[sustran] Curitiba - Silver bullet?

[eric.britton at ecoplan.org]

Dear Friends,

As most of you on these lists know very well, there is a lot of interest in
various corners of  the world today in Curitiba's transport system.  I am
interested too, in part because I had the good luck to be working in Brazil
of a small book on the future of transport there (Transport in Brazil:
Preparing for the Eighties) for several months at a stretch in the mid
seventies. One great benefit of all this was that I was able to have a good
look at it as things were picking up momentum in Curitiba.  They were using
pretty crude and not very clean vehicles, and were pushing ahead on a
transport concept that in part had been brought to them by some European
consultants who, truth to tell, had little idea what a great and novel thing
they were getting into.

Anyway, here's my point.  Some of the commentary I see on Curitiba these
days is a bit of starry-eyed. In fact, it seem as if  the less information
any given commentator happens to have on the day to day realities of making
the thing actually work (it ain't easy, there are some real problems, and
there's a lot of work yet to do on it), the more the enthusiasm that gushes
forth.  That's bothersome, because I fear that the message will get out that
it's plum easy and that once a project gets underway and the usual glitches
and difficulties begin to roll in, the would-be innovator may run away from
it. 

There is, as it happens, a solid collection of background materials on
Curitiba which are available over the Web, and recently we complied a couple
of pages of both electronic and print sources which do a very good job of
covering most if not all of the bases.  I will not load down this list with
it, but if you are interested you can pick it up via our @ccess on the Web
site (http://www.ecoplan.org/access <http://www.ecoplan.org/access> ).  You
also can have some fun with the 20-minute video (you'll need RealMedia,
which is free at http://www.real.com/) "Curitiba: Public Transit Role Model
for Los Angeles?" which you can pick up at
http://real.telebuild.com/ramgen/e-architect/pia/rudc/inourlifetime.rm
<http://real.telebuild.com/ramgen/e-architect/pia/rudc/inourlifetime.rm> .
If you haven't had a chance to visit the system, the video and several of
the other references provide good visuals on some of the details.

And here, in closing, and for what it's worth, is my particular take on.... 

WHY THE CURITIBA SYSTEM WORKS... THERE

	-- And what you may not necessarily find in most other cities or
communities where you may wish to do something similar --

1.	Concept: Because the basic transportation concept  ("surface metro")
was and is a very strong one - an idea for its time.  (And there are not all
that many of those around today.)

2.	Leadership: Because of farsighted, strong and cagey local political
leadership.  (In how many places you find that?)

3.	Staying Power: Because the system has been supported over a period
of many years by consistent policies and resources.  (Unfortunately there
are few cities which appear to be able to sustain long-term programs of this
sort, though there are exceptions and the should be among the more obvious
targets.)

4.	Real Estate Pinch: Because of the fact that most of the reserved bus
streets and lanes that created over the course of the last 20 years have
been located not in the old, dense historic city center but in outlying,
basically "green field" situations.  (This is extremely, extremely important
because one of the most significant barriers to a busway system such as this
is the heavy competition for road space, above all of course by private
vehicles.  That leaves the not easy challenge: how are you going to get the
real estate you need to make the concept work?  Think it's going to be
easy?)

5.	Fame: Because the project was early able to obtain certain level of
international acclaim and support, which has helped them enormously as they
have sought and received additional resources and support both within their
own city, region and at the national level.  When people are good at what
they do, proud of it, and receive wide international support for their
efforts, this can be a very important ingredient for success.

6.	True Integration: Because the city's transport system has from the
beginning been viewed as part of a broader philosophy of urban development
and governance which extends well beyond transport,  vehicles and roadways.


Now, does that mean that I think that what works in Curitiba can only work
there?  Not at all, but it does mean that it will take meticulous
preparation, hard work and perseverance to make it succeed anywhere else.
IF you can't manage that, better to stay home. (If you check out the sources
in the @ccess bibliography you will see more and quite possibly better on
this.)

Comments?


Eric Britton

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