SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥� A court in the northern Brazilian state of Par谩 has ruled that both federal and local officials must act to restore and preserve Fordlandia, by U.S. industrialist Henry Ford deep in the Amazon rainforest.
Prosecutors said Friday that the decision marks a significant milestone in heritage protection.
Fordlandia, now a ghost town and a district of the city of Aveiro, was built in 1927 in Par谩 by the Ford Motor Co. as a rubber-tapping metropolis intended to secure a steady supply of natural rubber for tires.
Designed to resemble an idyllic American suburb, it was once the third-largest settlement in the Amazon region. However, disease ravaged the rubber tree plantations, leading to the city鈥檚 abandonment. In 1945, the Brazilian government acquired the site.
In 2015, Brazil鈥檚 federal prosecutors鈥� office in Par谩 sued the country鈥檚 Iphan architectural heritage agency and the city of Aveiro for failing to preserve Fordlandia. They also demanded that authorities grant the city protected status.
鈥淔ordlandia is a landmark chapter in the history of Brazil and of global industry. The project was an American effort to challenge the British monopoly on rubber, bringing cutting-edge infrastructure鈥攊ncluding a hospital, running water, electricity and a movie theater 鈥� to the heart of the Amazon in the 1920s,鈥� the prosecutors鈥� office in Par谩 said in a statement.
Despite the end of the commercial venture, officials emphasized that the district remains an important part of Brazil鈥檚 national memory and should be preserved for future generations.
Two weeks ago, a judge in Par谩 ordered both federal and local authorities to restore Fordlandia. The decision came after more than a decade of legal proceedings.
Although the district isn’t officially recognized as a heritage site, the court found that it possesses historical, cultural, and architectural significance, which the Brazilian Constitution mandates must be protected.
The ruling further requires the government and municipality to develop and implement a recovery plan for the district, with potential financial penalties for noncompliance.
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