Any City Can Be Transformed

Jaime Lerner, former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, is a delightful maverick who insists that any city can be transformed. In an interview with CNN, Lerner insisted that "every city can improve its quality of life in less than three years, no matter the scale or the financial conditions.  All you need to have is a good equation.  Creativity starts when you cut a zero from your budget!

"I would say there are three key issues that are important, not only for the city itself but for the whole of mankind.  One is a problem of mobility.  Another is the problem of sustainability.  The other is social diversity and co-existence."

When it comes to mobility, Lerner warns, "... don't choose which systen is best.  Use all systems, but with one condition:  Never, never compete in the same space."

Finally, he urged urban leaders to create human cities with mixed urban functions, mixed incomes, mixed ages.  "This is good for co-existence, for social diversity and it reduces violence."

And he ended with my favorite quote:  "Cities are not the problem.  They are solutions."

Amen.

  

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