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| Name | |
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Public telephones.
One theory about the name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words kurà tyba, "many pine seeds" due to the large number of pinecones of Paraná pines in the region prior to its foundation.[7] The other version, also from the Tupi language, comes from the combination of kurit (pine tree) and yba (large amount).[8]
The Portuguese who founded a village in 1693 gave it the name of "Vila da Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais" (Village of "Our Lady of the Light" of the Pines). The name was changed to "Curitiba" in 1721. Curitiba officially became a town in 1812, spelling its name as Curityba. An alternative spelling also came up: Coritiba. This spelling looked to become dominant for it was used in press and state documents, but a state decree in 1919 settled the dispute by spelling the city name Curitiba.[7]
[edit] Tags:Region,State,Paraná,Tupi,Paraná Pines,Portuguese, | |
| Climate | |
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Winter skyline in Curitiba.
Curitiba has a maritime temperate climate or subtropical highland climate (Cfb), according to the Köppen classification. Located in Southern Brazil, the humid city lies in a temperate zone.[9] It is located on a plateau and the flat terrain with flooded areas contribute to its mild and damp winter, with average temperature of 7 °C (45 °F) in the coldest month, sometimes falling below 0 °C (32 °F) on the coldest nights. During summertime, the average temperature is around 18 °C (64 °F), but it can get above 30 °C (86 °F) on hottest days. Snowfall was experienced in 1889, 1892, 1912, 1928, 1942, 1955, 1957, 1962, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1987 and 1988.[citation needed]. Among Brazil's twenty-six state capitals, Curitiba is the coldest due its altitude, despite being 600 kilometres (370 mi) north of Porto Alegre, which is the southernmost state capital in Brazil, but located at sea level.[10] Heat waves during winter and cold waves during summer are not uncommon, and even within a single day there can be great variation, a typical feature of subtropical climates. Several factors contribute to the climate's variable nature: the flat terrain surrounded by mountains in a rough circle with radius 40 kilometres (25 mi) helps block the winds, allowing the morning mist to cover the city on cold mornings.
The flatness of the terrain hinders quick water drainage after rain, therefore providing a good source of water vapor for the atmosphere. Cold fronts come often from Antarctica and Argentina all year round, bringing tropical storms in summer and cold winds in the winter. They can move very quickly, with no more than one day between the start of the southern winds and the start of rain.[11] Curitiba's weather is also influenced by the dry air masses that dominate Brazil's midwest most of the year, bringing cold and dry weather, sometimes even in winter.[12]
Climate data for Curitiba
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Average high °C (°F)
25.6
(78.1)
25.8
(78.4)
24.9
(76.8)
22.3
(72.1)
21.1
(70.0)
18.3
(64.9)
19.4
(66.9)
20.9
(69.6)
21.3
(70.3)
22.6
(72.7)
24.5
(76.1)
25.4
(77.7)
22.68
(72.82)
Daily mean °C (°F)
19.6
(67.3)
19.9
(67.8)
19.0
(66.2)
16.7
(62.1)
14.6
(58.3)
12.2
(54.0)
12.8
(55.0)
14.0
(57.2)
15.0
(59.0)
16.5
(61.7)
18.2
(64.8)
19.3
(66.7)
16.48
(61.67)
Average low °C (°F)
15.8
(60.4)
16.3
(61.3)
15.4
(59.7)
12.8
(55.0)
10.2
(50.4)
7.8
(46.0)
8.1
(46.6)
9.2
(48.6)
10.8
(51.4)
12.5
(54.5)
14.0
(57.2)
15.4
(59.7)
12.36
(54.24)
Precipitation mm (inches)
165.0
(6.496)
142.1
(5.594)
126.6
(4.984)
90.0
(3.543)
99.2
(3.906)
98.1
(3.862)
89.0
(3.504)
74.5
(2.933)
115.4
(4.543)
134.2
(5.283)
123.8
(4.874)
150.1
(5.909)
1,408
(55.43)
Source: Hong Kong Observatory.[13]
[edit] Tags:Brazil,South,Subtropical Highland Climate,Köppen Classification,Southern Brazil,Temperate Zone,Porto Alegre,Heat Waves,Cold Waves,Antarctica, | |
| Vegetation | |
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Frost in the city.
