In preparation for the World Cup and Olympics, Rio worked on removing the coastal Perimetral Elevated Highway, originally built in 1960. In part in emulation of Barcelona, which in preparation for the 1992 Olympics removed a oceanfront railway line, and because the IOC demanded that some Olympic infrastructure would also be based in downtown Rio as opposed to around the Olympic venue more on the outskirts of the city, the 2012 budget alone for changes to the port area clocked in at the equivalent of an impressive 3.3 billion USD.
The urban environment undoubtedly has improved around the square, but the changes did not find universal appeal. Christopher Gaffney, a professor of Urbanism at the Federal Fluminense University, called the decision to knock down the Perimetral “a historical mistake to correct a historical mistake.” But, while also unlocking access to the newly created Rio Museum of Art, the Museum of Tomorrow as well as repurposing formerly abandoned warehouses nearby.
Take a picture in the very same place!