Curitiba

Aerial view of Batel and Água Verde neighborhoods

One theory is that the name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words kurí tyba, "many pine seeds" due to the large number of pinecones of Paraná pines in the region prior to its founding.[17] Another version, also using words from the Tupi language, is that it originates in the combination of kurit (pine tree) and yba (large amount).[18]

The Portuguese, who founded a settlement on the site in 1693, named it "Vila da Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais" (Village of "Our Lady of the Light" of the Pines). The name was changed to "Curitiba" in 1721. Curitiba officially became a town in 1812, spelling its name as "Curityba." An alternative spelling was "Coritiba." This was used in press and state documents. A state decree in 1919 settled the dispute by adopting "Curitiba."[17]

Map of Curitiba in 1894 (Portuguese edition).

At the end of the 17th century, Curitiba's agriculture was only for subsistence and its main economic activities were mineral extraction. Waves of European immigrants arrived after 1850, mainly Poles, Italians, Germans (mostly from Russia) and Ukrainians.[6]

Cattlemen drove their herds from Rio Grande do Sul to the state of São Paulo, turning Curitiba into an important intermediate trading post.[19]

Nossa Senhora da Luz Cathedral and Downtown Curitiba in 1900.

The Paranaguá-Curitiba railroad was opened in 1885.[19]

Around the beginning of the 20th century, Curitiba benefited from the wealth of the yerba mate mills. The owners (known as "barões da erva-mate") built mansions in the capital. These have mostly been preserved in the districts of Batel and Alto da Glória.[20]

In the 1940s and 1950s, Alfred Agache, co-founder of the French Society for Urban Studies, was hired to produce its first city plan. It emphasized a "star" of boulevards, with public amenities downtown, an industrial district and sanitation. It was followed in part, but the plan was too expensive to complete.[21]

The Curitiba City Hall

As of 2017, the mayor is Rafael Greca, who replaced Gustavo Fruet. The City Council of Curitiba has 38 councillors elected since 2004. Curitiba is divided into nine regional governments (equivalent to subprefecture), who manage the municipality's 75 districts. The Rua da Cidadania ("Street of Citizenship") is the symbol of administrative decentralization; it is a reference point and a meeting place. Several units are annexed to public transport terminals. Their nuclei offer services in the local, state and federal areas.[36]

Jaime Lerner is perhaps Curitiba's best-known mayor. He has been mayor three times, the first time in the early 1970s. His leadership was crucial to some major changes in the city. Curitiba has built parks instead of canals to reduce flooding; used parks to make the city more liveable; pedestrianised the downtown area; invented and built Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a bus system that works like a light rail system but is 10 times cheaper; and started a massive recycling scheme that included giving people bus tokens in return for waste.[37]

Time magazine listed this former mayor among the world's most influential thinkers of 2010. In the days before free direct elections, mayors were political appointees who were no more than pawns in the game of power politics and were subject to replacement at any time. For an idealistic young architect like Lerner, retaining the mayor's office was particularly precarious. Those holding the reins of power at the time were under the mistaken impression that Lerner's youth would make him easy to control. As it turned out, he was no milquetoast, and subsequently set about enthusiastically pursuing reform.[38]

Brazilians of Ukrainian descent celebrating Easter in Curitiba.

Old Polish house at João Paulo II park ("Pope's Park").

Ukrainian memorial at Tingui Park.

Memorial of Japanese immigrants at Japan's Square.

According to the 2010 IBGE Census, 1,678,965 people resided in the city of Curitiba.[39] The census revealed 1,381,938 White people (78.9%), 294,127 Pardo (Multiracial) people (16.8%), 49,978 Afro-Brazilian people (2.9%), 23,138 Asian people (1.4%), 2,693 Amerindian people (0.2%).[40]

In 2010, Curitiba was Brazil's 8th most populous city.[41]

In 2010, the city had 359,201 opposite-sex couples and 974 same-sex couples. The population of Curitiba was 52.3% female and 47.7% male.[40]

As with most of Southern Brazil's population, Curitiba is mostly inhabited by European descendants. The first Europeans to arrive were of Portuguese origin, during the 17th century. They intermarried with the native people and with the African slaves.[42]

Up until the 19th century, the inhabitants of the city of Curitiba were natives and mixed-race, Portuguese and Spanish immigrants. In 1808 foreigners were granted the right to ownership of land, and in 1853 Parana became an independpent province, and these events resulted in a substantial number of immigrants from Europe.[19]

The first non-Iberian (Portuguese and Spaniard) immigrants to come to the city were German.[43]

The Memorial of Polish Immigration was inaugurated on 13 December 1980, after the visit of Pope John Paul II in June. Its area is 46,000 square metres (500,000 sq ft) and was part of the former Candles plant. The seven wooden log houses are parts of this memorial area, as a memento of the Polish immigrants' struggles and faith. Objects like an old wagon, pipe of cabbage and a print of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa (patron saint of the Polish people), form parts of the memorial.[44] The first group of Poles arrived in Curitiba around 1871. Curitiba has the biggest colony of Polish immigrants in Brazil.

