About
Curitiba was born from the native population and the Portuguese immigrants on the first plateau of the State of Paraná at an altitude of 934 meters above sea level. Its name comes from the language of the Guarani Indians and means pine grove, which refers to the predominance of pinheiro-do-Paraná (Paraná araucarias) trees in its territory. The City’s “birth certificate” dates back to March 29th, 1693, when its City Council was founded.
At the end of the 17th century, Curitiba established a system of subsistence agriculture, and its economic activities were mainly based on mineral extraction. The next economic cycle in the region was based on the cattle drivers who traveled with their herds from Viamão, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, to the fair in Sorocaba, in the state of São Paulo. From there, the herds were then taken to the state of Minas Gerais. The cattle drivers would spend winter periods in the middle of the journey, in the fields of Curitiba, and these campsites that were set up would only be dismantled when the cold season gave way to spring. These cattle drivers would take advantage of their stay to carry out business and by doing so, they led Curitiba to become an important intermediary trading post. Two other economic cycles were happening practically simultaneously in the history of Curitiba: the cycles of maté and of wood.
At the end of the 19th century, this expansion stimulated the construction of the Paranaguá-Curitiba railroad, which was the first link between the capital of the then called Province of Paraná and the coast. During the 20th century, Curitiba benefited from the wealth that came from the maté mills and monoculture coffee plantations. Suffering the relentless effects of bad weather, coffee crops were gradually substituted by soybean. Finally, coffee crops were completely wiped out by the "Black Frost" of July, 1975. The mechanized agriculture of soybean crops drove agricultural workers off of the land, and Curitiba received great waves of immigrants. The city made swift decisions to avoid urban chaos and to foresee future demands by investing in urban planning and in city management focused on the city dwellers.
Population:
Curitiba population.……………………………………………..………1 788 559 (2008)
Curitiba and Metro Region population…………………………….….3 261 168 (2008)
Curitiba Area………………...…………………………………………………..430,9 km²
Source: Institute of Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba – IPPUC
Strategy
1. Preparation of the inventory of sinks of the greenhouse effect gases by municipal forests – Executed.
2. Preparation of the inventory of sources of the greenhouse effect gases emission - in bidding process.
3. Preparation of the study on vulnerability - in preparation, partnership with FGV / ISAE.
4. Municipal Plan of Mitigation and Adaptation to weather change - Planned for 2011.
Other Green Initiatives
Recycling:
Curitiba has initiated a new project called SPIR to replace the sanitary landfill in the metropolitan area of Curitiba. The program will aim to recycle or transform into fertilizer what is normally just thrown in the landfill as trash. The city estimates that this program will create around 100 and 150 straight jobs in addition to saving an amount of water and electricity that would be equivalent to that of the consumption of 600 000 persons in a year.
Transportation:
The city has also invested in improvements to attract more people to use public transportation. Some investments include making buses run on biofuels and reforming the bus line system for faster connections. One of the new buses, which transports 32 000 passengers daily, now emits 60% less pollutants than a traditional bus.
Conservation:
Curitiba has also preserved 25 000 m2 of forest land. The city is taking immediate action to prevent the degradation of the basin area and has set short, medium, and long term steps for the preservation of the land.
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