More about Curitiba

 

So why am I studying in Curitiba?Curitiba is world-renowned for being a “model sustainable city.” Urban

 planners all around the 

world have been studying Curitiba since the 1970s. It is most known for its innovative bus system, including the famous bus tubes. With its population booming, the

 need was

 apparent for efficient mass transportation needed to be developed. But, the city could not afford to create an 

expensive subway system. Therefore, the rapid bus system came about, the key feature being the designated bus lanes…ie. Lanes for buses only. Also, the bus tubes serve the same purpose as a subway station where people pay as they enter the tubes, then wait, protected from the elements, for the next bus. When the bus appears the doors of the tube slide open and a mass of people rush in and out before the doors close again and the bus takes off. This system makes it much more efficient than a typical bus system.

            Another famous program is the Food for Trash program that gives poor people in the favelas food in exchange for trash. As mentioned before, many times the city cannot get into the informal settlements to pick up trash. When the city found out about local farmers throwing away cabbage one season due to overproduction, the city hatched a plan. They signed an agreement with local farmers that they would buy a certain portion of their crops in order to exchange it for trash delivered by residents in the favelas. Nowadays the program still exists and I went to see it in action. The residents lined up with their carts and received bananas, citrus fruit and potatoes in exchange for their trash.

Most of Curitiba’s programs were launched by its long-time former mayor, Jaime Lerner. My favorite story about Lerner is one in which he single-handedly turned a section of downtown Curitiba into a pedestrian-only strip. Knowing there would be widespread opposition to the change, he called his street workers in and asked how long it would take to transform the four-block section. They estimated several weeks…Lerner gave them 24 hours. They took a little longer than that…within 48 hours the 4 blocks were made into a pedestrian mall, with cars unable to enter ever again. Lerner had heard about a plan by local merchants along the strip who were opposed to the change…they planned to storm the new mall with their vehicles in protest on the day of its opening. But, Lerner was wise to the plan; he arranged for large reams of paper and paint to be delivered and then invited hundreds of children to come inaugurate the pedestrian mall’s first day. That move stymied the protests and children painting in the mall has since become a tradition each Saturday throughout the year. The pictures I am posting show several scenes from these programs that I have described. Enjoy.