Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Parana, is often praised for leading the world in sustainable urban planning and presenting one of the highest HDI in Brazil. Curitiba’s secret? Mobility, sustainability, and identity. These are the three areas that cities need to focus on, according to Jamie Lerner, Mayor of Curitiba for over 20 years and Curibita’s urban planning champion. Among Lerner’s sustainable approaches are 52 square meters of national parks (New Internationalist). To maintain this much grass, goat herders are hired by the city to maintain the abundance of greenery found in Curitiba. Sustainability is also manifested in other areas of his city structure, some of which we examine below.
In an interview by SBS/Dateline on November 2006, one of the first things that Mayor Lerner shows is the importance in prioritizing people over cars, an example of his ideology that transcends transportation. They have an outstanding bus system, the Bus Rapid Transit, which was built to be a cost-effective and reliable mode of transportation. The bus system was built to operate on the already-existing roadways instead of dropping a large portion of the city's budget into building an underground rail system (or any other system which requires intricate infrastructure implementations). The buses run on bus-exclusive lanes as frequently as every 90 seconds, making them the most inviting form of transportation in Curitiba. The result of this well-thought-out system, with the people of Curitiba in mind, led to the following outcome: "70 percent of Curitiba’s commuters use the BRT to travel to work, resulting in congestion-free streets and pollution-free air for the 2.2 million inhabitants of greater Curitiba" (Goodman, J). The routes of these buses are so heavily travelled that the city no longer grows out from its core; instead, it grows linearly along the main bus routes, encouraging commercial growth for many. As a result, "Curitiba has the largest downtown pedestrianised shopping area in the World" (O'Hare, M).
This transportation system is so successful and beneficial for such a large part of this growing population because it was implemented with the sole and genuine goal to serve the people. Curitiba's city planners avoided large-scale and expensive projects and instead listened to hundreds of modest initiatives. They wanted a system that would favor the majority of the people, instead of just the residents who owned vehicles. The transportation system goes beyond buses; it represents the successful efforts to transform the city culturally, socially, and economically. It is estimated that the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit system has eliminated around 27 million auto trips per year, which saves around 27 million liters of fuel annually. This has a great impact on the environment in Curitiba, and also on citizen's finances: "Curitibanos spend only about 10 percent of their income on travel—much below the national average" (Goodman, J).
SLUMS/HOUSING
Curitiba is not perfect. Like most cities, it has slum dwellings but chooses to take care of the problem. Mayor Lerner has found a way to help improve living conditions in an interesting way. In 1990 the city purchased farmland to build 50,000 homes for people living in impoverished, low quality units. The houses are being built by the new landowners who meet with architects to plan out the structure. According to Bill McKibben “Sixty per cent of the lower-income people are involved in the construction industry anyhow,” so they actually have experience with building homes. There is a real involvement of the people in the whole process, which will allow them to get the type of homes that they want. When people are involved in creating a better environment for their communities there is a much greater chance that the effects will last. When residents have invested in building homes they will be motivated to see that their community remains safe and well taken care of. The newly built communities already have transportation lines provided, giving access to lower income communities to the resources of the city.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
(Check out these photos to see what the process looks like)
Curitiba has focused on sustainability and creating a better place for the people through waste management as well. The “Garbage That Is Not Garbage” has made a tremendous difference on the city’s waste management system: “70% of the city's residents are actively recycling and 13% of solid waste is recycled” (United Nations). The program was implemented to help improve the conditions of those living in impoverished neighborhoods where waste was accumulating on the streets. Since some of the trucks are not able to reach these neighborhoods due to small, narrow roads, several collection sites have been created throughout the city so that people can bring their garbage to dispose. “In exchange for garbage and other recyclable material, people are given vegetables and bus tokens and money.” Children also benefit from this program by receiving school supplies and other materials distributed through the program. Employment opportunities are also given to those who live on the streets through this program to work at the plants and separate the recyclables. One program enhances the lives of many disadvantaged people while creating a more sustainable city. This program addresses the issue of poverty by providing food and employment opportunities to those who really need them.
Each of these examples shows that Curitiba is invested in its citizens and has a unique relationship with them. Curitiba works to include everyone, from the goat shepherds who maintain the parks to the people in the slums who help improve their own living conditions by recycling, throwing away garbage and building their own homes - all jobs that help give each person a sense of purpose and a sense of identity.
Group Mostly Women
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