Sustainable City Management - Case Study of Curitiba, Brazil'sEcological capital
TheRioEarthSummit(1992)recognisedtheneedtomoveawayfromtheunsustainabledevelopmentofrecentdecades,whichtooklittleaccountofthe finitenatureofresourcesorthedamagebeingdonetoourenvironment.Sustainabledevelopmentwasseenasessential.
Oneaspectofinitiatingsustainabledevelopmentistolookatthewayscitiesareplannedandrun.ThelaunchoftheEuropeanSustainableCitiesCampaign in1993,andtheEuropeanSustainableCitiesandTownsConferences(1994,1996and2000)areEuropeanoutcomesofthe1992RioEarthSummit.The campaignandconferenceshaveidentifiedintegratedtownplanningasonewayofachievingsustainablecites.ThisFactsheetexaminesCuritibainBrazil,a city whichhas madegreatprogress towards sustainability.
Fig1Summarisesthemainfeaturesofasustainablecitybyusing theRodgersmodel
BackgroundtoCuritiba,andtheinfluenceofJamieLerner Curitibais220milessouth-westofSãoPaulo,andisthecapitalofParaná StatewhichisoneoftheprimeagriculturalstatesinBrazil.LikeallLatin
ModelA-anunsustainablecity
food
organicwastes dumpedin rivers/coasts
Americancities,Curitibagrewrapidlyinthesecondhalfofthetwentieth
century, from 150,000 people in the 1950s to almost 1.6 million today. (Tables1and2).NotethatthepopulationgrowthratewithinCuritibahas beenconsistentlyhigherthanthatforBrazilasawhole.
coal,nuclear
City
emissions
CO,NO,
Table1-PopulationsofCuritibaandBrazil(millions)
andoilenergy
2x
SO2
198019902000
goods
InputsOutputs
inorganic
wastes dumped
aslandfill
Curitiba1.031.321.59
Brazil119147170
ModelB-asustainablecity
organicwasterecycled
food
reduced
Table2-PopulationgrowthratesforCuritibaandBrazil(%)
1970-801980-911991-2000
renewable
energygoods
City
InputsOutputs
inorganicwasterecycled
pollutionand wastes
Curitiba5.342.292.11
Brazil2.481.931.61
Curitibahassufferedfromallthetypicalproblemsbroughtbyrapidurban growth:massunemployment,transportcongestion,lackofbasicservices
Fig2LocationofCuritibainBrazil
Venezuela
Colombo
SaoPaulo
and uncontrolled growth of squatter settlements. However, the city has beenredesignedandhasbecomeaworldrecognisedmodelforsustainable urbanplanning.
This redesigning process started in the 1960s when a group led by Jamie Lerner, a young architect and urban planner, approached the mayor and suggestedthatthecityneededadevelopmentplan. Thegroup,whodid
Bolivia
Brazil
Curitiba
Campo
Largo
Araucaria
Curitiba
SaoJose dos Pinhais
Paranagua
notagreewiththetrendforhugeprojectsbuiltwithborrowedmoney,were advocatingalowercostapproach,whichwouldlookaftertheenvironment while still addressing the needs of the people – a sustainable approach.
Inresponse,themayorsponsoredacompetitionforaCuritibamasterplan and circulated the best entries, discussing them with the people of the town. Hethenreturnedthebestplantothegroupofarchitectsasking themtoamendittakingintoaccounttheviewsofthepeople.
Paraguay
Argentina
RiodeJanerio
SaePaulo
Atlantic
Ocean
Fig3showsasummaryoftheCuritibatransitsystem
slowmoving trafficring
Feeder routes frominterchange
Minorroads
Intergrated transport terminalwithexpress busstation
Express
busstations
arterialroads
Pedestrianised
Citycentre
Feederbusroutesfromallsuburbs
Workersroutesdevelopedascity spreads
Expressroutes
Directroutesondedicatedexpress lanes
Interdistrictroutesconnect neighbourhoodsavoidingcitycentre
2
2.Landuseandpublicservices
Everyonehaseasyaccesstopublictransport.Thefivearterialroutesfrom thecitycentretotheoutskirtshavebeenusedasthegrowthcorridorsof thecity. Twoblocksofhigh-densitybuildingslineeachofthearterial routesensuringfirstlythatgrowthwasradialratherthanalldowntownor haphazard,andsecondlyguaranteeingthatpeoplewillusetheexpressbus systems. As you move away from the five growth corridors the building density decreases through urban apartment buildings to low-density residentialneighbourhoods.
