Population, environment and development at Vale do Paraíba, Litoral Norte and Serra da Mantiqueira Metropolitan Region, São Paulo State, Brazil: current and future challenges

The Vale do Paraíba, Litoral Norte and Serra da Mantiqueira Metropolitan Region – RMVPLNSM was created in 2012 and is composed by 39 municipalities that gathered in 2010, according to 2010 Brazilian Demographic Census, 2.340.891 inhabitants. During the last years the region is facing significant and increasing challenges related with demographic and environmental issues, most of them related with the accelerated economic growth and development processes that are taking place in the region during the last ten years, especially the ones related with the substantial investments that are being made by State and Federal governments into the infrastructure facilities needed to exploit oil and natural gas from the Pre-Salt basin in Caraguatatuba, Jambeiro, Paraibuna, Jacareí, São José dos Campos and Taubaté municipalities that, together with the modernization and upgrading of São Sebastião Seaport and road transportation infrastructure in the region, shall get more than R$ 140 billion (about US$ 70 billion) during 2010’s decade. The main objective of this paper is to identify, to evaluate and to discuss the role the so-called infrastructure megaprojects and the demographic dynamics will play in the future planned scenarios for the region.