8th January 2017
We arrived in Curitiba from Rio at about 12:30, and shortly afterwards headed to the Hotel Lancaster, in the central district of the city.
Our first day in Curitiba was the most low-key of our time in the city. We spend significant time in the pedestrian mall of 15th November Street. During our pre-trip work, we learned a lot about the the November 15th Street mall, which has served as a nexus for Curitibans of all walks of life, improving education, the local economy, and lowering emissions. Now, we actually visited the mall, which was just down the street from Hotel Lancaster. |
9th January
On our second day in Curitiba, we learned extensively about the history of Curitiba's transportation network and the sustainable initiatives practiced by the city.
First, after breakfast, at 8.00, we departed Hotel Lancaster for the IPPUC offices, our first destination. At 8:15, our fleet of cabs at IPPUC. IPPUC (Instituto de Pesquisa Planejamento Urbano de Curitiba, Institute of Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba) is a municipal institute created to maintain Agache's and Lerner's organized growth plans for Curitiba. At the IPPUC offices, we listened to a presentation by Daniele Moraes, one of IPPUC's urban planners. She introduced us to the history of Curitiba's urban planning and development which has gone through two primary transitions. The first was the Agache Plan, hatched by Alfred Agache in the 1940s, substantially improved the sewer networks of Curitiba, as well as the roadway development. The next development came in 1968, when Jaime Lerner's Master Plan, was first developed. Lerner's Master Plan created the modern Curitiba and is still maintained by the IPPUC. Apart from the role of the Master Plan, Moraes also stressed the importance of the efficiency of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which is now inextricably linked to Curitiba's Master Plan. Although Daniele did not discuss the BRT system in-depth, she did briefly discuss the two main factors by which it has improved the efficiency of Curitiba's inner workings. First is the sophisticated boarding system of the buses. Second is the notion of customers pre-paying for bus fare. Both these factors have worked together to limit idling (and emissions) and quicken bus transit. The last main point that Daniele addressed was the Master Plan revision of 2004, which among other things, improved the policies concerning urban consilidation and public transportation promotion. Daniele finished her presentation at about 10:00. Shortly afterwards, we left IPPUC for our lunch destination. We finished lunch at about 13:00, where we again took cabs to our next destination, SMMA, or Secretaria Municipal do Meio Ambiente (Municipal Secretary for the Environment). Our cab caravan arrived at SMMA at 14:00. SMMA is the Curitiban municipal body overseeing the environment, and while we were there, we met with Carlos, who introduced us to the history of sustainability in Curitiba and in the management of Curitiba's urban parks. Carlos talked extensively about how the Curitiba municipal government has developed an extensive program of forest management. After Carlos' presentation, he took us on a stroll through Barigui Park, which was close to the SMMA office complex. Barigui Park is one of Curitiba's five urban parks, and is home to a vast array of wildlife. Chief among the wildlife are waterbirds and capybaras, the world's largest rodent. The bounty of wildlife in Curitiba's parks helps to maintain the water levels of the rivers which transect them. For example, capybaras consume the marsh grasses which grow on the banks, and later, their dung helps to serve as a fertilizer for the grasses, which absorb the water, playing a vital role in flooding control. In Curitiba, this is especially important, since the city has, in the past, been ravaged by the overflowing of rivers. These overflows were, at least in part, caused by the erosion of the banks. With the rise of the current Master Plan in the 1960s, the importance of wildlife in erosion control was reemphasized and today herds of capybaras graze the banks of Curitiba's rivers, contributing to a vital ecosystem service. We continued to the Curitiba Botanical Gardens, one of the city's most famous attracts. It also houses botanical laboratories used by universities in ecological research. Later on during our time in Curitiba, we would get much more of an experience in the region's ecology. After our time at the Botanical Garden, we continued to the Wire Opera House. At around 17:00, we went back the hotel and had dinner. 10th JanuaryOn our third day in Curitiba, we learned extensively about Curitiba's bus rapid transit system, Rede Integrate de Transporte (RIT).
We left the hotel at 8:00 for our first destination, the offices of URBS (Urbanização de Curitiba), the municipal body overseeing the RIT. There, several of the administrators gave us a presentation explaining to us the inner workings of the RIT system. A major part of the efficiency of the RIT system is centralization, which is all done in the RIT control room, which was our next destination. After the presentation we were shown the RIT control, which serves to monitor each of the bus lines across the city for any glitches or malperformance. Additionally, any instances of crime that occur at bus stations, terminals, or on buses themselves are monitored by the control room. After leaving the control room, it was around 11:00, and we went out to lunch. After lunch, (around 1:00), we went back to the hotel. Later that night, we rendezvoused in our one of our rooms to do presentations. First up was Jacalyn and Christians' presentation of water quality issues in Rio's Guanabara Bay. Second was Kim and Catalinas' presentation about the Atlantic Forest. Today, I learned much more about the efficiency of the RIT bus system and how that plays a key role in the lives of Curitiba residents. |
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11 January 2017
On our third day in Curitiba, we learned extensively of the policies set forth by Curitiba's new municipal government.
Leaving the hotel at 7:30, we headed to a government office complex, where several city officials discussed their plans for increasing government efficiency and economic growth in Curitiba. In this presentation, I understood the need for increased technological centralization in large cities, which is what the city officials were advocating for. This increased centralization would increase play a major role in monitoring of city systems and make maintenance of those systems much more efficient. High energy efficiency is one attribute which urban planners should shoot for, since it is not only cost-effective, but it also reduces carbon emissions. After the presentation by the municipal government ended (at around 12:00, we headed back to the hotel for a short respite before heading back out to the Oscar Neiemeyer Museum, Curitiba's iconic art museum. Our time at the museum introduced us to the Curitiba's rich culture, which has played a big part in the succeed of the city's living standards and level of education which is higher than the Brazilian average. We left the Neimeyer Museum at around 2:30, and went back to hotel. We all rendezvoused later that night to do presentations. First was Tyler and Anna Ternova covering Curitiba's urban parks, while Erika and Ana Rick covered Curitiba's urban planning. |
12th January 2017 On last full day in Curitiba, we got a first hand experience of the Atlantic Rainforest.
After leaving the hotel at 7:30, we left in a hired bus to take us to the train station. Our train, the Serra Verde Express Coast Tour, departed at 8:00 to take us up into the Serra do Mar mountain range. The mountain range is home to the Atlantic Forest, one of Brazil's subtropical rainforests which has been declared a biodiversity hotspot because of it's significant depletion (by some estimates only 7% remains). Along the way to the mountains, a significant change in vegetation was noticed. The lowlands of Curitiba are home to araucaria trees, which are suited to drier areas. However the mountains are home to subtropical plants suited to areas with heavy precipitation. I also understood the need for forest conservation much more by riding the train, as a first-hand experience to the forests has a massive impact. The chief reason for conservation of the forests is carbon sequestration, which the trees absorb. At 12 noon, we reached our destination, the town of Moratis, high up in the mountains. We proceeded to have lunch, finishing at 1:15. After finishing lunch, we proceeded to souvenir shop in Moratis. We then left in the bus at 2:00, which took us back to Curitiba. |
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