Curitiba

Curitiba (pron.  or ) is the capital and the largest city in the state of Paraná. It has the largest population and economy in the southern part of Brazil. It is one of the most important cities of Brazil's southern region. More than 1,800,000 people live in it. It covers an area of 430.9 km². It is the 7th largest Brazilian city and 4th largest in the Southern Cone (the south part of South America). The urban area of Curitiba is looked after by 26 local governments and has 3,335,588 people living there.

 History 
Curitiba started in 1693 as a small village. It became an important trading stop because a road was opened. The road joined the southeast area to Southern Brazil. In 1853, it became the capital of the newly made province of Paraná. Since then, the city has seen a lot of urban growth. 

During the 19th century, many European people arrived, including Germans, Poles, Ukrainians and Italians. They added to the cultural mix that still is there. The city made plans and laws to slow the growth of the city and that led to the city being famous for its new ideas and connection to the environment. Most of the new ideas had to do with the public transport system. 

 Present 
Today, the city has a sense of cosmopolitan life and is said to be the safest city in Brazil. It is the Brazilian capital with the best quality of life and is a diversified industrial center that makes Curitiba the 4th largest economy in Brazil; the largest in the southern region. The city is said to be one of the five best cities to invest in Latin America and the 49th city with the greatest influence in the world.

Large companies have moved their headquarters to the city because of Curitiba's structure and easy access. Its international airport, the Afonso Pena International Airport, serves the whole southern region of Brazil. It has access to the Port of Paranaguá, and the junction of highways and railroads link the south region directly to the southeast part of the country. Many multinational automotive (car) companies are in Greater Curitiba, which makes Curitiba the second largest automotive center in the country. Curitiba is an important cultural, political, and economic center in the country.

Curitiba has high rates of education and is home to the oldest Brazilian university, the Federal University of Paraná. People from Curitiba are called curitibanos in Portuguese, and Curitibans in English.

The name

The name Curitiba comes from the large number of Brazilian "Pines", commonly called "Parana Pine" (Araucaria angustifolia) which grew in the region before the city was built.Fenianos, E. (2003) Almanaque Kur'yt'yba, Curitiba: Univer Cidade, p.6 There are two reasons for the name: the Indians of the Tupi nation, namely the Jê and the Guarani, used the word corae ("pine seed") atuba ("a lot"). It may also come from joining the words kurit ("pine tree") and yba ("large amount"), also from the Tupi language, together. So, "Curitiba" means something like "Land of Abundant Pines".

Transport

Curitiba has a strategy to maximise the efficiency and productivity of its transport. It does this by using different systems of transport that support each other. The introduction of traffic management, transportation, and land use planning in the 1970s allowed the city to reduce traffic in the downtown area. It also helped to promote the use of public transport and bicycles in order to reduce pollution.
200px|thumb|The bus stop of Curitiba
Curitiba does not have a subway system, but it has a large bus network system. In 1974, it opened the second bus rapid transit system in the world. This system has large passenger terminals connected by roads used only by the buses Vermelhos ("Red Buses"), the Expressos ("Express Buses"), Articulados ("Articulated buses"), and Biarticulados ("Biarticulated buses"). The biarticulated bus makes long trips, stopping only on the tube-station stops to pick up or drop off people. Each biarticulated bus can carry 270 people - and complemented with the modern and speedy silver Ligeirinho (literally, "speedy"), has fewer stops. As a result, the distances are shorter when compared to the Linha Direta ("Direct Line"). The buses stop very frequently. Some stop every two minutes.

This model has inspired similar things in cities of other countries. In New York City,  in the 1990s an experimental line of "ligeirinho" in the city connected it to the World Trade Center. The system is the source of inspiration for the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador,as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles, California, and for a future transportation system in Panama City, Panama.

City planning

Around the city and commonly joined with the  bus terminals, are the Ruas da Cidadania ("Streets of Citizenship"). These are municipal centers that bring together municipal departments and public agencies, state and federal, points of trade, services, free Internet access and equipment, and leisure, such as playgrounds and space for all kinds of sports.
The green area of Curitiba is 51.5 metres per person - about three times the minimum area recommended by the UN - one of the highest in Brazil and higher than cities such as London or Paris. These areas are made mostly by municipal parks and forests to protect the forests' gallery of local rivers. There are also many city squares and public grounds, usually associated with public and wooden roads.

