The World

Vision of a Sustainable City

With smart growth and sustainable urban planning, the Brazilian city Curitiba has become a model global city.

In honor of Earth Day, Living on Earth revisits some of our favorite stories. Today, we go to the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba. When reporter Cecilia Vaisman visited Curitiba in 1994, she learned how a city with a growing population and outdated infrastructure transformed into a sustainable and wonderfully livable city, with lots of green space, recycling programs, and an efficient rapid transit system.