Planning Case Study: Curitibas, Brazil
via [ TreeHugger ] “A Convenient Truth” Chronicles Curitibas Urban Innovations
When an innovative Planner becomes Mayor, innovative things can happen. Curitibas has been a favorite subject of many planning academies. It is a place where innovative ideas actually got built into the environment. It is amazing to think how lacking Americans Cities have become since the great mistakes of Urban Renewal. Today our energies are preoccupied with conservative instincts and the return to the idea of creating “livable” communities.
When over 90% of a citys residents are happy with their city, somebody must be doing something right. In Curitiba, a quaint, mid-sized town in southern Brazil, some forty years of sensitive urban design interventions have created a city that is pleasant and sustainable, and one that has managed to avoid many of the ills that have plagued Brazilian cities.
Countless innovations can be traced back to Curitiba, and over the years the place has become something of a Mecca for architects and urban planners from all over the world. But for those who cant afford the trip to Brazil in these tough economic times, a documentary film called A Convenient Truth is the next best thing.
Curitibas urban revolution began in 1971, when a young architect named Jaime Lerner was appointed mayor. Lerner came to the job accompanied by a team of like-minded innovators, and armed with a heap of original ideas, which he proceeded to implement one by one.
