Lessons from Curitiba

Where is Curitiba?

• India
• Venezuela
• Mexico
• Brazil

Which of the following is NOT one of the three aspects of development that urban planning dealswith?

• Physical development of cities
• Economic development of cities
• Educational development of cities
• Social development of cities

What problems do many cities face?

• Poverty, lack of schools, lack of affordable houses
• Overcrowding, pollution, increased demand for services
• Lack of shops, corrupt police, crime
• Ageing population, lack of hospitals, incompetent government

What was the main cause of the increase in Curitiba's population before the 1940s?

• Lack of birth control
• Immigration from overseas
• Migration from rural areas
• Expanding suburbs

In what ways was Alfred Agache's approach to urban planning different?

• He approached each problem separately.
• He consulted the public.
• He concentrated on improving roads.
• He addressed a number of different problems at the same time.

What happened to Agache's plan?

• It was successful for the next 30 years.
• It was rejected by the local government.
• It wasn't finished.
• It was changed by other developers.

What did the Curitiba Master Plan do?

• It used an integrated approach to add wide fast roads and reduce city growth and traffic.
• It started again with a new plan and concentrated on parks, schools, hospitals and shopping centres.
• It combined politicians, local people and local tradespeople to decide what they wanted in the city.
• It forced all developers to build in a certain way to preserve the historic parts of the city.

What was new about the approach to planning in the 1980s?

• It included more schools and universities.
• It included recycling centres and environmental schemes.
• It included more parking and car-friendly spaces in the city.
• It included more open spaces, gardens and zoos.

What is new about the approach to planning now?

• Large industries are encouraged to provide jobs.
• Business parks are placed outside the city.
• Small businesses are encouraged to provide jobs.
• The city is encouraging more car use.

What is the writer's opinion of the Curitiba experience of urban planning?

• It had some good ideas but unfortunately they were not practical.
• It was a very good scheme that should be adopted as a model everywhere.
• It needed more thought and more resources to be successful.
• It was difficult because of interference from local politicians.