Londrina: bringing something different to SSP

Yuri · #1 Posted **Jul 28, 2019, 1:00 PM**

Londrina is a mid-sized southern Brazilian city (560,000 inh. in city proper, 720,000 in the urban area, and just above 1 million in its - polycentric - metro area).

It was founded by the British entrepreneurs from the Paraná Plantation company in the middle of Mata Atlântica (tropical/subtropical rain forest) in the 1930's. Few British were left and the city is mostly Italian, with strong German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arab background. Londrina is also regarded by its huge Japanese community: about 30,000 in the city (and over 100,000 in northern Paraná state) which makes Londrina the second biggest "Japanese" city in Brazil and one of the largest outside Japan, along São Paulo (the largest), New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver and Honolulu. Till today is trivial to hear the Japanese language in the streets, particularly among the elderly.

Londrina is a very strong education, medical, services and retail center, serving as a regional hub. Agrobusiness is also very important as the city is seated right in the middle of Brazilian breadbasket, on the soybeans, maize and wheat belts.

Anyway, let's take a look on her. Pics were taken in mid-2017:

Yuri · #2 Posted **Jul 28, 2019, 1:13 PM**

Arriving

Leaving São Paulo-Congonhas Airport (CGH):
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IMG_8058 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Londrina is located 500 km west from São Paulo, so it's a very short trip (50 min). Ibiporã (Londrina metro area) and Londrina on the background:
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IMG_8063 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Londrina as seen from north:
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IMG_8068 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Zooming, Downtown and Gleba Palhano (the booming district across the Igapó Lakes complex):
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IMG_8073 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Londrina and Cambé (another city in Londrina metro area). This region produces half of Brazilian wheat, and they look nice on the southern hemisphere winter:
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IMG_8077 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Cambé, Rolândia and Arapongas (cities in the metro area). Londrina was behind as the plane makes a 180 degree to aproach the airport, located in east Londrina:
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IMG_8086 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

West section of Londrina's Downtown:
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IMG_8094 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Downtown

Starting at the oldest part of Downtown, where the first highrises grew up in the early 1950's, mere 20 years after Londrina was established in the middle of jungle. Several Modernist especimes, not very common in a mid-sized city.
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IMG_8098 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8101 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8104 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

I pretended to be interested in rent an apartment to look inside a Modernist building:
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IMG_8118 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8119 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Cathedral. Londrina is seat of a Roman Catholic Archdiocese:
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IMG_8125 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Before the booming Gleba Palhano district emerged in the 2000's, this was Londrina's tallest (1997-2004), with 107m/350ft high:
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FullSizeRender by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Now everything changes. The western 1/3 of Londrina's Downtown. A tree-lined region, denser, more residential, with newer and more upmarket residential buildings. Again it's a very unique place for a mid-sized city.

Some random streets and buildings:

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IMG_8145 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8146 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8149 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8150 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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FullSizeRender(1) by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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FullSizeRender(2) by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8156 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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FullSizeRender(3) by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8159 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Yuri · #3 Posted **Jul 28, 2019, 1:24 PM**

Gleba Palhano

The booming district I mentioned earlier. Today, that's most recognized view of Londrina. 15 years ago, there were nothing there:
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IMG_8164 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

A shopping mall roof, right in the middle of Gleba Palhano:
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IMG_8170 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8173 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Valleys and Lakes

One of the most interesting features of Londrina, it's its preserved ravines. That's very rare in Brazilian urban areas, with their dense pattern. That's Água Fresca Vale (fresh water valley), right between Downtown and western Londrina neighbourhoods.

Downtown's west skyline:
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IMG_8191 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8194 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

The creek flows 2 km (1.3 miles) southwards, where it joins Lake Igapó II. Gleba Palhano's skyline:
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IMG_8196 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8197 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8200 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Lale Igapó I, the largest and oldest. On the left side, outside the pic, it's Downtown. The buildings on the bottom form another highrise cluster near the Civic Center (2.5 miles southwards Downtown). On the right side, there is an upmarket district, where the mansions end straight in the lake. Ver unusual for a relatively central neighbourhood:
32.