Curitiba is located in the area of the Ombrophilous Mixed Forest (also known as Araucaria moist forests), a sub-type of the Atlantic Forest. In Curitiba it is possible to find steppes, Araucaria forest and other formations. In the local vegetation still appear remnants of the Paraná (or Brazilian) pine (Araucaria angustifolia), which resisted the effects of modern civilization. The Parana pines are in private and public areas, now protected by environmental legislation which prevents them from being logged. The Municipal Secretariat of the Environment maintains a botanical garden and three green houses for the annual production of 150,000 seedlings of native and exotic tree species, 16,000 seedlings of fruit trees, 260,000 seedlings of flowers, foliage and underbrush, as well as the maintenance of 350,000 seedlings.[14]
The total green area of Curitiba is one of the largest in cities in Brazil. The vegetation of Curitiba is also characterized by the existence of a large quantity of purple and yellow ipês (tabebuias), making a beautiful sight during the flowering at the end of winter. Currently, the yellow ipê is the most common tree in the city.[15]
[edit] Tags:Araucaria Moist Forests,Araucaria Angustifolia,Tabebuias, | |
| Hydrography and pluviometry | |
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Iguaçu River, running by the south region of the city.
The catchment area of Curitiba consists of several rivers and streams that cross the city in different directions, grouped in six river basins. The main rivers that form the watershed of the city are: Atuba River, Belém River, Barigüi River, Passaúna River, Ribeirão dos Padilhas and the Iguaçu River, all with characteristics of dendritic drainage. Since the 1970s, Curitiba has been working on alternatives to minimize the negative impacts of urbanization on rivers. An example of this was the construction of parks along the rivers with artificial lakes, which retain the water for longer periods of time, minimizing floods.[14]
Currently, after many studies of the local water flows, almost all the rivers are subject to a canalization process. Other alternatives developed to minimize the effects of urbanization are the implementation of the programs for environmental education, inspection and monitoring, elaboration and application of legislation and infrastructure works.[14] The index reaches 1,500 millimetres (59 in) rainfall on average per year, because the rains are constant in the climate of the city. This happens, among other reasons, because of the deforestation of the Mountain Range of the Sea (Serra do Mar), a natural barrier to moisture.
[edit] Tags:Watershed,Urbanization,Canalization, | |
| Relief | |
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The Mountain Range of the Sea, "Serra do Mar."
The city has surface of 432.17 km² in the First Plateau of Paraná. Curitiba has a topography of smooth rounded hills, giving a relatively regular shape. The municipality of Curitiba has an average altitude of 934.6 metres (3,066 ft) above sea level, where the highest point is to the north 1,021 metres (3,350 ft), and with lower altitude 864 metres (2,835 ft) to the south.
There are mountain ranges and sets of rocky hills practically all around the city, the most remarkable and impressive being the Serra do Mar (Portuguese for "Mountain Range of the Sea"), located in the east that separates the plateau from the coast of Paraná.
[edit] Tags:Rocky, | |
| History | |
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Old mansion in Batel neighbourhood.
The first ten years of the 16th century marked the beginning of a war of conquest of Europeans (Portuguese colonists) against the indigenous peoples who inhabited the area of the city. Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. In 1853, the south and southwest of the province of São Paulo were separated, forming the new province of Paraná, and Curitiba became its capital.
Curitiba in 1820 received a visit from a French scholar, savant Saint-Hilaire, who was stunned with the city. Some excerpts from his notes state: "... The streets are wide and almost regular (...) the public square is organized, very large and covered with grass ... the churches are three in number, all built of stone ... not in any other part of Brazil I saw so many white people as I saw in Curitiba... they pronounce portuguese without the accent that reveals the race mixtures between the Caucasian race and the red ones... Curitibans are big and beautiful, have brown hair and rosy complexion, pleasing ... women are more delicate than in other parts of the Empire where I traveled . They do not hide and speak with ease. "[36] This description is a reflection of civility, nobility and determination of the people of Curitiba in 1820, which forms the basis of Curitiba in the twenty-first century and so on.
