Infrastructure
[edit]
In 2000, the city had 55,178 households, including apartments, houses, and rooms. Of these, 39,445 were owned properties, with 32,076 fully paid (58.13%), 7,369 under acquisition (13.75%), and 10,445 rented (18.93%). A total of 5,187 properties were provided, with 810 supplied by employers (1.47%) and 4,377 provided in other ways (7.93%). Another 101 were occupied in other forms (0.18%). The municipality has treated water, electricity, sewage systems, urban cleaning, fixed telephony, and mobile telephony. In 2000, 96.84% of households were served by the general water supply network; 97.29% of households had garbage collection; and 95.01% of residences had sanitary sewage systems.
Healthcare[edit]
Esperança Regional Hospital of Presidente Prudente, formerly known as Cancer Hospital
In 2005, the municipality had 91 healthcare facilities, with 58 private and 33 public establishments, including hospitals, emergency rooms, health centers, and dental services. These facilities provided 1,294 hospital beds, with 71 public and 1,223 private. The city has eight general hospitals, six public, one private, and one philanthropic. Presidente Prudente also has 1,425 nursing assistants, 408 general practitioners, 236 pediatricians, 221 gynecologist-obstetricians, 218 nurses, and 1,063 professionals in other categories, totaling 3,571 healthcare workers. In 2008, 2,667 live births were recorded, with 8.4% premature, 77.1% delivered by caesarean section, and 13.4% born to mothers aged 10 to 19 (0.3% aged 10 to 14). The crude birth rate is 12.9.
The former University Hospital (now Regional Hospital – HR) was purchased in 2010 for R$78 million by the São Paulo State Government, which invested millions in renovations. The HR serves as a reference for 45 municipalities in Western São Paulo and currently has 550 beds, all under the Unified Health System (SUS), including 56 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, with 20 for adults, 10 for coronary care, 6 for pediatrics, and 20 for neonates. It offers medical residency programs in Cardiology, General Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Dermatology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Infectious Diseases, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Urology, ICU, Pediatric ICU, and Neonatology.
Education[edit]
Faculty of Science and Technology, UNESP Presidente Prudente campus
Block III of UNOESTE Campus II
The Municipal Education Secretariat of Presidente Prudente (Seduc), legally established by Law No. 2296/83 on 21 December 1983, provides training courses for teachers in the municipal network, promotes literacy projects, and facilitates the use of municipal school buildings outside class hours and during vacation periods for cultural and recreational activities. The Secretariat also coordinates with federal and state agencies to establish general education and teaching programs.
Presidente Prudente has schools in all regions of the municipality. Due to extensive urbanization, the few residents in rural areas have easy access to schools in nearby urban neighborhoods. Education in state schools is of a lower standard than in municipal schools, but the city hall is conducting studies to improve public state education to achieve better results in the IDEB (Basic Education Development Index). In 2008, the municipality had approximately 40,639 enrollments, 2,673 teachers, and 193 schools in public and private networks. The municipal literacy rate is 98%.
The municipality is also notable for its universities, such as São Paulo State University (Unesp), Union of São Paulo Educational Institutions (Uniesp), and University of Western São Paulo (Unoeste), as well as institutions such as Antônio Eufrásio de Toledo University Center (Toledo), São Paulo State Technological College (Fatec), the National Commercial Learning Service (SENAC), the National Service for Industrial Training (Senai), and Sesi, which together enroll over 80,000 students across more than 110 different undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The city has three universities, two colleges, and seven distance education colleges.
Education in Presidente Prudente in numbers
Level
Enrollments
Teachers
Schools (total)
Early childhood education
3,854
221
65
Primary education
27,680
1,417
87
Secondary education
9,105
735
Science and technology[edit]
Presidente Prudente is considered one of the most innovative cities in the state of São Paulo. In 2016, a law was enacted to promote and support technological innovation, scientific and technological research, and technological development, aiming to bridge the gap between the municipal government and higher education institutions while facilitating investments in startups, research, and development. The law established the Municipal Innovation Fund to provide financial resources for the projects of researchers and entrepreneurs, the Innovation Assistance Grant for individuals developing projects (startups), the Innovation Award to recognize successful initiatives and projects, the Municipal Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation, and the Municipal Innovation Seal for companies contributing to the municipality's development in this area. The city was the first in Brazil to enact a Municipal Innovation Law.
In 2017, the Inova Prudente Foundation, officially the Vicente Furlanetto Foundation for Education, Research, and Innovation of Presidente Prudente (FUNDEPI), was inaugurated. This physical space, equipped with infrastructure and services, aims to integrate startups, entrepreneurs, researchers, and the community, while fostering the development of entrepreneurs and small businesses, applied research for improving or creating new products or processes, and driving innovation. The facility underwent renovations, and in 2018, Brazil's first Municipal Technology and Innovation Coworking Space was opened. The space accommodates 120 "coworkers," 200 researchers, and 40 companies.
In early 2019, the municipal government launched the InovaTec Program, which grants exemptions from municipal fees and taxes and a 60% reduction in the calculation base for the Service Tax (ISS) owed by these companies. In practice, they pay only 2% ISS on monthly revenue, the lowest rate allowed by federal legislation. The Inova Prudente Foundation was recognized as a success case at the GovTech Conference, an event organized by StartSe held in April 2019 in São Paulo.
The municipality is also home to the Presidente Prudente Technological Incubator (INTEPP), established in 2004. Its goal is to support the creation, development, and consolidation of technology-based companies, providing physical infrastructure and services to establish new businesses, attract investments, and capture market share, generating income and jobs.
