barriers between Entorno and DF are only territorial. The symbiosis has always existed. Growth is inevitable. We have problems of all kinds. To solve them, we need to know the new reality”, pointed out José Humberto Pires .

Among the improvements planned for mobility between the DF and the Surrounding Area is the BRT from Santa Maria to Luziânia (GO), which was included in the works of the Federal Government’s Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and, according to the Surrounding Secretary, should be tendered this semester.

Resident of Águas Lindas, Laíse sees transportation as precarious
Photos: Alessandro de Oliveira/CB/DA Press
Silas dos Santos lives in Valparaíso and spends around 3 hours on the bus
Alessandro de Oliveira
Mariana likes living in Entorno because it has cheaper properties
Alessandro de Oliveira

Housing

“Practically what attracts people to live in Entorno is the price of things, such as property and supermarkets”, says Silas dos Santos, resident of Valparaíso. He managed to buy his own house and believes that if he lived in DF he would still be paying rent.

The resident of Cidade Oeste (GO) Jorge Magalhães, 39, leaves home at 5am to be in Plano Piloto at 8am — he works as an appliance technician. For him, property prices are an attraction for those who live in the surrounding area. “The price I paid for my property, a large house with more than three bedrooms, in a well-kept area, I wouldn’t pay in Brasília”, he commented.

Mariana Miranda, 31, a resident of Águas Lindas who works as a secretary at Plano Piloto, also agrees. For her, “one of the advantages is the price of properties. “The problem is the distance, I usually spend four hours of my day on a bus, I need to wake up very early to get to work, public transport is not of good quality”, vented.

Urban planner Pedro Grilo highlights that the ideal for the Federal District would be to invest in the construction of cheap housing in a more central area, so that people need to travel less. “Unfortunately, we have this culture of urban expatriation. It’s the urban culture of Brasília. The ideal would be for us to be able to concentrate more (in the central region), but the reality is that the surrounding cities are inflated. This is a symptom of this expatriation”, he analyzed .

Health

Home appliance technician and resident of Cidade Oeste Jorge Magalhães, 39, pointed out health problems in the region neighboring the DF. “Despite the health chaos in DF, when I am sick or someone in my family is sick, I prefer to look for hospitals in the capital in search of care. I try to make my appointments in DF, as it has more qualified hospitals than those in the surrounding area” , he stated.

The Águas Lindas State Hospital is scheduled to be delivered later this year, which should provide support for the surrounding area and also for the DF. “Ceilândia and Brazlândia will also benefit from this hospital”, reinforced the secretary of Entorno, Caroline Fleury.

*Alessandro de Oliveira, intern under the supervision of José Carlos Vieira