The urban zoning of the city and the integrated transport system has allowed development of urban architecture. Some analysts say the layout of the city is strong and balanced without the main problems of large modern cities, like heavy traffic.

Curitiba was the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola, In the 20th century when he was looking for the "perfect city" in order to create the New York Megalopolis (a huge city "which is good for its citizens" for his movie).The director lived in Curitiba for a few weeks and praised the city in many of his lectures around the world, as the only Brazilian city praised by this famous producer of movies. He did not make the movie, however.

In the 1990s, the city won the United Nations Environment Program prize - UNEP, from the UN, said to be the top prize of the environment in the world. In June 1996, the chairman of the Habitat II summit of mayors and urban planners in Istanbul said Curitiba was "the most innovative city in the world." In 2003, the city received the title of Capital of Culture of the Americas by the organization CAC-ACC. In 2006, Curitiba hosted the event COP8/COP-MOP3 the UN. Today, Curitiba is considered one of the best examples of urban planning in the world.Irazábal, Clara Elena (2002) Curitiba and Portland: Architecture, City Making, and Urban Governance in the Era of Globalization, PhD Dissertation in Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, p.112
In 1991, the city asked the French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to open the Free University of the Environment, being an place for learning about the environment and ecology for the population. Since it was created, the UNILIVRE is a reference about studies in economically sustainable care of ecosystems, serving as a model for other similar institutions in various parts of the world, as in Cordoba in Argentina, Río Grande in Patagonia, Seoul in Korea, Guadalajara in Mexico, and in many other Brazilian cities.

The Reader's Digest found that it was the Brazilian city best placed in the ranking of the best cities in the world to live in. In March 2001, a poll sponsored by the UN pointed Curitiba as the best capital of Brazil by the Index of Living Conditions (ILC) and second best among the HDI of Brazilian capitals. The city is the gateway to entering the Mercosur (the southern zone common market of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay).

The city was the first in Brazil to introduce the separation of domestic garbage on a wide-scale basis. The acclaimed program Lixo que não é Lixo (literally, "Garbage that isn’t Garbage"; a successful recycling program) created in 1989 has become a model of caring for the environment. Curitiba is the Brazilian city that recycles garbage more often: currently, 22% of all the waste produced - about 450 tons each day - are recycled.

In 2007, the city was the third place in a list of "15 Green Cities" in the world, according to the American website "Grist". In the same year, the city was featured in The New York Times saying that Curitiba remains a destination for urban planners from various parts of the world, fascinated with the public transport system, program for recycling of garbage and the group of parks in the city.

The MasterCard Emerging Markets Index 2008, created to evaluate and compare the performance of cities in different functions that connect markets and commerce worldwide, shows Curitiba as the safest city in Brazil - considering details such as freedom of expression, risk of natural disasters and personal security.

Curitiba won the Globe Award Sustainable City 2010 and was chosen unanimously by the committee. At the same year, Curitiba was elected by the América Economía Magazine as one of the best cities for doing business in Latin America.

Geography
Localization

Curitiba is on the first plateau of Paraná, in the most flat area, also called Plateau Curitibano. It covers a geographical area of 432.17 km², located at 25º25'40"S latitude and 49º16'23"W longitude. The coastline of the state (the Atlantic Ocean) is 70 km away from the city. The capital has a length of 35 km from north to south, and 20 km from east to west.