Crime and public safety[edit]
Coat of arms of the PMSP
As in most medium and large Brazilian municipalities, crime is also a challenge in Presidente Prudente, although it has the lowest crime rates in São Paulo state. In 2006, the homicide rate in the municipality was 12 per 100,000 inhabitants. The rate of deaths by firearms, which was 11.8 in 2002, rose to 16.3 in 2003, then stood at 11.7 and 14.6 in 2004 and 2005, respectively, before dropping to 6.0 in 2006. The rate of deaths from traffic accidents, which was 22.7 in 2002, increased to 30.9 in 2006.
The decline in homicides related to urban violence is attributed to measures implemented by the São Paulo State Military Police (PMSP), such as the Digital Incident Report (RDO), adopted in 46 other municipalities in São Paulo state. The RDO standardizes incident reports (BOs) filed at police stations via intranet, stores them in databases, and allows access by other police agencies. According to the municipal government, the Ministry of Cities invests little in security in Presidente Prudente.
The Presidente Prudente region has the highest concentration of prisons in Brazil, with a prison population of 18,318 inmates across 21 facilities, which have a capacity of only 13,757, meaning the prison population exceeds capacity by 33.15%. The establishment of prisons in the interior allowed the state government to address two issues with a single measure: relocating inmates away from large urban centers and meeting demands for new job opportunities in these municipalities. The prisons created an estimated 18,000 jobs for prison facilities, supported by R$230 million in investments.
Services and communications[edit]
Branch of the Brazilian Post and Telegraph Corporation in the municipality
The water supply service in Presidente Prudente is managed by the São Paulo State Basic Sanitation Company (Sabesp). The municipality gets 70% of its water from the Rio do Peixe, while the remaining 30% is sourced from the Santo Anastácio River and small underground reservoirs and springs. One hundred percent of the urban area is served by the electricity distribution network, with 112,454 megawatt-hours consumed annually in 2001 and approximately 180,000 consumers.
There are still dial-up and broadband (ADSL) internet services offered by various free and paid access providers. In fixed telephony, the city was served by Empresa Telefônica Paulista until 1973, when it began to be served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo (TELESP), which built the telephone exchanges still in use today. In 1998, this company was privatized and sold to Telefônica, and in 2012, the company adopted the Vivo brand for its operations. Mobile telephony services are provided by various operators. There is also 3G access, available in the municipality since 2009, and 4G access, available since 2013. The area code (DDD) for Presidente Prudente is 018, and the Postal code (CEP) ranges from 19,000–000 to 19,109–999. On 8 January 2009, the municipality began to be served by portability, along with other cities with DDD 018 and states including Rio Grande do Sul (DDDs 51 and 55), Tocantins (63), Mato Grosso (65), and Amazonas (92 and 97).
There are twelve channels in the VHF band – channels 2 to 13 – and 69 in the UHF band – channels 14 to 83. There are also microwave (SHF) and satellite channels, which offer significantly better frequency and require special receivers. These receivers typically deliver the signal to the television on a VHF channel. There is also a daily newspaper in Presidente Prudente, "O Imparcial." The city previously had "Oeste Notícias," which was closed by its management on 31 January. The city has several online portals, the most accessed of which are Portal G1 – Presidente Prudente, Diário de Prudente, and Portal Prudentino. There are also nine radio stations in the city, with the main ones being "101 FM" and "98 FM."
Transportation[edit]
Raposo Tavares Highway (SP-270), near Presidente Prudente
View of the old Presidente Prudente railway station
The municipality is served by the Tietê-Paraná Waterway, which facilitates the transport of goods to Mercosur countries. Presidente Prudente is also served by Ferroban (Bandeirantes Railway S.A.) within its territory, on a section formerly belonging to the now-defunct Sorocabana Railway. However, since 1999, there has been no passenger rail transport, only freight transport. The municipality has easy access to SP-270 (Raposo Tavares Highway), connecting São Paulo to Presidente Prudente and Presidente Epitácio to Mato Grosso do Sul; SP-501 (Júlio Budisk Highway), linking Presidente Prudente to SP-294 – Comandante João Ribeiro de Barros (Alta Paulista – Osvaldo Cruz, Dracena, Adamantina); and SP-425 (Assis Chateaubriand Highway), connecting Presidente Prudente to Santo Inácio (PR) and subsequently to São José do Rio Preto and the border with Minas Gerais. Additionally, it has access to regionally and nationally significant highways via paved, dual-lane secondary roads. The city is also served by the Dr. Adhemar de Barros Airport (IATA: PPB, ICAO: SBDN), with a capacity for 178,926 passengers, making it the third largest in São Paulo state.
The municipal vehicle fleet in 2009 totaled 103,460 vehicles, including 65,001 cars, 3,327 trucks, 576 tractor-trucks, 7,685 pickups, 272 minibuses, 22,169 motorcycles, 3,650 mopeds, 743 buses, and 37 wheeled tractors. The city's duplicated and paved avenues and numerous traffic lights facilitate traffic flow, but the increase in the number of vehicles over the past decade has led to increasingly slow traffic, particularly in the seat district. Additionally, finding parking spaces in the commercial center has become challenging, causing some losses to commerce, partly due to merchants and their employees occupying the limited available spaces.
Previously, public transportation in Presidente Prudente was provided by two companies: Transporte Coletivo Presidente Prudente (TCPP) and Pruden Express. Currently, following a bidding process, only one company, Prudente Urbano, provides the service. The Municipal Secretariat for Traffic Affairs (SEMAV) is the municipal body responsible for the city's traffic and transportation systems. It regulates and oversees the public transportation system and manages municipal traffic. It comprises departments for Planning, Traffic, Transportation, and Public Safety Cooperation.