‘Citizenship streets’, which are two-storey buildings, have also been builtalongthefivearterialroadsclosetosomeofthemostheavilyusedbus terminals.Thesebuildingsofferaccesstopublicutilities,suchaswaterand electricity,andpublicservices,suchaspolicestations,jobcentresandjob training. Thestreetsalsocontainroofedmulti-purposesportsgrounds andconferenceroomsthatareavailablefreeofchargeorataverylowcost. The major hospitals are also located along the express bus routes. Total healthcarecentresprovidehealthcareforallchildrenupto5yearsfor24 hours a day. All Curitiba’s citizens are now provided with clean drinking water and 90% have access to sewage systems as a result of the EnvironmentalCleanupProgramme.
Fifty‘LighthousesofKnowledge’ arelocatedinaccessibleareasofthe residentialneighbourhoods.Thesearebrightlycoloured,lighthouseshaped towers that provide access to books and the Internet and are aimed particularlyatchildren.Thestaffareselectedfortheirpassionforreading and they work in collaboration with the schools. There are policemen at the top of the towers and the towers are lit during the night, which helps improvesecurityintheneighbourhoods.Thesearealso40specialcentres forfeeding‘streetchildren’andteachingthembasicskills.
Lerner was also one of the pioneers of pedestrianised shopping streets. Hemetwithagreatdealofresistancefromshopkeeperswhenheproposed pedestrianisingRua15deNovembrointhecentreofCuritibain1972.Ir was an incredible success.
Thestreet,Rua15deNovembro,islocallycalledRoadofFlowers asitissobeautifullykeptandfullofflowers. One street in the area has been turned into a 24- hour street where none of the cafes, bars, newsagents and chemists ever closes.
3.Recycling
Recyclingwasintroducedinschools.Childrenthentooktheideahomeand encouragedtheirparentstotakepart.e.g.theGreenSwapProgramme
4.Parks,openspaceandfloodcontrol
ThenumberofparksandamountofopenspaceinCuritibahasincreased dramaticallyoverthelast30years;in1970therewas0.5m2ofopenspace perresident,nowadaysthatfigurehasincreasedto54m2perresidentwith
26parksandwoodlandareasspreadthroughoutthecity.1.5milliontreeshavebeenplantedandbuildersgetataxbreakiftheirprojectsincludegreen areas.TheWorldHealthOrganisationrecommends16m2 ofgreenspace perresident.
Manyoftheparksarelocatedalongsideriversandinriverbasinsandthe landisprotectedsothatnothingcanbebuiltalongit.Thishasbeendone asawayofprotectingCuritibafromtheeffectsofflooding.Thewoodlands slow the infiltration of the rain and use some of it, thus reducing the amountthatreachestheriversandloweringthepeakdischarge.Lakesin theparksactasstoragepoints,regulatingtheamountofwaterthatreaches the river following storm events. Costly flood events are a thing of the past. 100 km of bicycle paths, (the longest in Brazil) connects to the bus networkandlinkstothecity’smainparks.
5.EconomicSustainability
During the 1970s Brazil experienced an economic miracle and became a NIC(newlyindustrialisedcountry).DuringthisperiodCuritibadeveloped an Industrial City (C.I.C.) some 10 km WSW of the city, to upgrade the city’seconomicprofileandprovidejobsforitscitizens.Theactualcreation ofCICwaschosentobeinanenvironmentallysustainablesitethedominant SEtradewindswouldblowanypollutionawayfromtheCuritibacity,and nearby water sources would be fully protected. Industrial facilities were integratedwithpublictransportandotherservices.Whilstthelandwasa “green area” the aim was to create a green park containing beautifully designedindustrialdevelopments(some15%oftheareaisstillGreenfield). Additionally,20,000housingunitshavebeenbuiltinthearea,soworkers couldcycletowork.
By2005,over650factorieswereoperatingintheindustrialcity,providing some50000directjobsand150000indirectjobs,foracityof1.8million people.ThesefactoriesincludedmajorTNCssuchasBosch,PhilipMorris, Volvo, and Toyota. The dominant focus was on high technology, such as electronicsandtelecoms,butalsoincludedtextilesandplasticproducts.
