Curitiba Film

After watching the film "A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba" in class and learning about their ingeniously innovative and successful social, economic, and environmental programs I was surprised to learn how long ago these programs were developed. Many of the solutions Curitiba developed and pioneered, such as using flocks of sheep to cut the grass in the city's open spaces, are elegant in their simplicity and ingenuity while being relatively inexpensive to implement and fund. Which is why I am surprised more cities haven't stolen from these ideas from the 1960s, such as their Bus Rapid Transit system which they have ironed out to work fabulously and with very little infrastructure cost and their garbage separation program that not only provides jobs and environmental stewardship but also education to the employees so that they can market themselves better. It is comprehensive ideas like these which take into account all facets of life (social, environmental, and economic) that set the course for Curitiba to become a world leader as a model in urban planning. This city is an excellent story of what can be accomplished in the field of urban planning with a limited budget, a lot of creativity, business partnerships, public education, and the bravery to try new things.