Curitiba
The Smart Neighborhoods team proposes a decentralised model of urban public cleaning services performed by residents, with an education program focused on household energy consumption efficiency, the availability of “smart points” of delivery of waste and mobility, and the implementation of a local composting program for small urban farms.
This team is composed by AMA – Agentes do Meio Ambiente, Ambiente Livre, Nudgd and Smart Green Station.
To get to know more about the team and the challenge, Livia Schaefer Nonose Nonose, Climate Smart Cities Challenge consultant from UN-Habitat, met with Liana Vallicelli, architect, urban planner and Information Director at IPPUC (Curitiba Institute of Urban Planning and Research) as well as with Marcelo Crivano, founder and CEO of the AMA platform (Agentes do Meio Ambiente) and leader of the Curitiba Smart Neighborhoods.
Livia Schaeffer: In a brief sentence describe the challenge your city put forward through the Climate Smart Cities Challenge?
Liana Vallicelli: The city of Curitiba launched the challenge of implementing two zero carbon emission areas in the city. The great challenge to make areas carbon neutral and integrate solutions that address the issues of energy efficiency, mobility and waste management is the main objective of this project, it is our focus, what we want to achieve.
L.S: Can you tell us more about the winning team and its members?
L.V: The winning team of the challenge is the team called Smart Neighborhoods, composed of four institutions: Ambiente Livre and Agentes do Meio Ambiente, both Brazilian, and Smart Green Station and Nudged, which are both Swedish. Each of these entities will collaborate with their expertise in promoting citizens as micro-influencers in the community, commitment to the SDGs, urban cleaning, recycling, composting, reverse logistics, environmental education, urban care, development of smart collection stations using solar panels, communication, WiFi, promoting climate-friendly habits, and naturally developing digital platforms using behavioral science. That is, it is a multidisciplinary team for an integrated approach to the problem.
L.S: Can you tell us why you chose them as the winning team?
L.V: The winner, Smart Neighborhoods, was chosen as the winner for presenting a proposal fairly focused on the reality of Curitiba addressing mainly the topic of waste, but also thinking about energy efficiency within the solution, for example the use of solar panels in the proposed equipment, and the social benefits to the community that are critical.
L.S: What are you looking forward to happening over the next few months?
L.V: Our expectation as a city is that the winning team can improve its proposals, increasingly adapted to the reality of the city, obtaining more information about the population to be reached. We hope that the solutions to be tested can have a positive impact on the city, reducing emissions and bringing benefits to the local community.
L.S: In what way has the Climate Smart Cities Challenge enabled you to approach the challenge you described differently?
L.V: The Climate Smart Cities Challenge ended up strengthening Curitiba’s capacity to understand the challenges facing climate change. The Challenge also helped the city to improve its innovation processes in urban management.
L.S: Can you tell us about the impact that the Climate Smart Cities Challenge can have in your city?
L.V: We hope that the Challenge will strengthen the capacity of the city and its population to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
L.S: Can you briefly describe your team’s proposed solution to the city’s challenge?
Marcelo Crivano: Our team intends to create, with the use of technology, a closed social network, within the city, in small communities, and from these small communities develop an environmental education program that will identify local leaders who can help change the behaviour of neighbours.
L.S: Can you tell us about the team you’ve put together and their roles?
M.C: Curitiba Smart Neighbourhoods is formed by AMA – Agentes do Meio Ambiente, Ambiente Livre, Nudged e Smart Green Station. We form a team with four members that complement each other in a very interesting way. Our group is very excited to work with the City of Curitiba, Brazil, which has been a leader in environmental issues and innovation in cities for many years.
L.S: How has the team creation phase opened up new opportunities for collaboration in the city?
M.C: When our group started to be designed, we had the opportunity to have several conversations with universities that are located close to the project area, with the federation of industries of the State of Paraná, which will receive an urban farm. We believe that it will be an opportunity to invite several other actors from the city to participate in the project and in the creation of smart neighbours in Curitiba.
L.S: What excites you about the work that will be done over the next few months?
M.C: The main motivation for the work in the coming months is to have direct contact with the communities and understand how our solution will have a social impact on the communities.
L.S: What are you most looking forward to for the upcoming planning and system demonstrator?
M.C: In the demonstration phase of the project, we hope to engage the communities of Vila Torres and Vale do Pinhão within this revolution in city’s governance around environmental, mobility and energy issues for homes and businesses in these regions.
