Advance new solutions for creating zero-carbon neighborhoods in Curitiba, Brazil
The city of Curitiba aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. This will require addressing multiple related challenges including energy, transport and waste management. City residents rely on hydroelectricity (and other power sources), but it has become increasingly scarce and expensive. Despite an impressive history as a world leader in developing active mobility and public transport, private car ownership continues to rise. And each day, 80% of solid waste collected in the city is sent to landfills. How can we create zero carbon neighborhoods that build on historic urban infrastructure and character, integrate multiple urban functions, and promote economic opportunity and green job growth for local residents?
We are looking for innovative and integrated business models, services and/or technologies that will help create zero carbon emission areas, advancing to Curitiba’s ambition to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
We encourage proposals that cut across the energy, mobility and waste sectors, and reduce emissions while contributing to a better future for all. Proposals should be capable of being demonstrated in the Vale do Pinhão and/or Vila Torres neighbourhoods of the city. We encourage proposals that address:
Energy – generating sustainable energy at an affordable price
Around 70% of Brazil’s electricity is generated from renewable sources, mainly hydroelectric. But a serious water crisis is affecting energy generation and increasing prices. Curitiba therefore seeks innovative solutions for affordable, sustainable energy for Vila Torres and Vale do Pinhão. Vila Torres is a vulnerable community, where the construction pattern of houses makes it difficult to install individual sources of sustainable energy generation; Vale do Pinhão is a former industrial area with great potential for urban renewal.
Mobility – moving people, goods and services sustainably and affordably
Curitiba’s Master Plan 2015 prioritises public transport, mixed use neighbourhoods and decongesting the city centre – with the aim of reducing the need for travel and cutting emissions. Curitiba therefore seeks proposals for affordable, low-emission mobility of people, distribution of loads and provision of local services, for short (last-mile) journeys, suitable for use in Vila Torres and Vale do Pinhão. Although both are served by public transport, Vila Torres’ current traffic is predominantly carried out on foot and Vale do Pinhão’s primarily by private vehicle.
Waste – reducing waste sent to landfills through segregation and recycling
Around 80% of Curitiba’s solid waste is sent to landfill, even though much of this waste – such as paper, plastic or e-waste – could be recycled and organic waste could be composted. PlanClima sets a target of increasing the recycling rate from 20% to 50% by 2030. As well as making the city more sustainable, this would also be an economic benefit: many families, especially in Vila Torres, depend on recyclable materials for their income. Curitiba therefore seeks innovative proposals that more effectively segregate urban solid waste and support greater use of recyclable waste by communities, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, suitable for use in Vale do Pinhão and Vila Torres.
To learn more about Curitiba’s challenge, the local context, background data and planned investments, read the challenge brief linked below.
For more information on the research behind the Curitiba challenge please read the Technical Volume linked below
What do we hope to achieve?
Key barriers to overcome
What support will we be offering to finalists??
Who might apply?
Location of system demonstrator
The two target areas for the challenge are Vale do Pinhão and Vila Torres. Vale do Pinhão is an historic industrial area poised for regeneration, and Vila Torres is a mixed-use area comprising primarily residential uses and small businesses and has a significantly high population of people living in poverty. (Much more detail about the characteristics of both neighbourhoods are in the Curitiba challenge brief and technical volume).
Planned local investments
In the region of the Regional Administration of the Matriz, where the two demonstration areas are located, investments in the order of US$29.5 million are planned for the period 2022 to 2025. These are interventions in road infrastructure, construction, rehabilitation and adaptation in food supply facilities, implementation and revitalization of leisure and sports areas, renovation and expansion of sports, leisure, tourism and security facilities.
About Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital city of Paraná State, located in south Brazil. With a population estimated at 1.9 million inhabitants, the city is often known and awarded due to its urban planning system, focused on the Transit Oriented Development model, and due to its environmental awareness, being one of the greenest capitals and one of the cities that recycle the most in Brazil. Curitiba has been acknowledged and awarded recently also by its initiatives towards becoming a smart city.
Read more about Curitiba’s initiatives in Vale do Pinhão and Vila Torres and the city’s actions towards carbon neutrality.
Get to know Curitiba and the Vale do Pinhão and Vila Torres areas better in Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano de Curitiba (IPPUC) interactive maps.
In 2020, Curitiba generated a total of 1,800 tons of urban solid waste per day. Of the total waste collected, approximately 20% is recyclable and the remaining 80% is sent for disposal in a landfill.
Help implement multi-sector actions in the fields of energy, mobility and waste as part of the city’s carbon neutral trajectory by 2050
The reservoirs in the Southeast/Midwest Regions, which are responsible for 70% of the energy consumed in the country, are operating with only 19.59% of its capacity