Italian immigrants started arriving in Brazil in 1875 and in Curitiba in 1878, coming mainly from the Veneto and Trento regions of Northern Italy. They settled mostly in the Santa Felicidade neighborhood, still a centre of the Italian community.[45]

Nearly 20,000 Ukrainian immigrants settled there between 1895 and 1897, consisting mostly of peasants from Galicia who emigrated to Brazil to become farmers. Around 300,000 Ukrainian-Brazilians live in Paraná.[46][47] The State of Paraná has the largest Ukrainian community and Slavic community.[48]

Curitiba has a Jewish community[49] that was originally established in the 1870s.[50] Much of the early Jewish congregation has been assimilated.[51] In 1937 with the rise of Nazi Germany, notable German Jewish academics migrated to Brazil, some settling in Curitiba.[52] Physicist César Lattes and former mayors Jaime Lerner[53] and Saul Raiz were Jewish. A Holocaust memorial is present in the city. The community centre, a Jewish school, a Chabad house (Beit Chabad),[54] a synagogue,[55] and two Jewish cemeteries are there,[56] one of which was defiled in 2004.[57]

Japanese immigrants began arriving in 1915, with a larger contingent arriving in 1924. Curitiba received a significant Japanese influx. They settled mostly between Paraná and São Paulo state. The city has the second largest Japanese community in Brazil, behind only São Paulo, according to IBGE. Although both cities have around the same proportion of Japanese descendants, other large cities in the countryside, such as Maringá and Londrina, have an even higher rate. Some estimates suggest that more than 40,000 Japanese-Brazilians live in Curitiba.[58]

Oi Panoramic Tower.

Downtown Curitiba skyline.

Since it was declared capital of the State of Paraná in 1853, the city has gone through several major urban planning projects to avoid uncontrolled growth and thus has become an international role model in dealing with issues including transportation and the environment.[59] The city is Brazil's second largest car manufacturer. Its economy is based on industry, commerce and services. For that reason, Curitiba is considered by many investors to be the best location for investment in Brazil.

The city receives more than two million tourists every year. Most arrive via Afonso Pena International Airport, where almost 60,000 flights land annually.[60]

According to IPEA data, the GDP in 2006 was 32 billion reals, without including agriculture and livestock (0.03%). Industry represented 34.13% and the commerce and service sectors 65.84%.[61] Cidade Industrial de Curitiba, the industrial district, is home to many multinational industries, such as Nissan, Renault, Volkswagen, Philip Morris, Audi, Volvo, HSBC, Siemens, ExxonMobil, Electrolux and Kraft Foods, as well as many well-known national industries, such as Sadia, O Boticário and Positivo Informática.

Curitiba's infrastructure makes bus travel fast and convenient, effectively creating demand for bus use in the same way that the infrastructure of traditional cities creates demand for private motor vehicles. In July 2001, Curitiba became Brazil's first city to receive the prize "Pole of Information Technology", granted by InfoExame magazine. According to the magazine, the companies of "Technology and Information Technology" based in Curitiba in 2001 achieved US$1.2 billion in revenues, representing a growth of 21% over the previous year.[62]

Estação Mall.

The city's 30-year economic growth rate is 7.1%, higher than the national average of 4.2%, and per capita income is 66% higher than the Brazilian average. Between 1975 and 1995, Curitiba's domestic product grew by some 75% more than the entire State of Paraná, and 48% more than Brazil as a whole. In 1994, tourism generated US$280 million, 4% of the city's net income. Curitiba has municipal health, education and day care networks, neighborhood libraries shared by schools and citizens and Citizenship Streets, where buildings provide essential public services, sports and cultural facilities near transportation terminals. At the Open University, residents can take courses in subjects such as mechanics, hair styling and environmental protection for a small fee. Policies for job creation and income generation became part of the city's strategic planning in the 1990s, for the metropolitan area as well as the city.[63]

The "Paço Municipal" built in 1916.

