Americas Quarterly

to establish an organic, functional urban system. As a part of this, we strengthened the city’s economic base by creating an economic pole in an area close to regional road connections but with direct links to the city fabric. This served to integrate life and work for the city residents. Within the city, we created a system of public parks along urban rivers, such as Barigui, São Lourenço and Barreir-inha, to increase green areas, to prevent the growth of illegal occupation of fragile areas and to help resolve major drainage problems.

We also revitalized the downtown area by creating the first pedestrian mall in Brazil, the Rua das Flores, in the heart of downtown, transforming an old gunpowder silo into one of the most cherished cultural icons of the city—the Teatro Paiol.

In my two subsequent terms, in addition to cutting-edge urban planning, we intensified a broad program that resulted in social advances, ranking Curitiba among the capitals with the highest quality of life in the world. Among these were environmental efforts, such as the creation of the Lixo que Não é Lixo program, a pioneering recycling program that taught people from the city to separate organic from recyclable waste. It targeted schoolchildren (a family of animated characters “Família Folhas” was created to promote the program) who then acted as advocates for recycling in their households. Another program, the Compra do Lixo project, worked to improve garbage removal and recycling in the favelas and illegal settlements—areas where it is often difficult for garbage trucks to reach. Under the project, people take their garbage to collection points in their neighborhoods in exchange for bus tokens,

Jaime Lerner is an architect and urban planner and founder of the Instituto Jaime Lerner. Former president of the UIA-International Union of Architects and three-time mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, he led the urban revolution that made the city renowned for urban planning in public transportation, environment and social programs.

64 Americas Quarterly FALL 2009

food or school supplies. As a result, the quality of the water of nearby streams improved and the incidence of disease decreased.

After stepping down as mayor, I served two terms as governor of Paraná, where I had the opportunity to work with and advise city governments and mayors in more than 100 cities from Seoul to Luanda. This experience has strengthened my conviction that cities need to focus their energies on improving quality of life by pri-oritizing a commitment to simplicity and the involvement of their citizens.

I don’t share the views of those who portray an urban world in apocalyptic colors and depict cities as hopeless places overrun with people and automobiles. My professional experience has taught me that cities are not problems; they offer solutions. I view the future of urban centers with optimism, particularly cities in the Americas such as Curitiba, Bogotá, Guayaquil, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and New York—all cities that have already taken bold, innovative steps to improve their planning and environment.

My strongest hope resides in the speed of transformation. For instance, the demographic projections based on the high birthrates of 20 or 30 years ago have not come to pass, giving me a more encouraging view on the growth of cities for the next years and decades. In fact, cities and humans have demonstrated a unique capacity to evolve and adapt.

Renewable energy sources, automobiles that pollute less, new alternatives for public transportation, and communication technologies that reduce the need for travel are pushing away the chaos that was predicted for large urban centers. The evolution of technology and its democratization are presenting new perspectives for cities of all sizes and shapes.

While the metropolises of the future will not look much different from today, the test of a successful city will be improving the quality of its residents’