FullSizeRender by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Yuri · #4 Posted **Jul 28, 2019, 1:30 PM**

Countryside

On the winter, Londrina is surrounded by wheat and maize's second harvest (soybeans are the boss on summer). Nothern Paraná state is one of the most productive farming regions in the country (and the world for that matter), and its seat of several agricultural research institutions.

Starting in Rolândia (Londrina metro area), the most important German settlement in the region:
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FullSizeRender by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Rolândia and Cambé countryside:
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FullSizeRender (1) by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8210 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8220 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

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IMG_8230 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

And back to Gleba Palhano, the booming district.

Some business towers in the neighbourhood:
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IMG_8231 by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Londrina's newest shopping mall:
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FullSizeRender (3) by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Downtown on the back:
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FullSizeRender (2) by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Hope you enjoyed it!

mrnyc · #5 Posted **Jul 28, 2019, 5:05 PM**

very interesting --- this was great to see.

you got to love how they respect the very clear urban developments boundaries --

ie., in some pics you can see how the towers all start along one street, but not across it.

Yuri · #6 Posted **Jul 28, 2019, 5:15 PM**

^^
Exactly. Strict zoning laws avoided the unpleasant view very common on Brazilian cities where highrises are raandomly scattered all over the urban tissue, without any dense cluster. As result, it's very hard to create pedestrian friendly districts (except in very big cities) as density is too low to support it.

DetroitSky · #7 Posted **Jul 29, 2019, 9:44 PM**

Great tour! Brazilian skylines always seem to belong to much larger cities.

IMBY · #8 Posted **Jul 30, 2019, 6:59 AM**

I love all the solid architecture I've seen on my South American travels. It oftentimes looks overbuilt, in comparison to the U.S. No suburban sprawl in this city.

Yuri · #9 Posted **Jul 30, 2019, 11:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

Great tour! Brazilian skylines always seem to belong to much larger cities.

Yes, they are very dense. And even for Brazilian standards, Londrina has a very strong syline(s).

Yuri · #10 Posted **Jul 30, 2019, 11:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMBY

I love all the solid architecture I've seen on my South American travels. It oftentimes looks overbuilt, in comparison to the U.S. No suburban sprawl in this city.

Despite the dense Downtown and Gleba Palhano, there is some sprawl in Londrina too. Southwest, there is this big shopping mall (900,000 sq feet GLA) and lots of gated communities eating arable land:

Londrina sprawl by Yuri Andrade, no Flickr

Obviously, it pales compared to US sprawl.

gatt · #11 Posted **Jul 31, 2019, 7:48 AM**

these brazilian cities.

geomorph · #12 Posted **Aug 22, 2019, 6:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

IMG_8164

There appear to be fewer balconies on many of the residential towers than I would expect.

Yuri · #13 Posted **Sep 28, 2019, 5:40 PM**

Constructors still build with balconies, but most people these days tend to close them with glasses as a way to increase their living rooms.

Urbanguy · #14 Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 12:34 PM**

Great pics. It looks so much like parts of Waikiki it's crazy how similar.

Alxx611 · #15 Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 2:42 PM**

So cool!!

Yuri · #16 Posted **Oct 2, 2019, 8:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urbanguy

Great pics. It looks so much like parts of Waikiki it's crazy how similar.

It's true. The line of buildings very well defined along the coast and the golf course behind, like the western façade of Londrina's Downtown skyline, that ends abruptly on the green valley.

Even though one it's a tropical island in the middle of Pacific and the other it's located in the middle of South America in a fertile red soil, they also share another thing in common: the massive Japanese communities, with 30,000 in Londrina (over 100,000 in northern Paraná) and over a 100,000 in Honolulu.