Distance from Curitiba to some cities of Brazil and Mercosur:
 São Paulo: 335 km/ 208 miles
 Foz do Iguaçu: 523 km/ 288 miles
 Rio de Janeiro: 671 km/ 417 miles
 Belo Horizonte: 834 km/ 518 miles
 Asuncion (Paraguay): 846 km/ 526 miles
 Brasília: 1077 km/ 669 miles
 Montevideo (Uruguay): 1244 km/ 773 miles
 Buenos Aires (Argentina): 1331 km/ 827 miles
 Florianópolis: 300 km
 La Paz (Bolivia): 2194 km/ 1363 miles
 Santiago (Chile): 2254 km/ 1400 miles
 Manaus: 2722 km/ 1691 miles

Terrain

The city has surface area of 432.17 km² in the First Plateau of Paraná. The average altitude of the city is 934.6 m above sea level, ranging between minimum and maximum values of 900 and 1,000 meters, approximately. Curitiba has a wavy topography of smooth rounded hills, an terrain a little wavy, giving a relatively regular appearance. The municipality of Curitiba has an average altitude of 934.6 m above sea level, where the highest point is to the north (1,021.0 m). To the south it is a bit lower  (864.9 m).

There are mountain ranges and sets of rocky elevations in almost all around the city, being the most remarkable and impressive of the Serra do Mar (Portuguese for "Mountain Range of the Sea"), in the east that separates the plateau from the coast of Paraná.

Climate
Curitiba's climate is usually mild all year round though locals complain that the weather can change at anytime. It can be hot in the winter and cold in the summer. Even in one day, there can be great differences.

The flat terrain, lakes and marshland help its mild damp winters, with an average temperature of 13 °C (57 °F), but it can fall below 0 °C (32 °F) on the coldest days. During summer, the average temperature is around 21 °C (70 °F), but sometimes gets around 32 °C (90 °F) on hot days.

Hydrography and Pluviometry

The catchment area of Curitiba has several rivers and streams that cross the city in different directions, grouped in six river basins. The main rivers are: Atuba River, Belém River, Barigüi River, Passaúna River, Ribeirão dos Padilhas and the Iguaçu River. Since the 1970s, Curitiba has worked to minimize the negative impacts of urbanization on rivers.  Parks have been built along the rivers with artificial lakes, which retain the water for longer periods of time, minimizing floods. Almost all the rivers are in canalization process.

There is 1,500 mm rainfall on average per year. It happens, among other reasons, because of the large deforestation of the Mountain Range of the Sea (Serra do Mar), a natural barrier to moisture.

Vegetation

Curitiba is in the area of vegetation called Araucaria moist forests, composed of steppes, Araucaria forest and other formations.

In the local vegetation there are still parana pines (Araucaria angustifolia). The parana pines are now protected by environmental law. 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, on top of the total maintenance of 350,000 seedlings. The green area of the city is one of largest in Brazil. There is a large quantity of purple and yellow ipês (tabebuias), which flower at the end of winter. The yellow ipê is the most common tree in the city.

Social issues

The growth of urban population of Curitiba, that turned the city in a modern metropolis, has generated some social problems. Like other major Brazilian cities, Curitiba has seen the emergence of slums in some neighborhoods and around the city, and the growth of street inhabitants. Crime has increased but is not comparable to other major Brazilian cities.

Moreover, many rivers contains levels of pollution; the landfill (deposit of garbage) is almost full; the public transport sometimes is not enough for the number of people (in the rush hour), and the Brazilian government does not pay for the construction of a subway in the city.

Architecture

A variety of architectural styles, ancient and modern, make the urban landscape of Curitiba very interesting and represent an enormous cultural heritage. There is a strong influence of the culture of immigrants  mainly from Europe. Buildings in eclectic architecture, neoclassical, colonial, Byzantine, and oriental styles confirm the diversity and cultural richness of Curitiba. It is possible to find places that still keep lambrequins (short ornaments, typical of some European places in the past, on top of roofs or windows), palaces in the urban area, and even the first rotating building in the world. 

Because it is a planned city, the administration uses a rigid plan for growth, aiming to facilitate the use of public transport. The idea was to organize the city along transport corridors. The buildings are close to major bus lines. The rule is simple: buildings with more than eight floors can only be built in the first block, near the corridor. Buildings with less than eight floors, in the second block, and in other, smaller buildings and houses. This encourages the use of buses, reducing the number of cars.

