Ponta Grossa: From Landing to Destination by Edgar Hampf

In order to understand Ponta Grossa it is necessary to understand that it is, like so many others on the route between Viamão and Sorocaba, a landing transformed into a destination. The origin is, of course, in the consolidation of the old route of the troops, which brought muars from the Gaucho fields to the fairs that supplied the mines, leveraging trade and transport, and the expeditions that integrated the territory. The path through the natural fields of the Centro-Sul Paranaense facilitated the locomotion. But it was, for its relief and for the predominance of capoeiras, also an invitation to stay. And so it was for no other reason that this landing, as much as the rest of the route, became a definitive stop. Some wise cattle traders understood that in the region it was also possible to concentrate herds and even crops. And the village has risen from the ground. Where only the passers-by had their place, the remaining ones gained space. The church was made, the village and the prison were made. Increasingly, those who arrived refused to leave. The city was rising from the hills to the streams, and in spite of them. From trade she made a shortcut, overcame Castro, her mother city, and then grew up alone.

The railway line arrived, which spread through the valleys taking advantage of the topography, but maintaining the North-South line that had already made the city born. The old expression “iron road” makes even more sense in Ponta Grossa. With the rails came the military. With the Army, the importance is due. The city was even common, but it gained importance as a strategic: it was a difficult logistical node to supplant. In fact, many still say that this intersection of paths has not yet been overcome. The main city of the second plateau was the natural pole of the Serra da Esperança to the Serra de São Luís, which was already practically Curitiba. It was and still is. But it is also the main access to all the connections of the North and Northwest region of the Paraná with the capital.

As a passage, Ponta Grossa faced the challenge of enforcing permanence. The natural barrier of the distance to Curitiba is not even so great, and the paths up there ended up being smoothed. Why then did the city not break down like so many others who were just passing through? Because it allowed itself to be many. Many colors and many skills. The railroad did not kill the wagons or the bodybuilders, but integrated them into a wider logistics chain, which placed the wood, the mate and what was more produced in the surroundings, modestly on the way to consumer centers. But the producers also consume, and the trade has spread. And, if raw wood, harvesting or any other product can be shipped, it can also be improved. That is why the log becomes a board and then moves. For this reason and because there were people willing to turn the raw material into something more expensive.

The confluence of paths, the thirst of so many and some dose of daring made breweries. Then big warehouses. Then factories of other things that nobody even thought they could choose this region.

The territory contributed, the opportunity arose but it was the people who turned the capoeira, the bathed and the hill into a city. House, overhang, building and condominium came from the same will: stay and prosper. A while and the city has gained an airport, modest to this day, owing a growth that is potential. As intended by the regional pole, the city can and must, especially after the requalification of its links, in particular with the West and the New North, intelligently dispose of this modal.

In the urban framework, most of which was designed erratically, from the contingencies of the terrain, development was concentrated where it was indispensable. Only at the end of the 1970s, the city was doing well with an economy now trampled on in the agribusiness, were villages destined for workers imagined – but not structured. The city (in part) surpassed the ugliness of the city only in the following two decades, thanks to the growth of higher education offers: the State University of Ponta Grossa was, between 1970 and 1980, perhaps the main visiting card of the city. Many of them stayed here, and helped to give a new flavor to local society. Especially for demanding more.

If it grew on one side, it became impoverished on the other. Many villages were erected in the logic of the lowest cost – where the land cost less. By throwing a parcel of residents to the extremes of an urban spot that no one bothered to contain, the bill was pushed to everyone else. And to this day this bill is paid: services are less present in the most distant communities, only in the Elizabeth management (2021-24) was designed the possibility of integrating by the asphalt the entire urban framework, until then a predicate that only half of the extremes were allowed to have access.

Facing these infrastructure challenges, other integrations remain ahead. Urban voids cause outrage, and taming the forces of nature in the valley bottoms is a daily mission, in addition to a demonstration of respect for the resident. Finally, it remains to better connect the rural longings to the urban framework. Intelligent initiatives, such as the institution of Caminhos do Agro, have underpinned the project of integrating rural communities with the paved network, saving production and offering a much better standard of living, now yes, to all inhabitants of the municipality, regardless of address.

If the challenges seem gigantic, the reminder of history remains equivalent: with work and dedication, secure leadership and intelligence, one tames nature, circumstances and makes even part of the way a much, much better destination.

Article from the book "Ponta Grossa 203 years: From the route of the tropeiros to the tracks of innovation"

Read more about the PG 203 years special series here!