Curitiba

Curitiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. In 2005 it had a population of approximately 1,757,904 people. Its metropolitan area comprises 26 municipalities with a total population of 3.2 million (2005 census) ^*.

The city is on a plateau 950 m (3,120 feet) above sea level. It is 105 km (65 miles) west of the sea port of Paranaguá, at 25.42° South, 49.29° West.

People from Curitiba are known as Curitibanos.

The name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words Coré Atuba, "much pine," due to the large number of Brazilian Pines (Araucaria angustifolia), in the region prior to its foundation. The Portuguese who founded a village in 1693 gave it the name of "Vila da Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais" (Our Lady of the Light in the Pine Forest). The name was changed to "Curitiba" in 1721. Curitiba officially became a town in 1842. Growth was based on the cattle trade, being half way between cattle breeding country to the South and markets to the North. Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. Traders established bases The Universidade Federal do Paraná (Federal University of Paraná), the first in Brazil, was established in Curitiba in 1913, the same year in which electric streetcars were first deployed.

Planning

Curitiba has a well planned transportation system, which includes devotion of lanes on major streets for a bus rapid transit system. The buses are long, split into three sections (bi-articulated), and stop at designated elevated tubes, complete with handicapped access. The system, used by 85% of Curitiba's population, is the source of inspiration for the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles, California. The city is also remarkably successful in preserving and caring for its green areas, boasting 54 m² of green space per inhabitant.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Alfred Agache, cofounder of the French Society for Urban Studies, was hired to produce the first city plan. It emphasised a star of boulevards, with public amenities downtown, an industrial district and sanitation. It was followed when possible, but was too expensive to complete.

By the 1960s, Curitiba's population had ballooned to 430,000, and some residents feared that the growth in population threatened to drastically change the character of the city. In 1964, Mayor Ivo Arzua solicited proposals for urban design. Architect Jaime Lerner, who later became mayor, led a team from the Universidade Federal do Paraná that suggested strict controls on urban sprawl, a reduction of traffic in the downtown area, preservation of Curitiba's Historic Sector, and a convenient and affordable public transit system.

This plan, known as the Curitiba Master Plan, was adopted in 1968. Lerner closed XV de Novenbro St. to vehicles, because it had very high pedestrian traffic. The plan had a new road design to minimise traffic: the Trinary Road System. This uses two one-way streets moving in opposite directions which surround a smaller, two-lane street where the express buses have their exclusive lane. Five of these roads form a star that converges to the city centre. Land farther from these roads is zoned for lower density developments, to reduce traffic away from the main roads. A number of areas subject to floods were condemned and became parks.

Today, Curitiba is considered (by the original author of this paragraph) one of the best examples of urban planning world-wide. In June 1996, the chairman of the Habitat II summit of mayors and urban planners in Istanbul praised Curitiba as "the most innovative city in the world."

New city projects have historically been chosen by referenda in order to assure that they meet real needs. Voters are informed of relative costs, and then choose between projects. Costs in referenda are described in terms of "kilometers of city street." This is said to help voters put projects in perspective with ordinary civil engineering.

In the 1980s, the RIT (Rede Integrada de Transporte, Integrated Transport Network) was created, allowing transit between any points in the city by paying just one fare. At the same time, the city began a project called the "Faróis de Saber" (Lighthouses of Knowledge). These Lighthouses are free educational centers which include libraries, Internet access, and other cultural resources. Job training, social welfare and educational programs are coordinated, and often supply labor to improve the city's amenities or services, as well as education and income.

Transportation

Curitiba has a very simple and practical transportation system. Public transportation consists entirely of buses. There are several different types of bus, each with a different function.

For more information go to Rede Integrada de Transporte.

Moving around in a car can be difficult in and around the city centre because of the many one-way streets and constant traffic jams. This makes the public transportation system more attractive if one wants to go there. The trinary system allows quick access to the city centre for car drivers. Some avenues are spacious and laid out in a grid, and apart from some points around the city centre, Munhoz da Rocha Street and Batel Avenue, traffic jams aren't thus severe.

