There are two industrial centers (Capuava and Sertãozinho) and a large petrochemical complex plant where the refinery of Petrobras is located, the RECAP.

It is also served by the METRA bus rapid transit system, having one stop and a trolleybus line which goes to the Sônia Maria terminal.

[citation needed] The city is located 818 metres (2,684 ft) above sea level, at the boundary between the Serra do Mar and the plateau.

Due to the disordered occupation of the floodplains, many places that before acted as absorbers of excessive rain water were grounded and the city has several points at high risk of flooding.

The hillsides were originally occupied by a lush Atlantic Forest, though already mixed with species of Araucaria and Planalto Paulista typical of altitude climate.

In the city, the Atlantic Forest areas most preserved are the wellsprings, the tank of Paulista, the Ecological Park Santa Luzia and the slopes of Guaraciaba.

Currently, only the Taboão stream have the original vegetation in the urban environment, but will lose much of it due to rectification works to link up with the new Beltway.

A large part of the population is descended from migrants from the Northeast,[2] but also from Italian, German, Ukrainian, Spanish and Japanese immigrants.