Biritiba-Mirim
Encyclopedia
Biritiba-Mirim is a Brazil
ian city of the state of São Paulo
in the metropolitan region. The population in 2006 is 29,694, the population density is 93.67/km² and the area of 317 km².
Its limits are Guararema
in the north, Salesópolis
in the east, Bertioga
to the south and Mogi das Cruzes
in the west and northwest.
In late 2005, Biritiba-Mirim Mayor Roberto Pereira da Silva put forth a proposal to the town council that the city should enact a prohibition on the death
of its human residents. This proposal, obviously a bit hard to enforce, is a sort of satirical protest in response to a national law prohibiting the expansion of cemetery space or the creation of new cemetery space in certain areas deemed environmentally sensitive or significant. This law has put a hardship on the town whose cemetery space had been recently exhausted but where people continue to die.
Sitting atop the underground water source for approximately 2 million people in the city of São Paulo and being partially composed of protected forest land, Biritiba-Mirim has fallen under the national restrictions on new cemetery space and has thus had to resort to drastic measures in order to cope with the lack of space for the burial of their dead, including the requiring of the sharing of crypts and the burying of bodies under sidewalks.
Biritiba-Mirim is not the only town to be affected by the environmental restrictions either. Dozens of other towns in the surrounding area have faced similar difficulties. Officials for Biritiba-Mirim are hoping that exceptions approved by environmentalists can be made.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian city of the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
in the metropolitan region. The population in 2006 is 29,694, the population density is 93.67/km² and the area of 317 km².
Its limits are Guararema
Guararema
Guararema is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2006 was 24,818, with a density of 91.7 inh./km² and the area is 271 km². This place name comes from the Tupi language. It is a suburb of São Paulo....
in the north, Salesópolis
Salesópolis
Salesópolis is a municipality in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2004 was 15,281, the density was 35.87/km² and the area is 426 km²....
in the east, Bertioga
Bertioga
Bertioga is a Brazilian town of the state of São Paulo in the Baixada Santista. The population in 2004 was 35,759. However, because it neighbors resort towns, its population fluctuates greatly with the seasons. The population density is 72.68/km² and it has an area of 492 km². The more...
to the south and Mogi das Cruzes
Mogi das Cruzes
Mogi das Cruzes is a municipality in the state of São Paulo metropolitan region of the state capital. The population in 2010 according to the Census population is 387,241 inhabitants, resulting in a population density of 533.90 inhabitants per km ²....
in the west and northwest.
In late 2005, Biritiba-Mirim Mayor Roberto Pereira da Silva put forth a proposal to the town council that the city should enact a prohibition on the death
Prohibition of death
Prohibition of death is a political social phenomenon and taboo in which a law is passed stating that it is illegal to die, usually specifically in a certain political division or in a specific building....
of its human residents. This proposal, obviously a bit hard to enforce, is a sort of satirical protest in response to a national law prohibiting the expansion of cemetery space or the creation of new cemetery space in certain areas deemed environmentally sensitive or significant. This law has put a hardship on the town whose cemetery space had been recently exhausted but where people continue to die.
Sitting atop the underground water source for approximately 2 million people in the city of São Paulo and being partially composed of protected forest land, Biritiba-Mirim has fallen under the national restrictions on new cemetery space and has thus had to resort to drastic measures in order to cope with the lack of space for the burial of their dead, including the requiring of the sharing of crypts and the burying of bodies under sidewalks.
Biritiba-Mirim is not the only town to be affected by the environmental restrictions either. Dozens of other towns in the surrounding area have faced similar difficulties. Officials for Biritiba-Mirim are hoping that exceptions approved by environmentalists can be made.