lives and its impact on surrounding environment. It’s
not a matter of resources. Some resource-rich cities
have seriously compromised their futures with costly and questionable policies, like the channeling of
rivers and the building of extensive infrastructures
(such as huge amounts of road space, overpasses and
tunnels) for private transportation.
What’s essential is to take a planning approach
that allows for corrections, when needed, and to concentrate on doing what is possible today. Solutions
aimed at 20, 30 years ahead are pointless because
by then the problems are likely to be different. We
need urban policies that can generate change now
and will not need decades to show results.
At the roots of a big transformation, there is a
small transformation. The essential thing is to make
it happen and then take the time to enhance it. Start
with simple, easy-to-implement elements and these
will be the embryos of a more complex system in the
future. For instance, the Integrated Mass Transit System (BRT) of Curitiba that started in 1974 with one
axis of 12 miles ( 20 kilometers) of dedicated lanes
transporting 25,000 passengers per day has evolved
into a system that now transports more than 2. 2 million passengers daily in Curitiba and its metropolitan region, with a single tariff on more than 50 miles
( 80 kilometers) of dedicated lanes.
The world demands increasingly fast solutions,
and it is the local level that can provide the quickest
responses. But it is necessary to plan to make it happen. This means planning for the people, and not for
centralized and centralizing bureaucratic structures.
Metro Map to Reform
City planners must keep several priorities in mind
when they work to develop sustainable and healthy living environments. There are three issues that need to
be addressed when establishing the priorities of a city:
identity, mobility and sustainability.
Identity
The geography of a city—how streets
and buildings are laid out—is crucial
to strengthening residents’ sense of
belonging. It provides them with a
healthy identity as urban citizens. Rivers, for instance, are important reference points. Instead of hiding them
from view or burying them in concrete, cities should establish riverbanks
as valuable territories. By respecting
natural drainage characteristics, cities
can make sure the preserved areas provide necessary episodic flooding relief
channels and still be used most of the
time for recreation in an economically
and environmentally friendly way.
Parks can work within a similar
logic, providing areas that people can
relate to, and interact with.
Historic districts are also major reference points. However, these areas
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