The people

In 2007, there were 1,797,408 people living in the city of Curitiba. In 2000, Curitiba was the seventh biggest city in Brazil.  Tthe city was the leader in longevity, with the life expectancy at birth at 71.6 years of age. In 2007, there were 3,230,000 people living in the urban areas around Curitiba. The population density was 4.159,4 inh./km². The census showed the numbers: 2,503,250 White people (77.4%), 584,000 Pardo people (18.2%), 93,000 Black people (2.9%), 45,000 Asian or Amerindian people (1.4%).
 Municipal Population: 1,797,408 inhabitants (100% urban; 52.07% men and 47.93% women)
 Total metropolitan population: 3,335,588 inhabitants
 Population density: 4.111,9 inhabitants/km²
 Fertility rate: 1.74 children per woman
 Literacy rate: 96.63%
 Human Development Index (HDI-M): 0856
 HDI-M Income: 0.846
 HDI-M Longevity: 0.776
 HDI-M Education: 0.946

Population growth

 1780  1858  1872  1890  1900 2.949  11.313  12.651  24.553  49.755 1920  1940  1950  1960  1970 78.986  140.656  180.575  356.830  624.362 1980  1991  1996  2000  2007 1.025.979  1.290.142  1.476.253  1.586.848  1.797.408

Economy

Curitiba is the economic center of southern Brazil. The city has the largest portion of the structure of government and public services of the Paraná state. It has major companies in the sectors of trade, services and financial things. The city has the strongest economy of the south of the country, because the work of export of more than 900 factories just in the Cidade Industrial neighborhood and major automobile industries which are in the Greater Curitiba.
The city was elected several times as "The Best Brazilian City for Business", according to rankings done by the Exame magazine, in partnership with the consultancy Simonsen & Associates. In July 2001, Curitiba has become the first city in the country to receive the prize "Pole of Information Technology", granted by InfoExame magazine. According to the magazine, the number of companies of "Technology and Information Technology" based in Curitiba had in 2001 a turnover of US $1.2 billion, representing a growth of 21% over the previous year. According to a study done by the International Congress & Convention Association, Curitiba is the sixth Brazilian city with the largest number of international events.

In 2007, the respected Veja magazine indicated Curitiba as the best destination for business in Brazil. The city is becoming one of the largest and most important centers of technology, attracting giants of the sector of information technology in the areas of software and hardware.

Gross domestic product

Analyzing the GDP of Curitiba, it appears that from 1995 to 2000, the economy grew about 3% a year. The GDP per capita, in 2000 was 37% higher than the average for Brazil. Mostly this was the service sector with 38.8%, followed by the industrial sector with 36%. The rest of activities related to the tertiary sector.

Education


In the 1990s, the city started a project called Faróis de Saber ("Lighthouses of Knowledge"). These Lighthouses are free educational centers which include libraries, Internet access, and other cultural resources. This community libraries works with municipal schools, have a collection of approximately 5000 books,  and are designed to diversify the opportunities of access to knowledge, expanding the area of formal education.  In each quarter of the city, these "Lighthouses of Knowledge" have been implanted containing library and room of computer science, for public use, mainly by students; job training, social welfare and educational programs are coordinated, and often supply labor to improve the city's amenities or services, as well as education and income.

Among the Brazilian capitals, Curitiba has the lowest rate of illiteracy, and is also number 1 in education between the Brazilian capitals.

Curitiba has many universities. The Universidade Federal do Paraná ("Federal University of Paraná") is the most important of the region, and the oldest in Brazil.