Recently, the city installed around 200 traffic radars, causing much discontent among drivers in general. This technology uses sensors under the pavement which trigger a digital camera if the car is above speed limit. The picture, including the date and time it was taken, is sent to the driver's home, as a speeding ticket. The system can send these tickets to drivers anywhere in Brazil.

The speed limit is usually 60 km/h on avenues, but can be 40 km/h in dangerous places or where many pedestrians cross the street.

Afonso Pena International Airport is Curitiba's main airport. It is located in the nearby city of São José dos Pinhais and all commercial flights operate from this airport. It is integrated into Curitiba's transportation system, with rapid buses and executive buses connecting the airport to the city.

Small aircraft may also use the Bacacheri airport, which today hosts a flight school and an airbase.

Weather

Curitiba Weather StatisticsInstituto Agronômico do Paraná - IAPAR. ^*
Month	Temperature (ºC)
Month	Avg High	Avg	Avg Low
'''Jan	25.9	20.2	16.3
'''Feb	26.2	20.5	16.7
'''Mar	25.0	19.4	15.7
'''Apr	22.6	17.2	13.3
'''May	20.5	14.8	10.6
'''Jun	19.3	13.3	8.7
'''Jul	19.1	13.1	8.4
'''Aug	20.2	13.8	8.9
'''Sep	20.3	14.6	9.9
'''Oct	22.0	16.3	12.3
'''Nov	23.3	17.9	13.8
'''Dec	26.4	19.9	15.8
'''Yr	22.6	16.5	12.5

Located in Southern Brazil, Curitiba is a somewhat humid city in Subtropical zone. Its is located in a plateau (around 900 m) and the flat terrain with flooded areas contribute to its mild and damp winter, with average temperatures of 13°C (55°F) in the coldest month, falling slightly below 0°C (32°F), in coldest days. During summer, the average temperature is around 21°C (70°F), but gets above 32ºC (90ºF) on hot days.

In fact, of Brazil's twenty-six state capitals, Curitiba is the coldest, due to altitude, despite being 600 km north of Porto Alegre, the southernmost state capital in Brazil, but located at sea level.

Curitiba's inhabitants claim that its weather is unpredictable. Heat waves during winter and cold waves during summer are not uncommon, and even inside a single day there can be a lot of variation, what is typical in subtropical areas. A local saying says that "Curitiba is a city in which the four seasons are clearly defined, and it has all four every day". This characteristic is consequence of some factors:

The flat terrain surrounded by mountains in a rough circle with radius 40 km help block the winds, allowing the morning mist to cover the city on cold mornings.
The flatness of the terrain hinders quick water drainage after rains, providing then a good source of water vapor for the atmosphere.
Cold fronts come often from Antarctica and Argentina all year long, bringing tropical storms in summer and lots of cold winds in winter. They can be very quick, with no more than one day between the start of the southern winds and the start of rain.
Curitiba's weather is also influenced by the dry air masses that dominate Brazil's midwest most of the year, bringing dry and hot weather, sometimes even in winter.

Football Clubs

The three main football clubs in the city are: Coritiba Foot Ball Club (founded 1909, Brazilian Champion 1985), Clube Atlético Paranaense (founded 1924, Brazilian Champion 2001), and Paraná Clube (founded 1989). The match rivalry between Atlético-PR and Coritiba is popularly known as Atletiba.

Stadiums

Clube Atlético Paranaense: Kyocera Arena
Coritiba Foot Ball Club: Couto Pereira
Paraná Clube: Vila Capanema, Pinheirão

Government

The mayor of Curitiba since January 2005 is Carlos Alberto Richa of the PSDB ^*.

Sister Cities

The Sister Cities of Curitiba are:

Famous places

Curitiba is mostly known for some of its famous places:

External links

Official website

Curitiba official website

On Urban planning

IPPUC - Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano de Curitiba

Travel

Photography

Photos of Curitiba - Creative Commons licenses (CC-BY-NC-ND) images
Curitiba photos

Other

Satellite picture by Google Maps

Curitiba | Cities in Paraná | Planned cities

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