São Bernardo do Campo

São Bernardo do Campo
	São Bernardo do Campo
; Flag	; Seal
	Nickname(s): The Automobile Capital
	Motto: Pavlistarvm Terra Mater; (Mother Land of the Paulists)
Coordinates: 23°42′00″S 46°33′00″W / -23.7, -46.55
	Government
- Mayor	William Dib (PSB)
	Area
- City	407.1 km² (157.2 sq mi)
- Land	331.28 km² (127.9 sq mi)
- Water	75.82 km² (29.3 sq mi) 18.6%
- Urban	118.74 km² (45.8 sq mi)
- Metro	212.54 km² (82.1 sq mi)
Elevation	762 m (2,500 ft)
	Population (2007)
- City	781,390
- Density	1,919.40/km² (4,971.2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
- Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
HDI (2000)	0.834 – high
	Website: São Bernardo do Campo

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Coordinates: 23°42′00″S 46°33′00″W / -23.7, -46.55 São Bernardo do Campo (Portuguese for Saint Bernard of the field) is a municipality located in the Greater São Paulo, in the state of São Paulo in Brazil.

[edit] History

The city was founded by João Ramalho in 1553 and was known as Vila de Santo André da Borda do Campo de Piratininga, soon transferred to another nearby place, safer from hostile tribes. The original settlement was then resettled as São Bernardo, became a parish in 1812 and became a municipality in 1890. In 1938, it became a part of the Santo André district only to be separated again in 1945.

The area where today is located not only São Bernardo do Campo, but also Santo André, São Caetano do Sul and Diadema was once a farm owned by Beneditine monks, who had even African slaves. By the second half of the XIX century, European immigrants started to come to the area, mainly from Italy. The Italians settled cottages, in the rural area of São Bernardo do Campo, the so-called colonies (colônias). Every year there are events celebrating the immigration. Also, by the beginning of the XX century, Japanese came to the city, most of them going to the neighborhood called Cooperativa.

Industry, in particular the metallurgical industry, thrived in the city during the 1960s, when São Bernardo do Campo became known as Brazil's Automobile Capital (Portuguese: a Capital do Automóvel). Many of these plants have since relocated to other regions but the automobile industry remains a vital part of the history of São Bernardo do Campo. The city is also known for its furniture industry, that was first developed by Italian immigrants, that influenced São Bernardo do Campo to be a Hi-Tech industrial pole.

Famous by furniture industries.

The industries also brought migrants from the Brazilian northeastern, especially from poor regions, by the 1960s. One of them was Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The now president then worked in automobile factories in São Bernardo do Campo during the 1970s.

[edit] Geography

Locates-itself in the high one of the Mountain Range of the Sea, of the Atlantic plateau, occupies an area of 407,1 square kilometres, and the altitude varies between 60 meters of the level of the sea, in the juncture of Rio Passareúva with the river of the Grinders Foot of the Mountain Range, to 986,5 meters, in the peak of the Bonilha, in the neighborhood Montanhão.

[edit] Climate

According the Köppen climate classification São Bernardo do Campo has a humid subtropical climate. On average of the maximum temperatures is of 24,7 Celsius, on average of the minimums is of 15,08 and on average is of 19,09 Celsius.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census of 2006, the population was 803,906. The population density was 1,937.02/km². The city is a municipality located in the Greater São Paulo.

Color/Race	Percentage
Whites	60,4%
Brown	30,8%
Blacks	6,7%
Asian or Amerindian	2%

Source: PNAD.[1]

[edit] Ethnic groups

The population is composed of people of Italian, Lebanese and Portuguese descent, Mixed-race, and a small number of Black and Asian. Other important ethnic groups are present in the city, such as Spaniards and Germans.

[edit] Economy

São Bernardo, since the fifties, has had its economy based on the automobile industry - headquarters of the first vehicle assemblers of Brazil, such as Volkswagen, Ford, Scania, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover (Karman Ghia).This brought about a diversified economy which ultimately elevated the importance of the service sector in the city.

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges and universities

[edit] Today

In 2005, the population of São Bernardo do Campo stood at 788,560 with a population density of 1,937.02/km².

The city is a core part of the ABC region (A = Santo André, B = São Bernardo do Campo, C = São Caetano do Sul).

Public transportation in São Bernardo do Campo is provided by ETCSBC (Empresa de Transporte Coletivo de São Bernardo do Campo) and EMTU (Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos, "Metropolitan Urban Transport Company").

The city is known for important private universities such as the Universidade Metodista de São Paulo and Centro Universitário FEI.

SBC is also known because of the number of small Newspapers that the city has, for example: Jornal da Balsa, Jornal Hoje, Tribuna do ABCD, and more.

There is the Diário do Grande ABC a daily news about all region, the paper is located in Santo André, but it is distribuited in all ABC and some parts of São Paulo.

Northwest: Diadema	North: São Paulo (except for Diadema)	Northeast: São Caetano do Sul and Santo André
West: São Paulo (except for Diadema)	São Bernardo do Campo	East: Cubatão
	South: São Vicente	Southeast: Cubatão