As the impending overhaul of the US healthcare system continues to make headlines, an equally important but less publicized issue concerning the health and sustainability of our cities and communities, is often overlooked.
Sustainability within cities is generally defined as: the ability of a city to develop in a manner that is able to accommodate for a rising population — and its resulting externalities — while still maintaing a high degree of ecological awareness. Due to the continuing world-wide trend of urbanization, the population of many major cities has increased and consequently brought problems such as heightened levels of pollution, consumption and waste along with it. Practical solutions that are both efficient and cost effective are hard to come by and many cities are often overwhelmed by obstacles created from the flood of people into the city. In fact, the words “sustainability” and “major city” are often not used in the same sentence as cities that are both large and sustainable are few and far between. However, one city may have bridged the gap and successfully linked the two, this city is Curitiba, Brazil.
A Blueprint For Sustainability
The city of Curitiba, Brazil is truly one of the world’s most amazing metropolitan areas. Located within the Brazilian state of Parana, the history of Curitiba has been relatively modest and the city remained somewhat small and unknown until the 1950’s. However, thanks in large part to the fact that the city has been blessed to have leaders who have considered the people and communities of Curitiba to be their greatest asset rather than a burden, the city has emerged as one of the most progressive and sustainable cities in the world.
Curitiba, like many countries in South America, has experienced large waves of urbanization throughout the past couple of decades. However, unlike many of its counterparts who were unable to handle the influx of people, Curitiba managed to not only adjust to the rising population, but has also emerged as a global leader in sustainable development. This note-worthy feat was not the product of chance, but rather, the culmination of progressive thinking, careful planning and extraordinary vision. The results of these characteristics speak for themselves and although Curitiba currently has a population of roughly 1.8 million people – four times the amount recorded in the 1960’s – the city is operating more efficiently than ever before.
History of Planning
Alfred Agache, a French architect and urban designer, developed one of the first plans for the city of Curitiba. Agache’s plan, which consisted of measures such as improved sanitation networks, increased housing and the expansion of roads, proved unsuccessful as the population explosion hit Curitiba. As people continued to pour into the city, problems including pollution and over-crowding soon followed. In the plan set by Agache, the changes that were required to meet the needs of the growing population called for a substantial amount of funding that was not available at the time. Furthermore, the plan would have also destroyed a large number of historical buildings that were important to the culture of the city. The local community and more specifically the cities architects responded by vehemently opposing this plan. This resistance coupled with the lack of finances, led the mayor at the time, Ivo Arzua, to seek new proposals for the development of Curitiba. Among the submissions was a design put forth by a team of architects led by a man named Jaime Lerner.
Jamie Lerner was a young architect, engineer and urban planner who was born and raised in Curitiba. Like many other members of the community, he strongly opposed the destruction of the cities historical landmarks and when other development proposals were being considered, he and a team of architects submitted a master plan that was ultimately approved by the city council. The team’s plan was centered around the goal of making Curitiba a city in which development was fundamentally based on the needs of its people rather than automobiles. In order to assist in this continuing effort, the city established the Urban Planning Institute of Curitiba (IPPUC).
The IPPUC was formed as an independent agency charged with the duty of overseeing the future development of the city. As intended, this institution quickly became a hub of inspiration and gave rise to many of the key ideas that have been crucial in reshaping Curitiba. The IPPUC has also helped to ensure that the central ideas set forth within the newly established master plan would be able to endure for decades to come.
Shortly after the inception of the IPPUC, Brazil began to experience political turmoil and the accepted master plan was consequently put on hold. Fortunately, the IPPUC remained and was able to preserve the master plan until 1971 when Jamie Lerner was appointed as the mayor of Curitiba. Under Lerner’s tenure’s as mayor, Curitiba began to evolve into a Mecca of sustainability. The combination of the new master plan and formation of the ICCUP proved to be a perfect match and the goals of Lerner and other architectural visionaries could finally become a reality.