 Tourism 

Every year, tourism grows in Curitiba. The Linha Turismo ("Tourism Line") started in 1994. It is a special city tour that visits the principal tourist attractions in Curitiba, featuring comfortable white buses with big windows and a shape similar to that of streetcars. The vehicles have a sound system that plays recorded messages describing sites in Portuguese, English and Spanish. It is possible to visit the parks, squares and the rest of the city's tourist attractions. Considered one of the best in the country, the Linha Turismo is available every thirty minutes and has a two and a half-hour tour, which travels around forty-four kilometers. To go on the tour you must buy a ticket with five tickets that give you the right to get on and off bus four times. Users can therefore choose the touristic point where they want to stay longer. Then, they can embark again to complete the remaining part of the itinerary. Today the line goes to 25 key reference points in Curitiba, completing 44 km in 2 and ½ hours.
According to the FIPE it is the third city to receive foreign tourists for business. In 2006, the city was placed 6th among the best Brazilian cities to hold events and tourism business; in that year, the flow of tourists outnumbered the number of inhabitants. Out of about 2 million visitors, approximately half landed the business. The number of hotels in the city has developed and is now the fourth largest in the country. Curitiba and its Metropolitan Area have a modern hotel infrastructure, with 150 hotels and service flats totaling 18 thousand beds (in May 2005). The good restaurants and customized services are approved by 92.4% of those who leave the city, according the Secretariat of State for Tourism of Paraná.  In 2008 an important magazine said that Curitiba is the best cultural destination and best cost-benefit for tourism in the South region of Brazil.

Gallery

 Culture 
Gastronomy

The pine nuts (seeds of Parana Pine) are probably the most unique elements in the gastronomy of Paraná and Curitiba; it is used not only as aperitif, but also with traditional recipes. Pine nuts are a major ingredient, not only in Midwinter party (Festa Junina, the annual Brazilian celebration which take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter), but also in the daily diet. Pancakes, breads, cakes, soups and appetizers are just some of the recipes prepared with this seed. 

In Curitiba, one can find restaurants of all kinds. The city has food establishments specializing in German, Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Indian, Mexican, etc., and, of course, regional cuisines of Brazil. Santa Felicidade neighborhood is considered to have good Italian food; it is the place where some of the first Italian immigrants arriving in Paraná settled, where they dedicated themselves to the agricultural production, planting herbs, wine and cheese willow trees. There are also wineries and wine bars, craft stores and willow furniture. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest restaurant of the Americas is in this Curitiba neighborhood.

Events
Every Sunday morning, in the Historic Area, in the old stoned streets at the Largo da Ordem and the pavement giving access to Garibaldi Square, with the Rosário Church, the Flowers Clock, the Memory Fountain and the Società Giuseppe Garibaldi make the space for the Crafts Fair, an exciting meeting point with live music. The Feira do Largo da Ordem ("Largo da Ordem's Street Fair") is an open market, where you can find handicrafts, paintings, sculptures, typical foods, street artists, old car exhibition and a lot more. It is also possible to watch live small musical shows from local musicians or see clowns doing humorous performances.

The Oficina de Música de Curitiba ("Music Workshop of Curitiba") was established in 1983 to discover and train new talent. Nowadays its one of the biggest Brazilian events for training, retraining and improvement of musicians. Join the Workshop of Music, held every year in January, students and teachers from all over Brazil (about 2,000 students and more than 100 teachers); among students and teachers, the Office of Music had representatives from throughout Latin America (mainly from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), United States, France, Switzerland, Holland, England, Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, Portugal, China and Israel. The best instrumentalists, conductors and singers of Brazil, by classical music and popular, within the framework of teachers and directors of the workshop. 
Curitiba has a strong relationship with the performing arts and theatre. Since 1992, the city hosts a major festival of theatre, the Festival de Teatro de Curitiba, composed of international attractions, large national attractions, local presentations, and alternative exhibitions. The city has theatres with excellent techno-acoustic feedback, as the Teatro Guaíra, one of the largest rooms in number of spectators in  South America.

In November happens the Maratona Ecológica Internacional de Curitiba ("Curitiba International Ecological Marathon"). This marathon is known as the hardest in Brazil, because happens in the end of the year, when there usually is warm weather in the city, and the hilly course, with many of the inclines being in the last 10 km. 

In December, the city becomes the "Capital of Christmas". The most traditional event is the choir of the Palácio Avenida: 160 poor children of charities institutes sing Christmas songs in windows of a historic building adorned with 90 thousand lamps, attracting thousands of spectators. It is probably the best known Christmas event in Brazil. Moreover, the entire city is decorated in two official events, the "Christmas of Light" and "Enchanted Christmas", where several tourist attractions are decorated for Christmas, as well as free theatre shows on public places and parks, bands and orchestras in public places showing traditional music, many giant Christmas trees around the city, special fairs with Christmas things, prizes for the most lighted houses, etc.

