Sustainability_+Project

= CURITIBA CITY =  " Curitiba's favelas have their own charm . It is an underworld in which they breathe hope and desire to excel ." media type="youtube" key="n33fPbeKhC8?hl=es" height="407" width="576" align="center" Curitiba is located in Brazil. It is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Curitiba is largest city of Parana state's and southern Brazil's. The metropolitan area of Curitiba comprises 26 municipalities with a total population of over 3.2 million. Curitiba is an important cultural, political and economic center in the country. The city sits on a plateau at 932 meters (3,058 ft) above sea level.

The first ten years of the 16th century marked the beginning of a war of conquest of Europeans (Portuguese colonists) against the indigenous peoples who inhabited the area of the city. Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. In 1853, the south and southwest of the province of São Paulo were separated, forming the new province of Paraná, and Curitiba became its capital. For the year 1820 French scholar, savant Saint-Hilaire, He was surprised to see the city described as follows: "... The streets are wide and almost regular (...) the public square is organized, very large and covered with grass ... the churches are three, all built of stone ...”

The city of Curitiba is one of the finest examples of a bulky economic and industrial development carried out with responsibility and organization. Since it was declared the capital of the State of Paraná in 1853, the city has gone through several major urban planning projects to avoid uncontrolled growth and thus has become an international role model in dealing with such sensitive issues as transportation and the environment. The city is the second largest car manufacturer in the country, and its economy is based on industry, commerce and services.

During the 20th century, especially after 1950, the city rapidly increased in population and consolidated its position as regional hub for trade and services, becoming one of the richest cities in Brazil and a pioneer in urban solutions. In the 1940s and 1950s, Alfred Agache, co-founder of the French Society for Urban Studies, was hired to produce the first city plan.

Agache Plan (named after the French architect and urban planner Alfred Agache) consisted of many intersection points and five lanes of traffic in each direction. Also, the plan involved implementing sanitation measures to help maintain a cleaner community. Agache considered additional housing and industrial zoning. The basic purpose of the plan was to increase the amount of travel through the city, which resulted in restructuring the road networks. Agache Plan directed the municipal authorities until 1958, when he founded the Department of City Planning.

In the 1960's, after a hard work, Serete Company designing the Curitiba Master Plan. The philosophy of this plan was the integration of functions (live, move, work and recreation) and urban services, based on three fundamental principles: transportation, road system and land use, which began to be designed in a set, with the main goals of limiting central area growth and encouraging commercial and service sector growth along two structural north-south transport arteries, radiating out from the city center. The Master Plan also aimed to provide economic support for urban development through the establishment of industrial zones and to encourage local community self-sufficiency by providing all city districts with adequate education, health care, recreation, and park areas.

When it comes to fully develop, Curitiba is positioned as one of the best examples. This Brazilian city, capital of Parana state having progressed as a principle to integrate their resources for the environment. The environment, economy, education, transportation and social development of Curitiba are integrated with the same goal: to create a sustainable city and thus enjoy a better quality of life. What makes the development plan of this city, a totally different, is that the environment is the most important factor to consider in its strategic management. Progress has been structured with an ecological conscience.

Since 1980 the city began its environmental concept. In 1989 it started the program Garbage is not garbage, which emphasizes gathering all the "garbage" that can be used again. For example, broken televisions, car parts, stereo systems, furniture, pieces of wood and everything that people throw thinking that you cannot use. In poor communities in Curitiba will "buy" these items together and those who are "paid" with food. In this exchange system was called Green Exchange is to provide communities with low purchasing power and the opportunity to work and get food.

Curitiba is not only an ecological model for the world, is a city populated by humans with a different mentality towards life. In this city are recycled to spaces. What was once a quarry, now a beautiful theater, “La Opera de Alambre” with lush green areas, a large lake, and diversity of flora and fauna and inside a lot of culture. The wooden posts that once were used for electrical cables are now supported by a majestic building, “La Universidad Libre del Medio Ambiente”.

In Curitiba there is a real environmental awareness and government and society in general supports this principle. Curitiba is a city that has focused on the possibilities.

Actually, the Curitiba city has ecological literacy programs for all citizen; excellent public transport system (mass transit and bicycles) as well as systems of public spaces and self-sustaining housing. Finally, a whole system of urban planning based on a model of sustainable development. For all these reasons, in 2010 the city was awarded the Global Sustainable City Award which was set up to recognize those cities and municipalities which excel in sustainable urban development around the world.