Since 1990, the Municipal Housing Fund has provided financial support to housing for lower income populations. After national housing finance collapsed in 1985, just as people from the countryside poured into Curitiba, the city's public housing program bought one of the few remaining large plots of land, "Novo Bairro" (New Neighborhood), as home for 50,000 families. While landowners built the houses themselves, each received a pair of trees and an hour's consultation with an architect to help them develop their plan. COHAB also built Technology Street, an avenue of 24 homes in the centre of Novo Bairro, each built using different construction techniques.[64]

Seven massive shopping malls are found in Curitiba: Mueller, Estação, Curitiba, Crystal, Palladium, Patio Batel and Park Barigüi. The Rua das Flores (Street of Flowers) is home to the majority of stores. The area is pedestrianized, with no cars around the centre. An essential element of Curitiba shopping is the Feira do Largo da Ordem, or Largo da Ordem Street Fair.[65]

In 2008, according to IBGE Curitiba's nominal GDP was R$45.7 billion (or about of US$22.5 billion)[66] (with R$25,934, or US$13,000, by nominal GDP per capita, about of US$5,000 more than Brazilian 2008 nominal GDP per capita), making it the fourth richest city in the country, after only São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the capital Brasília.

Curitiba is the 2nd Pole on Technological Innovation in Brazil, according to IPEA (Applied Economic Research Institute). The 2nd Brazil's Best City for Business and 5th South American Best City for Business, according to America Economia Magazine/2005 and 2006. The Best Destination for Business, according to Veja Magazine of 2007. The 3rd position among the Champions of Infrastructure, Exame Magazine of 2006. The 2nd Best City to Work in Southern Brazil, according to Você S.A. Magazine of 2005. The 49th Position, MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce: Emerging Markets Index of 2008. One of the highlights according to the survey Offshoring Horizons performed by Watson Wyatt of 2007. One of the 10 global sustainability centres, according to Ethisphere Institute of 2008.[67] Curitiba is also home to the largest cancer hospital in the South of Brazil, Erasto Gaertner Hospital.[68]

Botanical Garden of Curitiba.

Portugal Park

Attractions in the city include:

• Shrine of the Divine Mercy: established by the Marian Fathers near Estrada do Ganchinho in the district of Umbará.[69]
• Municipal Market: Located near the city's central bus station, it houses numerous shops selling imported goods, organic products, and vegan food. The food court has a lot of Asian food, vegan food and organic meals.
• Italian Woods: Hosts local celebrations.[70]
• Wire Opera House: Built on the site of an abandoned quarry.[71]
• Oscar Niemeyer Museum: Artists from Paraná and other parts of Brazil have their work represented in the museum. Three rooms in the Eye are dedicated exclusively to photography.[72]
• Panoramic Tower: The 360-foot tall lookout tower allows travelers a 360° view of Curitiba and has a telephone museum on the ground floor.[72]
• Portugal Wood: Homage to the Portuguese-Brazilian bonds, this space is highlighted by a track following a small brook, where one can see drawn on tiles excerpts from famous Portuguese language poets, as well as a tribute to the great Portuguese navigators and their discoveries.[72] Families are often seen picnicking on the grounds.
• Curitiba International Ecological Marathon: The Maratona Ecológica Internacional de Curitiba ("Curitiba International Ecological marathon") is held in November and is known as the hardest in Brazil,[73] because it happens in the end of the year in the summer heat, and because of the hilly course.
• Tourism Line: The Linha Tourismo bus stops at key tourist attractions across the city.[74]

More than 183 universities operate in the state of Paraná.[75]

Federal University of Paraná was the first university opened in Brazil.[76]

Military School of Curitiba.

Entrance of 24 Hours Street.

Curitiba has a planned transportation system, which includes lanes on major streets devoted to a bus rapid transit system. The buses are split into three sections (bi-articulated) and stop at designated elevated tubes, complete with access for disabled riders. Buses charge one price regardless of distance.[81]

The city preserves and cares for its green areas, boasting 51.5 square metres (554 sq ft) of green space per inhabitant.[82]

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. The plan was too expensive to complete.[83]

By the 1960s, Curitiba's population had reached 430,000. Some residents feared that the growth in population threatened to damage 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, reduced traffic in the downtown area, preservation of Curitiba's Historic Sector and a convenient and affordable public transit system.[84]

This plan, known as the Curitiba Master Plan, was adopted in 1968. Lerner closed XV de Novembro St. to vehicles, because it had high pedestrian traffic. The plan had a new road design to minimise traffic: the Trinary Road System. This used two one-way streets moving in opposite directions that surround a smaller, two-lane street where the express buses have an exclusive lane. Five of these roads form a star that converges on the city centre. Land farther from these roads is zoned for lower density development, to pull traffic away from the main roads. In a number of areas subject to floods, buildings were condemned and the land became parks.[85]

Today, Curitiba is considered one of the world's best examples of urban planning.[86] 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 country."[87]

15 November Street.

Curitiba was recently recommended by UNESCO as a model for the reconstruction of the cities of Afghanistan.[88] In the 1980s, the RIT (Rede Integrada de Transporte, Integrated Transport Network) was created.[89] At the same time, the city began building the "Faróis de Saber" (Lighthouses of Knowledge) educational centres.[90] The city has more than 400 square kilometres (154 sq mi) of public parks and forests.[91]

