The Brazilian administrative region (Portuguese: Região Administrativa) are a territorial subdivision of the Federal District (31 in all), or of the city of Rio de Janeiro (33 in all).
The division of the Federal District into administrative regions was made official through Law No. 4,545 / 64. Previously this law, the administrative regions were either denominated just "satellite cities", except Brasília, the federal capital, being the nucleus of the region.
The administrative regions are territorial subdivisions of the Federal District, for which physical limits, established by public power, define the jurisdiction of government action for purposes of administrative decentralization and coordination of public services of a local nature.
This action is exerted through the intermediary of each regional administration.
Broadly speaking, the administrative region would be the set of urban, suburban and rural areas belonging to the control of an urban center (seat of the administrative region).
The your physical-administrative boundaries are subdivided into urban and rural areas in discriminated then, according the macrozoning of the Federal District, established by Article 11 of the Supplementary Law No. 17, dated 28/01/97 regarding the Director Plan of Territorial Ordering of DF - PDOT.
URBAN ZONE: of Dynamism, of Consolidation, of Controlled Use.
RURAL ZONE: of Dynamism, of Diversified Use, of Controlled Use.
Each administrative region corresponds to a regional administration, which is responsible for representing the government of the Federal District and promote the coordination of local public services.
Each regional administration is commanded by a regional administrator, who is indicated by governor of the Federal District.
The city of Rio de Janeiro is divided into 33 administrative regions. Those are different from the Brasiliense ones, as they are merely a kind of local districts.