Brasília, the federal capital of Brazil, was designed in the 1950s and ’60s to replace Rio de Janeiro as the capital. Architect Oscar Niemeyer and urban planner Lucio Costa crafted a vision of a utopian city from scratch. In the visual sense, Brasília is a stunning World Heritage site. From the air, it has a beautiful birdlike form. As a place to live, it functions less well.
