Facilitating responsible solutions
| Summer 2004 | Vol. 14 No. 3 |
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Copyright 2004 AXIS Performance Advisors. If you use this in any way, please cite the source.
by Darcy Hitchcock
Curitiba is a city in Brazil, comparable in size and population to Portland, Oregon. They are famous for their world-class urban planning and transportation system as well as innovative social programs. Based on my recent visit there, it appears that they are getting more benefits than we on less government funding. Despite overwhelming social, economic and environmental problems in the country, Curitiba has achieved a high quality of life. Constraints are often the source of creativity, and in their case, it has driven them to invent elegant solutions that solve several problems at the same time. I identified a number of innovations that have broad applicability to us in the US. In this article, I'll share a few of the highlights.
A few decades ago, Curitiba created a long-term growth plan. They realized that most cities balloon out in all directions, quickly becoming unmanageable. So instead, they designed their city along transportation corridors.
From the air, this looks quite odd, with high-rises snaking off in several directions. But from an urban planning perspective, this solves many problems. First, it provides for high-speed transportation across town, through the heart of the city. It also contributes to a high quality of life. For those who live or work in the high-density areas, they are a stone's throw to a lower density area and greenspaces.
Even though Curitibans have a high rate of car ownership, most trips are by public transportation. It is so popular that public transit is not subsidized. Fares pay for the full cost of the system and its administration, unlike in Portland where more than 75% is subsidized. They have achieved this with a handful of methods. First, they have dedicated lanes for buses that travel along these high-density corridors. Similar to a subway but at one quarter the cost, their triple reticulated buses have five large doors. The passengers have already paid and gone through a turnstile so there is no waiting for each person to get on or off. During the peak period, the buses come every 56 seconds. Rush hour in downtown isn't a clogged highway; it's a long but quickly moving line of people at the bus stop.
Second, they have built a route on normal surface streets which circles around the city. Unlike in Portland where you have to go downtown to get almost anywhere, Curitibans can easily get anywhere in the city without overloading the downtown routes.
While the buses are owned and operated by private companies, the municipality manages the system and the buses are color-coded for function. Where density is lower, they serve the area with vans instead of buses to maintain service at least every 15 minutes. Any longer and public transportation becomes inconvenient and little used, they've found, so they do whatever is necessary to provide frequent service.
When we see a homeless person on our streets, we mostly ignore them, until it becomes too uncomfortable for us and then we call the cops. In Curitiba, if you see someone in need, there is a number to call. A clean van with a social worker arrives. "Hi, someone called because they were concerned. Is there anything you need? Housing? Food? Help reintegrating with your family?" The person is whisked into a network of social programs with the intent of getting them on their feet again. Curitiba has four levels of service from this emergency support all the way to training, entrepreneurial incubators and markets set up for poor people to sell their wares. On my visit to Curitiba, I didn't see a single homeless person or walk by a urine-soaked doorway. Some of their poor may still live in favelas (shantytowns) but at least in Curitiba, it appears they all have roofs over their heads.
Along the major transportation corridors, they have built a complex called a Citizenship Street that houses all the municipal services someone might need: social services, legal assistance, vocational training, help setting up a business, etc. Low cost groceries there sell produce, much of it surplus from the surrounding farms. Here they also have household hazardous waste receptacles for people to dispose of batteries, medicines, fluorescent light bulbs, and the like.
In the US we give the poor food stamps, which people can use to buy Coke, Hamburger Helper and candy. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often considered a luxury. In Curitiba, by contrast, they have a host of programs that ensure even the poorest people have access to a good diet. In the favelas, people can exchange garbage and recyclables for food, which not only cleans up the shantytowns but also reduces disease. Instead of feeling like a handout, this aid becomes an entrepreneurial exchange; some enterprising people gather up recyclables from other parts of the city. The program supports local farmers and prevents surplus produce from being plowed under, a common practice in the US.
As mentioned before, low-cost groceries are in the Citizenship Streets along the major transportation corridors. And people eligible to receive the packet of food staples (rice, beans, etc.) attend short training sessions when they pick up their packet of food that teach them how to make gnocci from potato peels, care for their children, and provide other critical skills.
When Curitiba has a problem, more than not their solution seems to be to create a park. Instead of building seawalls along rivers, they buy up the greenspace for parks as natural flood control. When an area is frequented by drug addicts, is used for illegal dumping, or is sprouting new favelas, they create another park. In the Botanic Park, they have employed teenagers from the nearby favela to care for the park, teaching marketable skills and resolving a vandalism problem at the same time.
The genius of Curitiba is that they have made decisions that yield multiple
benefits. For example, their urban planning along corridors plans for growth,
allows easy access to greenspaces, ensures efficient transportation, prevents
air pollution, and provides logical places to decentralize municipal services
including hazardous waste collection and the sale of nutritional, local
produce. They have achieved a high quality of life (especially as compared
to other cities in Brazil or other developing countries) without a Fort
Knox budget. We too could have a higher quality of life at the same or lower
cost if we applied more of their innovations. A bad economy is no excuse;
it could even be an asset to catalyze creative solutions. To learn more
about their sustainability innovations, contact me (darcy@axisperformance.com)
to arrange a presentation.
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