Saturday, February 23, 2008

Curitiba, Brazil

On Thursday evening, Antara and I headed down to the Santa Barbara Public Library to see a film on Eco Cities. Although the introduction to the evening was about an architect, Mr. Register, who has been working on Eco Cities for years, the main video feature was about Curitiba, Brazil. After seeing this documentary about how a handful of innovative city employees changed their city for the better in dramatic ways with little to no money, I felt a strong sense of hope that people CAN change. All it takes is motivated, courageous leaders who are willing to think about the good of all, versus the plaints of the overpriviliged who are used to bullying their way into every decision making process through intimidation via lawsuits.

I tried to embed a TED.com video on former Mayor of Curitiba Jaime Lerner. This city, this man, and the progress they have made is world changing. Check it out!

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