Curitiba
库里提巴

Design Drives Sustainable Urban Management
设计推动可持续城市管理

Abstract

Curitiba, the capital of Paraná in southern Brazil, is home to 420,000 residents living in just 41 square meters per capita—a green coverage rate exceeding the World Health Organization's standard of 4.5 times, sourced from a pioneering 'city acupuncture' concept introduced half a century ago. In 2023, Curitiba was designated by UNESCO as a 'City of Design', marking its official elevation to a strategic tool for fostering social equity and ecological civilization, offering a vivid example of 'people-centered design' for global southern cities. Curitiba earned its reputation as a 'world-class city' with its signature 'bus-first' approach, which quickly became a global model.

Curitiba's design revolution began in the 1970s under the leadership of Jaime Lerner, a former mayor and trained designer. Faced with rapid urbanization leading to slum expansion and traffic paralysis, Lerner's team spearheaded an ambitious overhaul: repurposing discarded tires into mobile waiting shelters, pioneering the world's first fast-bus system (BRT), which now accounts for 83% of residents' commutes; transforming flood-prone areas into a chain of public parks while addressing both flooding and green space deficits. These initiatives not only earned Curitiba its status as a UN-recognized 'Most Livable City' but also gave birth to a 'social innovation engine', as the article highlights.

Today, Curitiba is reshaping global urban design discourse through its multifaceted approach: participatory digital platforms for equitable resource allocation, cross-generational public space design, and innovative solutions like a 3D modeling tool for informal settlements. The tool enables residents to scan their homes and generate compliant renovation plans, already aiding the upgrading of 70,000 irregularly constructed housing units. Integrating design education deeply into its urban fabric, Curitiba's public schools now incorporate 'circular design thinking' in their curricula, while transforming waste plastic bags into international fashion week materials—boosting local artisans' incomes by 300%.

Curitiba's journey demonstrates that sustainable transformation is not about stacking technologies but redesigning power dynamics and resource distribution. With its philosophy rooted in 'people above all', the city has achieved an 84% recycling rate, 95% of residents within a 10-minute walk from green spaces, and a thriving co-evolutionary social ecosystem— mirroring the essence of its UNESCO designation. In an era marked by climate change and inequality, Curitiba reorients design's ethical coordinates and boundaries, proving that true, inclusive progress lies in the power of design.

摘要

库里提巴，这座巴西南部巴拉那州的首府，作为巴西第八大城市，其 195 万居民生活在人均 41 平方米的绿地系统中——这一数据远超世界卫生组织标准的 4.5 倍，源自半个世纪前开创性的“城市针灸”理念。2023 年，库里提巴被联合国教科文组织授予“设计之都”称号，标志着这座曾以“公交优先”闻名全球的城市，正式将系统性设计思维升维为驱动社会公平与生态文明的战略工具，为全球南方城市提供了“人民设计”的鲜活样本。

库里提巴的设计革命始于 1970 年代前市长杰米·勒纳主导的“城市外科手术”。面对急速城市化带来的贫民窟扩张与交通瘫痪，设计师出身的勒纳团队以“低成本高创意”原则重塑城市基因：将废弃轮胎改造成移动式候车亭，开创全球首个快速公交系统（BRT），使83% 市民通勤依赖公共交通；将洪泛区转化为链式公园系统，同步解决内涝与绿地短缺。这些实践不仅使库里提巴成为联合国认证的“最适宜人类居住城市”，更催生出“社会设计”方法论——将公共参与嵌入城市规划全流程，市民通过“邻里委员会”直接参与预算分配与空间改造，使门控社区与贫富隔离等拉美城市顽疾在此消解。

成为“设计之都”后，库里提巴进一步将设计创新聚焦于气候韧性与社会公平的协同进化。其“绿色地图系统”通过可视化数据平台，将分散的 842 个社区花园、127 公里自行车道与 38 个生态走廊整合为全民共享的绿色基础设施网络；2024 年启动的“未来世代实验室”，邀请儿童与青少年共同设计气候适应性游乐场，将代际公平注入城市基因。在数字经济领域，库里提巴开发出全球首个贫民窟三维建模工具，居民可用智能手机扫描自建房屋生成合规改造方案，该技术已助力 7 万套非正规住宅安全升级。设计教育更深度融入城市肌理，公立学校课程纳入“循环设计思维”，贫民社区废弃塑料袋经创意加工变为国际时装周材料，使本地手工艺人收入提升 300%。

今日的库里提巴，正以“社会创新引擎”重塑全球城市设计话语体系。从贫民窟垂直农场到碳中性公交枢纽，从参与式预算数字平台到跨代际公共空间设计，这座城市证明：真正的可持续转型绝非技术堆砌，而是通过设计重构权力关系与资源分配机制。其以“人民至上”为核心的设计哲学，不仅创造了 84% 生活垃圾回收率、95% 市民步行 10 分钟可达绿地的物质奇迹，更培育出公民与城市共生进化的社会生态系统——这正是联合国将其列为设计之都的本质价值：在气候变化与不平等的时代，重新锚定设计的伦理坐标与行动边界。