Curitiba - Sustainable City Flashcards
How much money does Curitiba have to spend each year?
600 million dollars
What is the aim of its planners?
To improve the environment, reduce pollution and waste, and improve the quality of life of it’s residents
How has Curitiba reduced car use?
1) there’s a good bus system, used by more than 1.4 million passengers per day
2) it’s an ‘express’ bus system- they have special pre-pay boarding stations that reduce boarding times and bus only lanes on the roads to speed up journeys
3) the same cheap fare is paid for all journeys, this benefits poor residents who tend to live on the outskirts of the city
4) there are over 200km of bike paths in the city
Has Curitiba been successful in reducing car use?
Yes, the bus system and bike paths are so popular that cut use is 25% lower that the national average and Curitiba has one of the lowest levels of air pollution in Brazil
How has Curitiba conserved natural environments and made plenty of open spaces?
1) green space increased from 0.5 m squared per person in 1970 to 52 m squared per person in 1990
2) it has over 1000 parks and natural areas. Many of these were created in areas prone to flooding, so the land is useful but no serious damage would be done if it flooded
3) residents have planted 1.5 million trees along the cities streets
4) builders in Curitiba are given tax breaks if their building projects include green spaces
How has Curitiba implemented good recycling schemes?
2) 70% of rubbish is recycled. Paper recycling saves the equivalent of 1200 trees per day
2) residents in poorer areas where the streets are too narrow for weekly rubbish collection are given food and bus tickets for bringing their recycling to local collection centres
How have these things made Curitiba a sustainable success?
1) the reduction in car use means that there’s less pollution and use of fossil fuels . This means the environment won’t be damaged as much for people in the future
2) leaving green open spaces and conserving natural environments means that people in the future will still be able to use the open spaces
3) the high level of recycling means that fewer resources are used and less waste has to go to landfill. This means more resources will be available in the future
4) Curitiba is also a nice place to live- in a survey 99% of residents said that they were happy with their town
Where is Curitiba? What is it’s population?
Southern Brazil with a population of 1.8 billion
