São José dos Campos

• total area: 1,099.60 km² (424.56 sq mi)
  • urban area: 353.9 km² (136.6 sq mi) (32.18%)
  • rural: 745.7 km² (287.9 sq mi) (67.82%)

Source: City administration website (in Portuguese) [5]

• Northern Border: Camanducaia, Sapucaí Mirim in Minas Gerais
• Southern Border: Jacareí, Jambeiro in São Paulo State
• Eastern Border: Monteiro Lobato, Caçapava in São Paulo State
• Western border: Igaratá, Joanópolis, Piracaia in São Paulo State

The intense conurbation process has been creating a metropolis whose center city is São José dos Campos, reaching many other municipalities like Jacareí, Taubaté, Aparecida, Caçapava, Guaratinguetá, Campos do Jordão, Caraguatatuba, Pindamonhangaba and Lorena. The Paraíba Valley metropolitan area is currently made up of 39 cities, comprehending 2 453 387 inhabitants. The metro area is part of the Expanded Metropolitan Complex, being a megalopolis that connects São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, encompassing São José dos Campos and Campinas with over 30 million inhabitants as a total number.

The municipality comprises three districts: São José dos Campos — the city itself, (also the seat), Eugênio de Melo and São Francisco Xavier. The last one is known for its natural sites and ecotourism.

The district of São José dos Campos is also subdivided into 2 subdistricts (São José dos Campos and Santana do Paraíba).

However, for administrative purposes, the city is composed of 7 urban regions: Center, North, South, West, East, Southeast and São Francisco Xavier.

Highlands predominate in the northern region of the municipality with altitudes ranging from 660 to 975 m (2,165 to 3,199 ft). The northern border of the municipality lies over the Serra da Mantiqueira Mountains (Mantiqueira Range), with some peaks reaching over 2000 meters (6500 ft.). The highest point in the municipality is known as 'Pico do Selado' at an altitude of 2082 meters.

In the urban area, there are rolling plateaus and hills. The lowest elevation in the city (and also in the municipality) is found in the Paraíba do Sul River, at a mean elevation of 550 m.

The municipality is bounded at the south by the 'Serra do Jambeiro' mountains, with an elevation of about 900m. Due to the high topographic differences among neighborhoods and the urbanization, the city now experiences micro-climates present in distant areas. The downtown tends to concentrate frequent urban heat islands, while the suburb areas get noticeably colder main temperatures. As the northern part of the city, mainly the district of Sao Francisco Xavier, mescles high attitudes and ecologically preserved areas the climate is better classified as Humid Subtropical Climate ("Cwb").

• Municipality: Elevations 550 to 2,082 m (1,804 to 6,831 ft)
• City: Elevations 550 to 690 m (1,800 to 2,260 ft).

The municipality holds the 11,559 hectares (28,560 acres) São Francisco Xavier Environmental Protection Area, established in 2002.[6] It contains part of the 292,000 hectares (720,000 acres) Mananciais do Rio Paraíba do Sul Environmental Protection Area, created in 1982 to protect the sources of the Paraiba do Sul River.[7]

The climate of the city can be, perhaps, best described as a mix between the subtropical climate of southern parts of the country, the tropical climate of most of the country and the subtropical highland climate (in Portuguese: clima tropical de altitude) of neighbouring mountainous regions.

Technically, the city has a humid subtropical climate with significant less precipitation during winters (transitioning between Cfa and Cwa climatic types in the Köppen classification[8]). Winters are very mild, with average temperature in the coldest month near 17 °C. Summers are not excessively hot, with average temperature of the hottest month of 24 °C. Frosts are very rare, happening on average once per decade. However, fogs are pretty usual, occurring mostly during the winters. The peaks at the northern border of the municipality (some over 2000 m high) due to altitude have colder Cwb/Cfb climates, with very occasional snowfalls.[9]

With global warming it is very likely that the city's climate will transition in the near future (or has already transitioned) to a true tropical climate (type 'Aw' in the Köppen climate classification).

In the middle of the 19th century, the village of São José do Paraíba had demonstrated some signs of economic growth through the development of agriculture. Cotton production evolved rapidly in the region, exported to the English textile industry. The production reached a peak in 1864.

In the same year, on April 22, the town became the seat of a municipality, acquiring finally, in 1871, the current name of São José dos Campos, followed by the creation of a judiciary district in 1872. Almost simultaneously, there was development of coffee crops in Paraíba Valley, which started to take off in 1870.

In 1886, after the opening of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil railway (1877), the coffee production peaked. Then started to decay, running steady until the 1930s.

