Praia Grande () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 330,845 (2020 est.) in an area of 149.25 km². Population history History Although the political emancipation is recent, the area covered today by the municipality of Praia Grande was one of the first areas colonized by the Portuguese, which began with the arrival of Martim Afonso in 1532. The first village founded by the explorer, sent by the Portuguese crown, was that of St. Vincent, which remained part Praia Grande until 1967. After emancipation, the city slightly accelerated the pace of growth experienced since the 1950s, earning a higher quality in their public services, given the proximity of the municipal government with the reality of the local population. In the 1980s, the city gained new impetus to its growth with the opening of the Small Sea Bridge (in the final stretch of the Rodovia dos Imigrantes), linking the island of Sao Vicente in the city, and solving two problems at once: as well as relieve traffic on saturated Suspension Bridge, the city gained a direct link to the capital without the need of going through the cities of Santos and Sao Vicente, in order to access the Via Anchieta, then the only option to reach the capital. Thus, Praia Grande became the resort closest to the capital. However, this ease of access has brought great inconvenience, that they would be solved by 1993 when the city started a revolution: the transport system has been completely refurbished, more than 90% of the streets were paved, the sewage began an expansion of collection (which began with 60% of households by 2012 and reach 100%), being treated and thrown more than 3 km from the coast, the edge of the beach and the main tourist spots were completely re-urbanized, it was forbidden to input bus tours without prior authorization from the municipality, the road system has been completely revised and reconfigured on interventions that occurred until 2006. Some projects are still to be deployed in the city, regardless of the administration, such as airport charges in the region of Andaraguá, State college campuses (UNESP) and Federal (UNIFESP), the transformation of municipal landfill in ecological park (awaiting decontamination of the soil) and Route 700, linking the Anhanguera to Rodovia dos Imigrantes. Demographics Until the early 1990s, most