In 2007, the city placed third in a list of "15 Green Cities" in the world, according to Grist magazine, after Reykjavík in Iceland and Portland, Oregon in the United States. As a result, according to one survey, 99% of Curitibans are happy with their hometown.[92]

Jaime Lerner suggests urban acupuncture as the future solution for contemporary urban issues; focusing on very narrow pressure points in cities, can create positive ripple effects. Urban "acupuncture" reclaims land for the public and emphasizes the importance of community development through small interventions in design of cities.[93] It emphasises pinpoint interventions that can be accomplished quickly to create a make an immediate impact.[94]

The "capacity building job line" was created to accelerate economic development. Key initiatives include the South-Circular bus line, which links the southern and eastern regions of town; Entrepreneurial "Sheds", business incubators designed to help small companies get established and prosper; and the Crafts Lycée, which trains people for professions such as marketing and finance. Specifically, the goal is to provide jobs and income for the unemployed among 400,000 people living in 15 peripheral towns, and to structure and develop the region according to integrated planning principles. About 15,000 new jobs were generated by 2013.[95]

According to Jonas Rabinovitch, a United Nations senior adviser and former planner at the Curitiba Research and Urban Planning Institute (IPPUC), up to 8% of Curitiba's population still lived in favelas as of 2016.[96] According to 2010 census data collected by IBGE, 49700 homes in Curitiba form part of irregular settlements.[97] This is equivalent to 163300 people.[97] The population growth of favelas was 12.4% between 2000 and 2010, higher than the population in general (10.3%).[97]

The transit service is used by more than 2 million people a day. Curitiba has more car owners per capita than anywhere else in Brazil. The population has doubled since 1974, yet auto traffic declined by 30%, and atmospheric pollution is the lowest in Brazil.[98]

Musicians in Feirinha do largo da ordem.

In January 1973 the Fundação Cultural de Curitiba was set up, with the aim of promoting culture.[19]

Wire Opera House.

The Cultural Complex Solar do Barão features the Photography Museum, the Engravings Museum and the Posters Museu. The MuMA – Museu Metropolitano de Arte (Museum of Metropolitan Art) displays artists from the state of Paraná as well as renowned Brazilian painters such as Pancetti, Guignard and Di Cavalcanti[19]

The Polish Immigrants Memorial, also known as The Pope's Woods, offers an enjoyable area surrounded by trees, which makes it a perfect choice for a stroll. The Pope himself blessed the first replica of the traditional Polish houses that beautifully make up the Bosque do Papa when he visited the city in 1980.

In 2003, Curitiba received the "American Capital of Culture" title, granted by the OAS (Organization of American States).[19]

Museum of Contemporary Art of Paraná.

Arena da Baixada.

Curitiba have 3 teams in the city, Paraná Clube, Coritiba and Athletico. Coritiba plays at Estádio Major Antônio Couto Pereira, Club Athletico Paranaense at Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães. Both Coritiba and Athlético Paranaense have won Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, in 1985 and 2001, respectively. Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães was one of the 12 stadiums to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil. The traditional stadium Vila Capanema have hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup which still is home to Paraná Clube.[126]

The Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba (Curitiba International Raceway) is located in nearby Pinhais.

Curitiba has also one of the main rugby union clubs in Brazil, Curitiba Rugby Clube, national champions in 2014.

Map of Curitiba, with the neighborhoods and boroughs.

See also: List of bairros of Curitiba

Most districts of Curitiba were born of colonial groups, formed by families of European immigrants in the second half of the nineteenth century. The centro (downtown or central business district), where the city was founded, is the most bustling area, housing most of the financial institutions of Curitiba.

Bairros (neighborhoods) of Curitiba define the city's geographical divisions. Administrative powers are not delegated to neighborhoods, although neighborhood associations work to improve their communities. Curitiba is divided into 9 regional governments (boroughs) covering the 75 neighborhoods.

Civic Center (In Portuguese: Centro Cívico) is where the main government buildings are located. It was the first neighborhood in the municipality of Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná. The name means 'Center of the Citizen', or with a more direct interpretation, 'center where the subjects related to the citizen are solved'. It was conceived in 1953, with the greater independence which came with the creation of a new state.[127][128] In August 2011, the Civic Center was listed as an urban and architectural ensemble. The buildings on the central axis of Avenida Cândido de Abreu are protected, including Plaza 19 de Dezembro, Tiradentes State College, Courts of Justice, Accounts and Jury buildings, the Iguaçu Palace, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum and the Square Our Lady of Salette.[129]

Curitiba is twinned with:[130]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Curityba.

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