We have to change from ‘Ego Architecture’ to ‘Eco Architecture’.— Jaime Lerner
Jaime Lerner passed away today, and sadly, his accomplishments will go unnoticed by many simply because being Mayor of an impoverished city doesn’t top the list of newsworthiness. And yet this Architect/Urban Planner/Mayor, brought his THIRD World city to THIRD Place in a list of "15 Green Cities" in the world!! Some of his claim to fame:
In 1971, at the age of 34, Lerner began his first term as mayor of Curitiba, a city of nearly 2,000,000 in Brazil. At that time, mayors were political appointees, and so merely pawns in the game of power politics where those holding the reins thought Lerner's youth would make him easy to control. They were wrong, and he soon made it clear that reform was at the top of his agenda.
So what did he do for his city? This first one is a personal favourite of mine because it involves ... SHEEP: Curitiba purchased the surrounding flood plains and made them into parks (some of the largest in the world), in contrast to wealthy cities like New Orleans that built expensive and levee systems so their city could be built on flood plains (hurricane Katrina proved what a brainstorm that was!!). Curitiba’s vast parks posed a problem though, as they could not afford the tractors and petroleum to mow, but this didn’t stop Lerner whose innovative response was "municipal sheep" to keep the parks' vegetation under control ... AND, whose wool funds children's programs!
When Lerner became mayor, many of Curitiba’s impoverished areas were impossible to service by municipal waste removal. The "streets" were too narrow. Rather than abandon these people or raze these slums, Lerner began a program that traded bags of groceries and transit passes for bags of trash. WOW, what a concept, and yes, the slums became much cleaner.
Similarly, Curitiba’s nearby bay that had been a dumping ground for years, would be extremely costly to clean up. Again, Lerner faced the challenge by starting a program that paid fishermen for any garbage they retrieved (by the pound). That way, they can make money even outside fishing season, supplementing their income. The savings to Curitiba are in the millions.
Lerner got Volvo to make 270 person articulated buses. This transit service is used by more than 2 million people a day. Even though Curitiba has more car owners per capita than anywhere else in Brazil, the auto traffic declined by 30%, and atmospheric pollution is the lowest in Brazil.
Lerner eventually received recognition ie: his city placing third in a list of "15 Green Cities" in the world, according to Grist magazine; and Time Magazine listed Lerner among the world's most influential thinkers. In a survey, 60 percent of New Yorkers wanted to leave their rich and cosmopolitan city; 99 percent of Curitibans told pollsters that they were happy with their city.
WHAT, no pattern cluster?! Well I’m sure that there are plenty to be found.
No comments:
Post a Comment