Creative Curitiba - the urban design of Curitiba, Brazil

Architectural Review, The, May, 1999 by Lucien Kroll

The Industrial City at present provides 50 000 direct jobs and 150 000 indirect jobs. Workers benefit from the quality of the surroundings, the excellent transport system, and the health, education and food services. On average, they spend three hours a day less in travel, than the same workers at Sao Paulo.

Social conditions and culture

Curitiba was swollen by refugees from the country. The supply of accommodation had difficulty in keeping up. There is still a shortage of 80 000 homes and 7.5 per cent of inhabitants are in temporary accommodation and nearly 5000 homes are being built per year. Although the mayor insists on high quality accommodation, he encourages do-it-yourself; it is often much cheaper than hastily-built barracks and is more suitable.

The quality of opportunity is greater than elsewhere in Brazil. For example the illiteracy rate is 7 per cent compared with 26 per cent in the country. Failure at school is also less. Vocational training, very difficult to finance, is given in disused buses. They travel from one district to another and teach all trades requested.

Beyond the immediate, functional prospects of people, numbers and needs, Curitiba regards culture mainly in relation to the inhabitants of a district or town, and saving travel time to work so as to provide longer periods at home or in other pursuits. Improvement of everyday life proceeds by a system of neighbourhood relations, on the scale of a village rather than a large town. This attachment to a locality provides Curitiba with an identity and multiplies the effects of one action on another.

The memory of the efforts of 20 years ago to construct a town of make-do and ecology is the stuff of today's personal history of the inhabitants and continues.across the generations. The inhabitants have the feeling of participating in a novel ecological operation and of giving an example to the world.

Keeping the balance

Restoration of the town is the concern at all levels but is mainly discussed at the top. Lerner thinks that the town authorities should know how to balance the two vital elements - necessity and possibility. A part of his day is devoted to dealing with particular requests, from maintenance of public lighting to ensuring that buses are punctual.

The other part of his time is spent in reflecting on what will happen in the town of the future after he retires. How many inhabitants will there be in 20 years? Where and how will they live? How will they go to work? Where will they throw their rubbish? Lerner says that 'The mayor who limits himself to current problems fails the city of tomorrow, whereas a mere visionary stumbles in all the ruts of today'.

Encouraging town spirit

Lerner maintains that town spirit is immaterial but a great incitement to action. 'We must escape the syndrome of tragedy' he says. The bomb promised by Malthus has not yet exploded. Poverty is widespread but does not overwhelm us. 'A tendency is not a destiny' says Lerner, echoing the philosopher Rene Dubos. 'The idea', he says, 'is that the citizens know that solutions exist'. The only way is to involve the citizens in improving their own environment. Recycling of rubbish and planting of trees are successes because they are organized in association between the official town and the private sphere.'