I just finished writing my research paper on Curitiba, Brazil. What I discovered through this research was that green cities thrive because of high density development along with adequate urban intensity. What does this mean? Generally, if the majority of a city`s population is living close to their work, recreational facilities, shopping centres etc. the city`s urban intensity will be high. Curitiba has a high-intensity urban core with lower density development further out. Citizens living in mixed-use development in the downtown area are living closer together and close to all of the urban amenities. They can walk, cycle or take public transit to access these services. This signifies low levels of automobile dependency because municipal services and amenities are physically close to residences.
A city like Houston has medium-intensity development concentrated in suburbs outside of the city. The average household gasoline consumption in Houston is 1,407.333 gallons per year. In short, high urban intensity can be associated with higher levels of public transportation ridership. The farther away citizens live from the city centre, the more likely they are (statistically speaking) to drive automobiles and consequently consume more petroleum. Generally, suburbanites in Houston drive more than center city or near-centre city residents.
Urban amenities including jobs, education, health services, public transit, commercial stores and open space are all provided in the urban core of the city. Curitiba’s high-diversity urban environment has created numerous employment opportunities, ultimately providing an impetus for citizens to live in closer propinquity to the urban centre. Transport and density planning has included infrastructure to support walking, cycling and public transit.
Key message: Green cities need to have urban amenities. Reducing aggregate emissions from vehicles will only take place with a good public transit system. Curitiba has established an outstanding public transit system and has seen a reduction in automobile dependency and an increase in higher density development closer to the core of the city. Folks, this is smart growth.
It should also be noted that the power of democracy seems to have played a big part in Curitiba as well. The big push to get public transportation came from a Mayor that recognized that the high-density urban population was on the lesser side of the income scale and personal transportation (e.g. cars) wasn't easily affordable for the majority of the people.
ReplyDeleteIt is smart growth, but it might be more difficult to implement in areas like Toronto and the GTA where there's a lot more money going around. I hope other cities learn from this, though.
Good point Chris. You are right about the power of democracy through the Mayor`s leadership, however, the city`s population (rich and poor) have always lived both far and close to the urban centre. It was never a matter of automobile affordability (most Curitiba residents are financially stable) but more of a concern about their health and environment. The Mayor and public health officials were essential in communicating the importance of public transit ridership for health and environmental reasons. Incentives to take public transit have become available for those residents on the lesser side of the income scale. But more importantly, the urban amenities have attracted them to live closer to the city.
ReplyDelete75 percent of the city’s population use the buses and transit services, yet the irony is that Curitiba has the highest car ownership rate for any South American city. There are about 500,000 cars in the city or one for every 2.6 people. This seems to be paradoxical, but their pubic transit system is so well developed and operated that the need for using an automobile becomes futile. The power of democracy is one thing, but recognizing the importance of minimizing pollution and working towards mixed-use development to reduce automobile dependency is another.