During the 20th century, especially after 1950, the city rapidly increased in population and consolidated its position as regional hub for trade and services, becoming one of the richest cities in Brazil and a pioneer in urban solutions. In the 1940s and 1950s, Alfred Agache, co-founder of the French Society for Urban Studies, was hired to produce the first city plan.
It emphasised a "star" of boulevards, with public amenities downtown, an industrial district and sanitation. It was followed when possible, but was too expensive to complete.[16]
[edit] Tags:European Immigrants,Germans,Italians,Poles,Ukrainians,Europeans,Portuguese Colonists,Indigenous Peoples,Alfred Agache,Plan,Boulevards,White,Asian, | |
| Curitiba as the capital of Brazil | |
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From 24 to 27 March 1969, Curitiba was the capital of Brazil. The government of the Federative Republic of Brazil was settled in the Iguaçu palace under the presidency of Marshal Arthur da Costa e Silva.
[edit] Tags:Arthur Da Costa E Silva, | |
| Government | |
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The Curitiba City Hall.
The executive is currently exercised by the mayor Beto Richa (elected in 2004 with a mandate until 2008, and reelected in 2009 to period 2009/2012), by the deputy mayor (vice mayor) Luciano Ducci and the municipal secretaries appointed by the mayor.
The City Council of Curitiba was created in 1693, and has a total of 38 councillors elected since 2004.
Curitiba is divided into nine regional governments (equivalent to subprefecture), who manage the 75 districts of the municipality. The Rua da Cidadania ("Street of Citizenship") is the symbol of administrative decentralization; it is a reference point and meeting place for the user of municipal utilities, in a regional context, taking into account the needs and rights of the citizen in trade, leisure and services, facilitating the access of the population for different services in the areas of health, justice, policing, education, sport, house, environment, urban planning, social service and supply, etc.
Several units work annexed to the terminals of public transport in Curitiba. Their nuclei offer services in the local, state and federal areas.
[edit] Tags:Executive,Subprefecture,Federal, | |
| Demographics | |
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Old Polish house at João Paulo II park ("Pope´s Park").
Brazilians of Ukrainian descent celebrating Easter in Curitiba.
Arabian Memorial.
According to the 2010 IBGE Census, there were 2,469,489 people residing in the city of Curitiba.[17] The census revealed the following numbers: 1,381,938 White people (78.9%), 294,127 Brown (Multiracial) people (16.8%), 49,978 Black people (2.9%), 23,138 Asian people (1.3%), 2,693 Amerindian people (0.2%).[18]
In 2010, the city of Curitiba was the 8th most populous city in Brazil.[19]
In 2010, the city had 359,201 opposite-sex couples and 974 same-sex couples. The population of Curitiba was 52.3% female and 47.7% male.[18]
As most of Southern Brazil's population, Curitiba is mostly inhabited by Brazilians of European descent. The first Europeans to arrive in the region were of Portuguese origin, during the 17th century. They intermarried with the native people and with the African slaves.[20]
Immigrants from Poland first arrived in 1871, settling in rural areas close to Curitiba. They largely influenced the agriculture of the region. Curitiba has the second largest Polish diaspora in the world, second only to Chicago.[20] The Memorial of Polish Immigration was inaugurated on 13 December 1980, after the visit of the Pope John Paul II to the city of Curitiba, in June, in the same year. Its area is 46 thousand square meters and was part of the former Candles plant. The seven wooden log houses are parts of this memorial area, as a souvenir of the Polish immigrants, and their struggles and faith. Objects like the old wagon, the pipe of cabbage and the print of the black virgin of Częstochowa, who is the patron saint of Polish people, form parts of the memorial.[21]
In the 19th century, the influx of immigrants from Europe increased. In 1828, the first German immigrants settled in Paraná. However, large numbers of immigrants from Germany only arrived in Curitiba during the 1870s, most of them coming from Santa Catarina or Volga Germans from Russia.[22]
Italian immigrants started arriving in Brazil in 1875 and in Curitiba in 1878. They came mostly from the Veneto and Trento regions, in Northern Italy and settled mostly in the Santa Felicidade neighborhood, still today the center of the large Italian community of Curitiba.[23]