Inauguration of the General Motors Factory in São José dos Campos by President Juscelino Kubitschek, 1959.

The call for the municipality of São José dos Campos for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis by sanatoriums became noticed at the beginning of last century, due to its supposedly favorable climate conditions. The city became known as the Sanatorium City. The country's then-largest hospital, the Vicentina Aranha Sanitarium, was opened in town in 1924, and in 1935 the municipality was officially recognized as a health retreat.

With the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s, tuberculosis begins to be treated anywhere, thus ending the healthcare advantage carried out by São José, whereas the establishment of industries was about just to start.

The industrialization process of the municipality takes hold from the installation of the Technological Institute of Aeronautics in 1950 and also with the opening of the Dutra Highway (BR-116), thus making possible a faster connection between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and cutting into the urban area of São José dos Campos. Altogether, these factors allowed the municipality to make strides towards fulfilling its scientific and technological potential.

The State of São Paulo is divided politically and administratively into 15 regions. São José dos Campos is the seat and the name of the 3rd Administrative Region, which includes the North Coast of São Paulo state and the Paraíba Valley.

The region comprises 39 municipalities with sharp contrasts. São José dos Campos is a densely populated city, with approximately 2,100 inhabitants/square kilometers in urban area, whereas the quiet municipality of São José do Barreiro has only seven inhabitants/square kilometer. There are both highly industrialized cities and the others in the region are focused on agriculture and tourism. São José dos Campos is well known as the Capital do Vale which means that São José dos Campos is the most important city of the Paraíba Valley.

It is one of the state's most dynamic areas, the fourth one in terms of population density, and covers 11.3% of the state's territory. The main municipalities are São José dos Campos, Taubaté, Jacareí, Guaratingueta, Caraguatatuba, Campos do Jordão, São Sebastião, Lorena, Pindamonhangaba, Ubatuba and Caçapava.

• Population of the region: 2,243,687 (est. 2018/IBGE)
• Population Density: 288.56 inhabitants per square kilometer

• João Cursino (1908/1910, 1913/1916, 1919/1930)
• Rui Dória (1931)
• Francisco José Longo (1938/1941)
• Elmano Ferreira Veloso (1949/1950, 1953/1956, 1958/1961, 1966/1970)
• Jorge Zarur (1947 and 1950)
• José Marcondes Pereira (1962/1966)
• Sérgio Sobral de Oliveira (1970/1975)
• Ednardo José de Paula Santos (1975/1978)
• Joaquim Vicente Ferreira Bevilacqua (1978/1982, 1989/1990)
• Hélio Augusto (1986)
• Ângela Guadagnin (1993/1996)
• Emanuel Fernandes (1997/2000, 2001/2004)
• Eduardo Cury (2005/2008, 2009/2012)
• Carlinhos Almeida (2013/2016)
• Felicio Ramuth (2017/-)

• Faculdade INPG - INPG college campus in S.J dos Campos; Nationally ranked MBA School by Magazine Você S/A, Edition Nov/2010.
• IBTA - Instituto Brasileiro de Tecnologias Avançadas
• Unip - Universidade Paulista
• Unifesp - Federal University of São Paulo
• Univap - University of Vale do Paraíba
• Faap - Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado
• UNESP-Universidade do Estado de São Paulo
• Fatec -Faculdade de Tecnologia de São José dos Campos
• ITA - Aeronautics Technological Institute
• Instituto de Filosofia Santa Terezinha
• Faculdades de Ciências Aplicadas
• EEI - Escola de Engenharia Industrial de São José dos Campos
• Inea - National Advanced Instruction Institute
• FGV - Fundação Getulio Vargas - Conveniado Conexão Desenvolvimento Empresarial
• ETEP - Escola Técnica Everardo Passos

• INPE - The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research
• Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA) with its four institutes: Aeronautics and Space Institute (IAE), Institute for Advanced Studies (IEAv), Industrial Foment and Coordination Institute (IFI) and ITA

• ETEP - Escola Técnica Everardo Passos
• CETEX - Expoente Technical Center
• ETEC - State Technical school

São José dos Campos.

The city has two bus stations, having lines to cities in all regions of the country and international routes to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.

São José dos Campos boasts an extensive bus system. Operated by three companies (Expresso Maringa, Julio Simões and Viação Capital do Vale), these lines serve nearly all areas in the city with 319 buses. São José dos Campos also has an alternative system with minivans to supplement the regular buses.

