Due to the accelerated economic growth, a colonial elite of wealthy merchants and industrialists proud of their accomplishments soon formed, who began to foster a cosmopolitan erudite culture, but still heavily dependent on Italian culture. In the first decades of the 20th century, newspapers, theaters, literary, artistic, political, social, sports and charitable associations appeared, and this flourishing was accompanied by an architectural and urban renewal in the center. Streets begin to be paved, Dante Square takes on its classical form, and changes in building regulations begin to prohibit wood construction and encourage masonry. A series of elegant palatial homes began to occupy the center, and sumptuous buildings were erected to house banks, large business houses, and the main clubs and associations. In this process, the lower classes are being pushed out of the center, and soon the industries would also be pushed out, and speculation began. In 1949, the rather disorderly growth of the urban area imposed the enactment of the first General Plan, establishing new guidelines for sanitation, alignments, distances, construction aesthetics, and other aspects. At this time the center began to be verticalized. In a short time the General Plan became obsolete, requiring successive reformulations in the 1950s and 1970s to adapt to the intense population swelling that the city was experiencing due to the arrival of the residents from the countryside and other parts of Brazil, attracted by the wealth of Caxias. However, while progress was advancing at a rapid pace, the colonial, art nouveau, eclectic and déco architecture of the center was being destroyed at the same speed. In Marchioro & Calcagno's analysis, from the 1940s to the present, the General Plans promoted several advances, but showed many flaws and contradictions, revealing a lack of long-term planning. Furthermore, its application has been difficult and controversial, favoring the densification of the center and accentuating the depopulation of the rural area. These problems have not prevented the Historic Center from remaining the most dynamic area of the city to this day. On the other hand, this interval also evidenced a profound urban crisis, since the primitive urban plan with its narrow streets was maintained. In the last decades the number of vehicles circulating has exceeded the traffic capacity of these streets, the main public transportation lines in the urban area have started to pass through the center, and traffic jams have become daily. Lately there has been also