Large numbers of Ukrainian immigrants settled in Curitiba, mostly between 1895 and 1897, when some 20,000 arrived. They were peasants from Galicia, who emigrated to Brazil to become farmers. Nowadays there are around 300,000 Ukrainian-Brazilians living in Paraná.[24][25] The State of Paraná has the largest Ukrainian community and Slavic community of the country.[26]
Curitiba has a well established Jewish community[27] originally established in the 1870s.[28] Much of the early Jewish congregation has been assimilated.[29] In 1937 with the conquest of power by the Nazis in Germany, several notable German Jewish academics were allowed into Brazil, some of them settling in Curitiba.[30]
Physicist César Lattes and former mayors Jaime Lerner,[31] and Saul Raiz were Jewish. A monument in memory of the Holocaust has been erected in the city. There is also a community center, a Habad house (Beit Chabad) in Curitiba[32] as well as at least two synagogues[33] and two Jewish cemeteries,[34] one of which was defiled in 2004.[35]
Japanese immigrants began arriving in the region in 1915. Most Japanese settled in the State of São Paulo, but many settled in Northern Paraná, cities such as Maringá and Londrina. Curitiba also received significant numbers of immigrants from Japan. Nowadays, there are about 40,000 Japanese-Brazilians living in the city.[36]
Other immigrants, such as Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, Russians and other Eastern Europeans also settled in Curitiba.[citation needed]
[edit] Tags:Ibge,Polish, | |
| Economy | |
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Curitiba Trade Center, popularly known as "O Prédio do Relógio" (The Clock Building).
Since it was declared the capital of the State of Paraná in 1853, the city has gone through several major urban planning projects to avoid uncontrolled growth and thus has become an international role model in dealing with such sensitive issues as transportation and the environment.[37] The city is the second largest car manufacturer in the country, and its economy is based on industry, commerce and services. For that reason, Curitiba is considered by many specialists of the financial sector to be the best location for investors in Brazil. At the moment, the city receives more than two million tourists every year. Most arrive via Afonso Pena International Airport, where almost sixty thousand airplanes land annually.[38]
According to IPEA data, the GDP in 2006 at real 32 billion, without recording activities in the agriculture and livestock farming (0.03%) sectors. Industry represented 34.13% and the commerce and service sectors 65.84%.[39] Cidade Industrial de Curitiba, the industrial district of Curitiba, is home to many multinational industries, such as Nissan, Renault, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo, HSBC, Siemens, ExxonMobil, Electrolux and Kraft Foods, as well as many well known national industries, such as Sadia, O Boticário, Positivo Informática. Curitiba's infrastructure makes bus travel fast and convenient, effectively creating demand for bus use in the same way that the infrastructure of traditional cities creates demand for private motor vehicles. In July 2001, Curitiba has become the first city in the country to receive the prize "Pole of Information Technology", granted by InfoExame magazine, because the performance of their companies of technology. According to the magazine, the number of companies of "Technology and Information Technology" based in Curitiba submitted in 2001 a turnover of US$ 1.2 billion, representing a growth of 21% over the previous year.[40]
Estação Mall.
In the early 1970s, when Brazil was welcoming industry with open arms, Curitiba accepted only non-polluters and constructed an industrial district with so much green space that it was derided as a "golf course" until it filled up with major businesses while its counterparts in other Latin American cities flagged.[citation needed] The city's 30-year economic growth rate is 7.1%, higher than the national average of 4.2%, and per capita income is 66% higher than the Brazilian average. Between 1975 and 1995, Curitiba's domestic product grew by some 75% more than the entire State of Paraná, and 48% more than Brazil as a whole. In 1994, tourism generated US$ 280 million, 4% of the city's net income. Curitiba has municipal health, education and day care networks, neighbourhood libraries shared by schools and citizens, and Citizenship Streets, where buildings provide essential public services, sports and cultural facilities near mass transportation terminals. At the Open University, residents can take courses in subjects such as mechanics, hair styling and environmental protection for a small fee. Policies for job creation and in Tags:Afonso Pena International, | |
z³ote monety |