Unlike the South Zone and Rio's Downtown, Barra da Tijuca, built only 30 years ago, follows the Modernist standards, with large boulevards creating the major transit axis.

The area's masterplan was designed by Lúcio Costa, known for his work on Brasília, and creates a region filled with many gardens, shopping malls, apartment buildings and large mansions.

The neighborhood is a cultural, economic, and administrative hub of the city, and is believed to be the safest of Rio's upper-class neighbourhoods because of its lack of favelas and plentiful private and public security.

The area, full of swamps and unsuitable for planting, remained unoccupied until the middle of the twentieth century, even though occasional groups of fishermen frequented the region.

In the 1990s, another large urban development that enabled better connection with the North Zone of Rio was the creation of the Yellow Line, an expressway linking Barra da Tijuca to the Galeão International Airport.

Since then, the growth of Barra da Tijuca has been characterized by large inflows of people from all parts of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.

During the 1980s, Barra da Tijuca experienced a population explosion, with virtually all the land along its boulevards occupied by large residential condominiums, parks, supermarkets, shopping malls, schools and hospitals.

The project, however, depends on the approval of the Federal Congressional bill PEC 13/03, which transfers to the states the power to legislate on this matter, as it was until 1996.

The "neighborhood-condos", as they were named, have the idea of creating an exclusive neighborhood for its residents, making it possible for them to live a complete life without the need to leave the condominium.

The complex, considered one of the best family urban developments in the city,[citation needed] is now one of the favorite places of the celebrities of Rede Globo.

Barra's beach starts at Morro do Joá and ends at the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood, in Pontal de Sernambetiba, beyond Avenida Lúcio Costa.

The Teatro dos Grandes Atores (Great Actors Theater) is located in the Shopping Barra Square mall.

[5] The influence from different countries is criticized by many citizens from the older areas of Rio de Janeiro, especially concerning the 26.8 meters (88 feet) high replica of the Statue of Liberty in the New York City Center.

Barra da Tijuca (and their luxury condominiums, considered the trademark of Barra da Tijuca) is a recurring theme in Brazilian films, TV series and documentaries, mainly because it portrays (sometimes in a light and funny way, sometimes in a darker and more serious way) the lives of upper-middle class and upper class residents who live there.