However, not everyone was in favor of the team’s ideas, which were fundamentally different from the original Agache plan. The previous measure would have created a concentric system of roads that would have directed the flow of traffic into the center of city, under this plan the central street of Rua Quinze would have been destroyed and replaced with a new overpass. Lerner and his team wanted to keep the Rua Quinze intact and to make this possible their design incorporated a linear system of roads that would radiate around the city and opted to close the historical Rua Quinze to cars, creating a “pedestrian mall”. The plan was met with hostility as Lerner soon realized that convincing storeowners who had never seen or even heard of a pedestrian mall would be a daunting task. Objections were also voiced by members of the local auto clubs; some even going as far as vowing to “take back” the road by driving down the Rua Quinze even if it was closed to cars. Despite objections to the plan, the team of architects persevered and in literally one weekend they were able to transform the central street of Rua Quinze into Learner’s vision of a pedestrian mall. Once it was developed, many of the storeowners who were skeptical of the idea, quickly embraced the change and some even petitioned to extend the mall. Disgruntled members of the automobile club who had pledged to reclaim the street did indeed arrive. However, they quickly abandoned their cause as they were greeted by a myriad of children painting on slabs of paper in the middle of the road, effectively preventing access. While this event was without a doubt a crucial moment marking the changing attitudes within the city, it was only the beginning of the major transformations that would occur within Curitiba. In the decades that followed, Jamie Lerner continued to be a significant influence within the city and ultimately served as a three-time mayor as well as the governor to the Brazilian state of Parana. As a result of the groundwork laid down by Jaime Lerner and his fellow urban planners, Curitiba has received recognition from around the world in honor of their work towards developing a sustainable city. Some of the many notable achievements that have helped to make Curitiba so special include: the implementation of their innovative system of mass transportation and their approach to environmental awareness.
Mass Transportation
In order for the master plan that had been set forth by Jaime Lerner and his team of architects to succeed, they needed to establish an efficient form of mass transportation that would be used by a majority of the population. The team discussed the possibility of building an underground rail system but quickly dismissed the idea as too expensive and instead focused their efforts on an above ground system of buses. This proved to be a cost effective decision as a local Volvo factory was already producing many of the buses that were running throughout the city. In addition, the buses that were currently in use could be integrated into the expanded network that was soon to come.
The new system of transportation that the city implemented ultimately consisted of five main roads that would radiate around the city and throughout the “designated growth corridors”. The goal of these designated growth corridors was to promote commercial development within specific areas along the newly formed transportation routes. In order to prevent unchecked growth and combat urban sprawl, a series of zoning initiatives were enacted. These initiatives based zoning regulations on the density level of the given development. Construction projects considered to be high density were only permitted around the central growth corridors but lower densities were authorized outside of the designated areas.
By establishing an efficient network of mass transportation and aligning the cities commercial growth along new transit routes, Curitiba has made travelling by mass transit more practical than using private cars. In Curitiba today, around seventy-five percent of the population uses the public transit and 1.3 million people use the buses on a daily basis, this figure is more than fifty times what it was twenty years ago!
Environmental Awareness
Curitiba has received a wealth of praise for its progressive methods aimed at stimulating environmental awareness. Along with educating its youth to the benefits of environmental protection at a very young age, the city has also established a variety of programs that offer incentives for collecting trash and materials that are recyclable. Among these programs are the “food exchange program” and “trash is not trash”. While similar in nature, the incentives offered by the two programs differ. The food exchange program is geared towards improving the health and the cleanliness of communities by rewarding those who recycle with fresh fruits and vegetables. While, “Trash is not trash” allows waste to be exchanged for transportation passes and promotes both the use of public transit and environmental sustainability. Due to their extraordinary efforts and innovative programs, the city has successfully made recycling in Curitiba a way of life and as a result, more than seventy-five percent of the public now recycles.
Moreover, Curitiba is literally one of the greenest urban centers on the planet. With over twenty-eight parks and a wealth of undeveloped land, the city boasts one of the highest proportions of green space in the world with around fifty-four square meters per capita. Instead of destroying open spaces, Curitiba has often elected to preserve the land adjacent to lakes and streams to act as barriers in times of flooding. The conservation efforts undertaken by city have proven that the preservation of land can be aesthetically pleasing while still providing benefits to the community.
Lessons to be learned
Curitiba, Brazil has taken a revolutionary approach towards developing its city within a sustainable nature. Thanks in large part to the tremendous efforts put forth by men such as Jamie Lerner; foundations like the IPPUC were established and have ensured that new developments within the city have continued to remain aligned with the basic principles laid out in the master plan. Moreover, by designing the master plan around the fundamental tenets of smart growth, community involvement and environmental awareness, Curitiba was able to cope with the continuing population growth while becoming one of the greatest cities in the world. Despite the consistent lack of financial resources, the urban planners within the city were able to create innovative solutions to many of the cities problems that proved to be both functional and cost effective. moreover, by actively encouraging citizen participation among the community, the city changed from the bottom up and social capital has been able to flourish.
Curitiba is proof that sustainability within a large city is possible. As the population of the world continues to rise, crowding within cities will become increasingly common. In order to better handle the population of the future, cities and local governments need to start planning today. And while each city is distinct and presents its own set of challenges, the unique approach that the city of Curitiba has taken towards a more sustainable existence should be inspiration to Cities around the globe.
some portraits can be found here