The city uses a ring road system, that interconnects it to important national and state highways:

• BR-116 (federal highway), which crosses the urban area of São José. It runs in a north–south direction in the country, near but not on Brazil's coastline. The section that connects Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo is known as Presidente Dutra. It is widely used inside the urban area of São José dos Campos for commuting purposes;
• SP-070 (state highway) also known as Rodovia Carvalho Pinto which connects São Paulo to Taubaté;
• SP-065 Connects São Jose dos Campos to Campinas
• SP-099 (state highway) also known as Rodovia dos Tamoios which connects São José to the coastal lowlands of the city of Caraguatatuba;

Tamoios Highway

• SP-050 (state highway) - the old road which connects São José dos Campos to Campos do Jordão and the southern region of Minas Gerais.

The city is also served by a railway (the former Central do Brasil), administered by MRS Logística, which today only carries freight.

The ports of São Sebastião and Santos can be reached by the highways SP-099, SP-155, and BR-101. The transportation of cargo to the domestic and foreign markets is made through both ports.

São José dos Campos Airport

The São José dos Campos Airport (IATA: SJK, ICAO: SBSJ) has a heavy passenger flow, mainly business trips during weekdays, and it is an important connection between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. With a 3,000 m (9,800 ft) runway, the airport also serves people who come to visit the tourist city of Campos de Jordão. The airlines Azul Brazilian Airlines and TRIP Linhas Aéreas fly from São José dos Campos to several destinations and presently are the only commercial airlines operating on São José dos Campos.

It is also used for the transportation of cargo from the several industries located in the so-called Cone Leste Paulista ("São Paulo's East Cone"). Infraero and the Federal Revenue Agency are also introducing a new concept called airport-industry, that will offer fiscal incentives and fast importation and exportation procedures. The municipality has also a Customs Station for the Hinterland (dry port), controlled by the Federal Revenue Agency.

São José dos Campos receives natural gas from two gas pipelines, and large companies such as General Motors, Kodak, Monsanto and Embraer are among the main users. The city is the third largest in the country referring to the distribution net of natural gas for residential use.

It has also a large network of fiber optics, with broadband services covering 75% of the city. There is 1 telephone for each 3 inhabitants and a vast service network of cellular telephones.

The municipality cultivates different crops: rice, tomato, potatoes, orange and many vegetables; cattle are raised for beef and milk supply. There are also farms for production of eggs and chicken.

Embraer Aircraft: the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, the company is headquartered at São José dos Campos

In contrast to the rural town in 1950s, today São José is an important manufacturing center and holds a large array of industries. Over 1,251 industries are in the municipality and nearby 49,000 inhabitants work for industries. The three main industries are automotive, oil/petrochemical and aerospace. There are significant pharmaceutical, consumer durables, chemical, and telecommunication companies in the city.

It is also known as the "Brazilian aeronautics capital" because it is home of CTA and one of the biggest aircraft manufacturers in the world, Embraer.

Treemap showing the market share of exports, by product, for the city of São José Dos Campos in 2014 generated by DataViva

In 2014 São José dos Campos ranked as the 5th largest exporter, by value, of all Brazilian municipalities exporting $4.6B (USD) worth of materials.[15] In that year, between aircraft and aircraft parts categories, São José Dos Campos exported $3.57B (USD) or 81.9% of the total exports of the municipality.[16][17]

Since the 1990s, the local economy has been evolving in a different direction. The manufacturing economy has been downsized or replaced by tertiary and quaternary sectors of industries.

For instance, the Entrepreneurial District of Chacaras Reunidas concentrates companies of micro, small and medium size, which are mainly the result of downsizing from old large local industries. Although most of these are industries, these companies provide service as well.

Two technological parks and five (one in project) business incubators have been created within universities or with industrial facilities.

There are incubators with technological start-up companies installed at Univap and at Henrique Lage Refinery of Petrobrás. The CTA houses other incubator, Incubaero, specialized in the aeronautical field.

Univap features a technological park with capacity for around 40 small to medium-sized innovating companies in the areas of materials, electronics and telecommunications, information technology, aerospace, energy, environment control, biotechnology, bioinformatics, chemical engineering, and software among others. A new technological park, managed by the municipality and the state government of São Paulo, will house two new think tanks: the Institute for Technological Research (IPT) and the ItecBio (Instituto de Tecnologias Biomédicas).

As a result of its geographical location, the city became an important distribution center, having several logistics providers. Activities like purchasing, transport, planning and warehousing have employed many people recently.

Commerce and real estate ventures have developed in the last years, reflecting the changes in the economy. For instance, the largest shopping mall in the region was an old manufacturing facility. Serving the region's population of approximately one million, the city is the regional hub for shopping and services for the Vale do Paraíba, the northern coast of São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais.