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It might not be a surprise to find that life in affluent cities is improving. But what about cities that aren’t rich? The city of Curitiba, Brazil, proves that it’s possible for even a city in a developing country to offer a good life to its residents. The mayor of Curitiba for twenty-five years, Jaime Lerner, was an architect and a very practical person. Under his leadership, the city planners established a list of priorities – in other words, a list of what was most important to work on. They decided to focus on the environment and on the quality of life. With an average income of only of about $ 2000 per person per year, Curitiba has the same problems as many cities. However, it also has some creative solutions.
GarbageCollection
One creative solution is the method of garbage collection. In neighbourhoods that garbage trucks can’t reach, poor people bring bags of trash to special centers. At these centers, they exchange the trash for fresh produce – such as potatoes and oranges – or for bus tickets. At a recycling plant, workers separate bottles, plastic, and cans from other trash. Two-thirds of Curitiba’s garbage is recycled, which is good for the environment. And the plant gives jobs to the poorest people, which improves their lives.
Transportation
Due to careful planning, Curitiba does not have the same traffic problems that most cities have. The statistics are surprising. The population has grown – now twice the size it was in 1974 – but traffic has actually decreased 30 percent. Curitiba needed a mass-transit system but couldn’t afford an expensive subway. City planners began, instead, with an unusual system of buses in the center lanes of five wide major streets. At each bus stop, there is a forty-foot-long glass tube. People pay before they enter the tube. Then they get on the bus “subway style” – through wide doors. This allows people to get on and off the bus quickly and efficiently. People don’t crowd onto the bus; loading and unloading takes only thirty seconds. This makes commuting more pleasant and also helps to solve the problem of air pollution.
Street Children
Then there is the problem of street children. To help solve this problem, Jaime Lerner talked seriously with owners of factories and stories. Each factory and store owner agreed to take care of a few street children – to give them a meal every day and a small amount of money. In exchange, the children do small, simple jobs in the garden or office. In addition, the city hired teenagers to keep the public parks clean.
The Environment
To make the environment both cleaner and more beautiful, Cutitiba has strict laws against polluters. But it also has low taxes for companies that have green areas, so several hundred major industries such as Pepsi and Volvo have offices in the city. Bringing natural beauty into the city is a priority. For this reason, Curitiba gave 1.5 million young trees to neighbourhoods to plant and take care of. And the downtown shopping area is now a pedestrian zone – in other words for walkers only, no cars – and is lined with gardens.
A Symbol of the Possible
Clearly, overcrowding in big cities worldwide is the cause of serious problems. However, the example of Cutitiba provides hope that careful planning and creative thinking can lead to solutions to many of them. Curitiba is truly, as Lewis Mumford once said of cities in general, a “symbol of the possible”.
I. Which of the following statements are true about Curitiba, and false according to the reading?
II. Here is information about Jaime Lerner. Which information is stated in the reading? Which information is implied but not clearly stated? Look back at paragraphs B and E to decide.
III. Circle the number of the main idea of the selection “A City That’s Doing Something Right”:
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