Every year, the Crystal Fashion Week occurs in the city, together with the Fashion's Forum. It is the biggest event about fashion in southern Brazil, and generally, the launching party occurs in the Castelo do Batel ("Batel Castle") (an old mansion from the beginning of the 20th century), and the parades and presentations happen in the Shopping Crystal Plaza. Participants of the fashion week include national and international celebrities, fashion designers, fashion professionals and people interested in style, which has famous marks of clothing.

Every year Curitiba has the largest Gay Pride Parade in Southern Brazil, called Parada da Diversidade ("Parade of Diversity"), covering not only the discussion of gender but also other social minorities historically discriminated. With a mix of celebration and political claim, it has happened since 1995.

The city hosts the Casa Cor Paraná - an exhibition of decoration, architecture and ambiance; in 2008, the 15th edition of the event in the state of Paraná had the participation of 116 exhibitors, featuring new trends on architecture, decoration and design. In 2007, it had visits by 30,000 people in five weeks.

 Museums 

Curitiba has several museums. Some of the most important are:
 Museu Paranaense ("Paranaense Museum") - dedicated to the arts and history;
 Oscar Niemeyer Museum - the largest museum of Latin America, dedicated to plastic arts;
 Museu de Arte Sacra ("Religious Art Museum") - the focus is religious and sacred Christian art in general;
 Museu do Expedicionário ("Museum of Expeditionary") - dedicated to the history of Brazilian participation in World War II;
 Museu de Arte Contemporânea ("Museum of Contemporary Art");
 Museu da Imagem e do Som ("Image and Sound Museum") - about cinema and photography;
 Museu Metropolitano de Arte de Curitiba ("Metropolitan Museum of Art in Curitiba") - modern art;
 Museu de História Natural ("Natural History Museum") - dedicated to  biology and botany;
 Museu Municipal de Arte (MuMA) – Portão Cultural (Municipal Art Museums) - has the objective of preserving, conserving, storing and disseminating the art collection of regional artists;
 Museu do Holocausto (Holocaust Museum of Curitiba) - dedicated to the history of the holocaust and the memories of its victims.

Presentation spaces

Many space for presentations in Curitiba are tourist attractions in themselves. The Parque das Pedreiras ("Quarries Park"), for example, which includes the area that was once a stone quarry and has now been named the Pedreira Paulo Leminski, as well as a theater called the Ópera de Arame ("Wire Opera House"), has already become a tourist point. The Pedreira Paulo Leminski is an open area where events can be held for large audiences, for it has a capacity of up to 30,000 people. The Wire Opera House was built in a record-breaking period of 75 days to host the first edition of the Festival de Teatro de Curitiba. Its metallic structures, which look like wires, have become an architectural mark in the city and nationwide.

In 1971 the Teatro Paiol - a construction of 1874, which was used by the Brazilian Army as arsenal of gunpowder and ammunition, was turned into a cultural and scenic area. The Guaíra Theater is one of the largest theaters in all of Latin America. In the city’s historical sector, the Memorial of Curitiba is a new and modern site, which found its inspiration in the Parana Pine.

All the parks of the city have places for folklore and cultural presentations by various ethnic groups of Curitiba.

Cinema theatres

The first movie designed in Curitiba was in 1897, shortly after the invention of cinematograph by Lumière Brothers. Currently, the Cultural Foundation of Curitiba runs two movie theaters in the downtown area: the Cine Luz and the Cinemateca (for special movies), which offer many art movie programs at affordable prices. The Cinema a Um Real project ("Watch a movie for one Real") is available every Sunday, featuring movies targeted to a more popular taste with cheap prices (R$1,00 - around US $0,40), allowing citizens from low-income classes to go to the movies. Furthermore, the city runs the Cinema nos Bairros project ("A Movie Theater in Your Neighborhood"), which was designed to allow a larger portion of the population to get to know video productions. The project offers movie sessions for free and schedules weekly sessions at schools, Ruas da Cidadania ("Citizenship Streets"), parish halls, neighborhood associations as well as other institutions that take part in this partnership project. At these places children get a chance to see how movie projectors work and also have a better grasp of each movie, so that they become increasingly interested in the art of moviemaking.

