CURITIBA: A SUSTAINABLE CITY CASE STUDY FROM BRAZIL
This page archived in August 2008
Curitiba is city in the SE of Brazil, in the state of Parana. Apparently it means "Land of abundant pine cones".
Curitiba's current state is largely down to the vision of one man Jaime Lerner (in the same way as Lee Yuan Kew is the 'architect' of Singapore's success)
We recently obtained a useful video using E-Learning Credits which is based in Curitiba. It's a good resource, which comes with teachers notes and lesson resources, plus a databank on the city to help flesh out case studies further. One of our Australian yellow series which also produced the classic Gulargambone one...
There are some rather useful relevant websites if you search.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curitiba - a Wikipedia article to get you started...
Check out the work of the Mayor at the IDEAS BANK. It's about having a bit of vision, something so many people lack.
Also check out THIS WEBSITE which looks at how Curitiba has faced problems before they actually occurred.
A useful article on the PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION system in the city.
The city's circular bus stops. Passengers pay before boarding. Click for biggery (as they say)
Image from http://www.curitiba-parana.net/ - which has useful information on the city and its 26 parks and status as the Ecological Capital of Brazil
A superb PBS site on CURITIBA which has information on all the various aspects of the city. Worth a visit !
One key aspect of life in the city is the Integrated Public Transport system.
I asked my students to investigate the price of bus fares in Curitiba, and well done to Simon for sourcing this website
which explains that in the late 1990s the bus fare was the equivalent of around 20p - remember that the bus fares are all flat rates, so that the people who live further out from the centre of the city (often the poorer residents) are not disadvantaged by the location of their houses) - also has some useful detail on some other cities where not quite the same end product has been achieved
I also recommend a Curriculum Press article: GeoFactsheet 151 & Classroom Video called "Sustainable Urban Living" (for ages 14-18)
Work your way through this LEARNING UNIT at Making the Modern World.
http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/learning_modules/geography/04.TU.01/
Recommended - Curitiba is featured late in the unit...
Notice how the background is 'green' - I'm so arty !