Sharon Steinmann - Photojournalist

Manaus: Manaus

Manaus, Brazil is undergoing an economic boom. As it becomes increasingly more urban, shantytowns are growing and the city is encroaching on the fragile rainforest that surrounds it. People from small towns in the Amazon are flooding Manaus in search of work in its manufacturing sector which is in a free trade zone. 

  • As Manaus becomes increasingly more urban, shantytowns are growing. People from small towns in the Amazon come to Manaus in search of work in its manufacturing sector. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • A local man gazes out at the Rio Negro branch of the Amazon River from the end of the Manaus-Iranduba Bridge deep in the Brazilian Amazon. This 3.5 km long bridge was completed last year and is the first to cross the world's greatest river system. It connects three undeveloped towns to Manaus, Brazil. The bridge brings economic opportunities for those living on the far bank but environmentalists fear it because it could open up the fragile rainforest surrounding Manaus to further destruction. But, the locals on the undeveloped side are elated. They can now drive to the city in minutes. In the past, ferrying a vehicle across was too expensive for most at fares as high as $50.
  • The Manaus- Iranduba Bridge over the Rio Negro branch of the Amazon River is the first to cross the world's greatest river system. It is a reflection of the development at the center of the world's largest rainforest. It will bring much-needed economic opportunities for those living on the opposite bank. However, environmentalists fear that the bridge, combined with new gas pipelines, roads and rising populations, could open up the rainforest to further destruction. Photographed on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • The Manaus- Iranduba Bridge over the Rio Negro branch of the Amazon River is the first to cross the world's greatest river system. It is a reflection of the development at the center of the world's largest rainforest. It will bring much-needed economic opportunities for those living on the opposite bank. However, environmentalists fear that the bridge, combined with new gas pipelines, roads and rising populations, could open up the rainforest to further destruction. Photographed on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • A lone tree in the Rio Negro in Manaus.
  • Tassyo Viana Pereira surveys the land at a new 40,000 seat stadium being built in preparation for the 2014 World Cup in Manaus. It will use renewable energy, effficient lighting and will harvest rainwater. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • As Manaus becomes increasingly more urban, shantytowns are growing. People from small towns in the Amazon come to Manaus in search of work in its manufacturing sector. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • A fisherman unloads his catch in the bustling port on the Rio Negro in Manaus, Brazil on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • As Manaus becomes increasingly more urban, the city is encroaching into the surrounding forest. Here, a new neighborhood in the northern reaches of Manaus is providing low cost housing. People from small towns in the Amazon come to Manaus in search of work. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • A woman collects her laundry outside an illegal dwelling in the forest in northern Manaus. As Manaus becomes increasingly more urban, people are illegally encroaching into the surrounding forest. People from small towns in the Amazon come to Manaus in search of work in its manufacturing sector. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • Oceon-going vessels can travel on the Amazon, the world’s greatest river system, from the sea to Manaus, Brazil which is 900 miles inland from the Atalantic Ocean. Manaus is expanding into its surrounding rain forest. Photographed on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • Workers keep an assembly line running inside the Technicolor factory in Manaus, Brazil. Hundreds of manufacturers are located in the Amazonian city where the government has provided tax breaks that encourage industrial development in the area. The free trade zone has created urban jobs for workers who might otherwise have been putting further strain on the surrounding rainforest with logging or illegal farms. Photographed on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, in Manaus.
  • Elman Fernandez, 30, inspects a motherboard inside the Technicolor factory in Manaus, Brazil. Hundreds of manufacturers are located in the Amazonian city where the government has provided tax breaks that encourage industrial development in the area. The free trade zone has created urban jobs for workers who might otherwise have been putting further strain on the surrounding rainforest with logging or illegal farms. Photographed on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, in Manaus.
  • The bustling port on the Rio Negro in Manaus, Brazil, a city in Northern Brazil that is expanding into its surrounding rain forest on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • Large vessels can travel from the sea on the Amazon, the world’s greatest river system, to Manaus, Brazil which is 900 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Ship and air travel are the primary forms of transportation in and out of Manaus. Photographed on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • The bustling port on the Rio Negro in Manaus, Brazil, a city in Northern Brazil that is expanding into its surrounding rain forest on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • Sergio Bicudo of Manaus greets a passerby as he walks on stilts through St. Sebastian Square in Manaus, Brazil on Wednesday, March 14, 2012.
  • The film {quote}Gentlemen Prefer Blondes{quote} is screened in St. Sebastian Square near the Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom. Manaus, Brazil, is a city in Northern Brazil that is booming and expanding into its surrounding rain forest.Photographed on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • The Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom.
  • Old buildings in the St. Sebastian Square near the Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom. Manaus, Brazil, a city in Northern Brazil that is expanding into its surrounding rain forest on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • The Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom.
  • Tourists walk through the Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom.
  • St. Sebastian Square near the Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom. Manaus, Brazil, a city in Northern Brazil that is expanding into its surrounding rain forest on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • A couple stands near the banks of the Rio Negro in Ponta Negra, an upscale neighborhood of Manaus, on Friday, March 16, 2012.The Manaus- Iranduba Bridge over the Rio Negro branch of the Amazon River is the first to cross the world's greatest river system. It is a reflection of the development at the center of the world's largest rainforest. It will bring much-needed economic opportunities for those living on the opposite bank. However, environmentalists fear that the bridge, combined with new gas pipelines, roads and rising populations, could open up the rainforest to further destruction. Photographed on Saturday, March 10, 2012.
  • As Manaus becomes increasingly more urban, shantytowns are growing. People from small towns in the Amazon come to Manaus in search of work in the manufacturing sector. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • Children play soccer on a makeshift field cleared out of a patch of forest. As Manaus becomes increasingly more urban, people are illegally encroaching into the surrounding forest. People from small towns in the Amazon come to Manaus in search of work. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • The Pied Tamarin is an endangered primate found only in the rainforest around Manaus, Brazil. Their habitat is shrinking as the city grows and they are being trapped in isolated patches of forest. Photographed on Friday, March 16, 2012.
  • A man washes his car in the Amazon River outside of Manaus.
  • A view from the Taj Mahal Continental Hotel's revolving rooftop restaurant in central Manaus, Brazil. Manaus is a city in Northern Brazil that is expanding into its surrounding rain forest. In the center, is the Teatro Amazonas opera house in Manaus which was built in the 1890s during the city's rubber boom. Photographed on Wednesday, March 14, 2012.
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