Brasilia: Brazil's futuristic capital is celebrating its 50th anniversary. But a famed architect who designed the city's main public buildings says Brasilia has disappointed him.
Oscar Niemeyer tells the Folha de S Paulo newspaper the city went downhill after politicians arrived. Niemeyer says that once Brasilia was inaugurated, "The men with money came and everything changed."
The architect designed the city along with urban planner Lucio Costa. He says he is saddened that Brasilia displays the same stark economic inequalities of other Brazilian metropolises.
Some 200,000 people were gathered on Wednesday in Brasilia's centre for a celebratory parade and marathon. Fifty air force skydivers landed near the National Theatre.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, April 22, 2010, 09:45