Maria Terezinha Vaz, an Ecocity presenter and special guest, is the producer of A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil, an informative, inspirational documentary aimed at sharing ideas to provoke environment-friendly and cost-effective changes in cities worldwide.
The documentary focuses on innovations in transportation, recycling, social benefits including affordable housing, seasonal parks, and the processes that transformed Curitiba into one of the most livable cities in the world.
Through photography, Maria Terezinha Vaz integrates other passions, some of them lifelong. Trains, train tracks, the patterns and geometry of the rails and the machinery, have always held a fascination for her. She highly values historical and cultural preservation such as the Mayan land in Mexico, especially the sacred city of Chichen Itza. Preservation of the natural environment is also of great importance to her.
Preview:
The film includes interviews from world renowned Curitiba’s mayors Jaime Lerner and Cassio Tanigushi, as well as other brilliant minds who made Curitiba a world class model.
If you are interested in learning more about the specifics of many of Curitiba’s programs, take a look at her web page on the project, organized into the following:
In this interview with two Ecocity World Summit Presenters, we see a little of the strategic vision being set forth in San Francisco. Mayor Gavin Newsom and director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment Jared Blumenfeld talk about the changes they’ve made, such as reversing the pay scale for garbage hauling companies - paying them more for less garbage, thereby encouraging recycling.
You are likely going to hear a lot about Dongtan at the Ecocity World Summit. This project is being watched by government and community groups all over the world. Here is a post from Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (SP):
Due to its rapidly growing population, China is founding new cities, combining in the designing process, high end knowladge in green technologies and infrastractures.
Dongtan is the first eco-city to be built in the world. It is located on the island of Chongming in the Yantze River.
In collaboration with the Shangai Industrial Investment Corporation(SIIC), ARUP aimed on transforming Dongtan into a green city that will have minimal negative impact on the environment. Through sustainable design and planning, the city created will be self-sufficient, generating all its energy from renewable resources, growing all food and recycling all waste.
You can find the complete research concerning Dongtan EcoCity here:
Brazilian urban planning guru, Jaime Lerner, has cracked the problem of getting a city to run well. His idea - to put people before cars - has vastly improved residents’ quality of life.
Lerner has revolutionised transport in his hometown of Curitiba, diverting traffic around the centre. Huge pedestrian areas and parks have replaced busy roads and congestion has been tackled with an efficient bus service. As Lerner explains; “If you want to make life better for people, make the cities better.”
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Access, Architecture, Business, City Planning, Climate Change, Community, Curitiba, Development, Ecocities, Economics, Equity, Green, Green Building, Health, Jaime Lerner, Land Use, Protecting & Restoring, Recycling, Technology, Transportation | Tagged: Curitiba, Jaime Lerner, Maria Vaz | 
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