Aswellastheindustrialcity,therearenearly6000otherindustrialenterprises inCuritiba,rightacrossthefullrangeofindustrialactivity.Thishighlevel ofdiversificationisagainverybeneficialinsustainingthequalityoflifeof Curitiba’s citizens.
6.Returnhomeschemesandimprovementsinthecountryside
Inspiteoftremendoussuccessinprovidingeconomicsustainabilityviaa rangeofemployment,CuritibalikeothercitiesintheLEDCssuffersfrom aconstantinfluxofmigrantstryingtoleavetheharshlifeinthecountryside insearchofabetterlife.Howeverwhentheyarriveinthecitiestheyfind it hard to find jobs because of their lack of qualifications and they put increasingpressureonthealreadystretchedcityservices.
TheGreenSwapprogramme
•Citizensaskedtosortrubbishintoorganicandinorganic-rubbishis thencollectedandfurthersortedattheplants.
•Theplantsemployrecoveringalcoholicsandhomelesspeoplethus givingthemachancetoimprovetheirlives.
•RecoveredmaterialsaresoldtolocalindustriesandStyrofoamis shreddedtostuffquiltsforthepoor.
•Inthefavelas,whererefuselorriescannotnegotiatethenarrowunpaved roads, the poor are encouraged to sort their rubbish and bring it to collectionpoints.
•Atthecollectionpointsthefaveladwellersreceive,inexchangefor theirrubbish,basicfoodbagsofrice,beans,eggs,bananasandcarrots thatthecitybuysinexpensivelyfromthestate’sfarmers.
•Thewholerecyclingprogramcostsnomorethanlandfillandhasthe advantagesofimprovingpublichealthwithlesslitter,ratsanddisease, aswellasimprovingnutritionamongstthepoorestsectorsofsociety, andcreatingjobs.
•Theprogramisvoluntary,but70%ofhouseholdstakepartand
20%ofCuritiba’swasteisnowrecoveredorrecycled.
Conclusions
Table3showshowsuccessfulCuritibahasbeencomparedtoBraziloverall in improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. The citizens think they liveintheworld’sbestcity.
ExamQuestions
(a)OutlinesomeofthesustainabledevelopmentsthathavetakenplaceinCuritiba.(10marks)
(b)Whathavebeenthemajorreasonsforthesuccessofthesedevelopments?
(10marks)
AnswerFramework
(a)Canbestraightforwardlyansweredusingthisresource:Trytogroup yourideasunderaframeworkofenvironmental,social,andeconomic sustainability.
Sustainablecitymanagementcanbeconsideredunderthreeaspects:
Environmental
•minimisingdamagetotheenvironment,e.g.reducingpollutionand waste
•Preventingthedepletionofnaturalresources,e.g.usingrenewable energy, less reliance on fossil flues, a compact city to minimisetravellingdistances
•Developingagreencityenvironment,e.g.Greenspaceinitiatives
Economic
•providingadequateandsecurelivelihoodsand/or
•accesstoincomeviaarangeofemployment
Social
•providesareasonablequalityoflife,e.g.affordablehousing
•providesopportunitiestomaximisepersonalpotential.e.g. education,medicalservices
•providespoliticalfreedom,e.g.equalopportunitiesandcommunity involvementinthedecision-makingprocess
(b)Anumberofpossibleanswersinclude:
•Integratednatureofplanningofpracticalproblemsolving
•Emphasisonsustainablegreengrowth–linkingbothenvironment&
economy
•Involvement of people at all stages in planning [bottom up]
•Emphasisonhelpforall–eventheverypoorestpeople[equality]
•Dynamismofleader–readinesstogoforworkablemediumcost solutions
Table3QualityoflifeinCuritibacomparedtoBrazil
Curitiba / BrazilPerCapitaIncomeGDP(US$) / 10149 (2010) / 9037 (2010)
EmployedPopulationwithincomeabove2minimumwages(%) / 70 / N/a
Urbanhousingunitswithrunningwater(%) / 97 / 66
Urbanhousingunitswithelectricity(%) / 99 / 68
Urbanhousingunitswithsewagefacilities(%) / 61 / 40
Urbanhousingunitswithgarbagecollection / 98 / 55
Infantmortalityper1000alive / 20 / 34
Telephoneterminalsper1000inhabitants / 590 (2009) / 460 (2009)
Carsper1000inhabitants / 267 / 110
Literacy(%) / 94 / 85
BasicInoculationcare / 90 / 61
Greenareaperperson / 54m2(HighestinBrazil) / N/a (low)