Today, Curitiba has, approximately, 70 movie theatres, with daily programming, and is the first city in Brazil to have an IMAX cinema. It is in the Palladium Shopping Center, which is the biggest mall in Southern Brazil.

Media

Sports

The city has many areas and buildings for sport. Even sports not very popular in Brazil (like American football or baseball) are played in the city. Golf was introduced at around 1904 by English immigrants. Famous golfers in Curitiba include Walt Disney, who played a game in 1939.

Curitiba also houses the Training Center of the Brazil national gymnastics team.

Soccer is the most popular sport, with several clubs based in Curitiba, such as:
 Coritiba Foot Ball Club;
 Clube Atlético Paranaense;
 Paraná Clube;

Curitiba was also one of the 18 cities that held games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Neighbourhoods

Bairros (neighbourhoods) of Curitiba are geographical divisions of the city. There is no delegation of administrative powers to neighborhoods, although there are several neighborhood associations devoted to improve their own standards of living. The centre ("Downtown" in American English or "CBD" - central business district - in other English use), is the place where the city was founded. It is the busiest area, most of the financial institutions of Curitiba are there.thumb|left|Map of Curitiba, with the neighbourhoods and boroughs.
 Matriz: Centro, Centro Cívico, Batel, Bigorrilho, Mercês, São Francisco, Bom Retiro, Ahu, Juvevê, Cabral, Hugo Lange, Jardim Social, Alto da XV, Alto da Glória, Cristo Rei, Jardim Botânico, Prado Velho and Rebouças;
 Santa Felicidade: Santa Felicidade, Lamenha Pequena, Butiatuvinha, São João, Vista Alegre, Cascatinha, São Brás, Santo Inácio, Orleans, Mossunguê, Campina do Siqueira, Seminário, CIC (north region) and part of Campo Comprido;
 Boa Vista: Boa Vista, Bacacheri, Bairro Alto, Tarumã, Tingüi, Atuba, Santa Cândida, Cachoeira, Barreirinha, Abranches, Taboão, Pilarzinho and São Lourenço;
 Cajuru: Cajuru, Uberaba, Jardim das Américas, Guabirotuba and Capão da Imbuia;
 Fazendinha/Portão: Portão, Fazendinha, Santa Quitéria, Vila Isabel, Água Verde, Parolin, Guaíra, Lindóia, Fanny, Novo Mundo and part of Campo Comprido;
 Boqueirão: Boqueirão, Xaxim, Hauer and Alto Boqueirão;
 Pinheirinho: Pinheirinho, Capão Raso, Tatuquara, Campo de Santana and Caximba;
 Bairro Novo: Sítio Cercado, Ganchinho and Umbará;
 Cidade Industrial de Curitiba: CIC (center and south region), Riviera, Augusta and São Miguel.

Government

The executive is currently exercised by the mayor Beto Richa (elected in 2004, reelected in 2008 and with a mandate until 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, 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, housing, 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.

Official symbols
The official symbols of the city are the flag, the seal, and the hymn composed by Ciro Silva and Bento Mossurunga. In addition, through the municipal Law 10,236, was introduced as "place symbol of the city of Curitiba" the historic building of the Federal University of Paraná.

Official calendar - holidays
 29 March: Foundation of Curitiba;
 8 September: Day of the city's patroness, Our Lady of Light of Pine Forests;
 28 October: Day of Public Servant.

Greater Curitiba

Greater Curitiba is the 118th largest metropolitan area in the world. Estimates from the 2007 Census show that the Metropolitan Area of Curitiba has 3,172,357 inhabitants, the second most populated in the south of Brazil with an area of 15.418,543 km².

Created in 1973, the Metropolitan Area of Curitiba is currently composed of 26 municipalities, including the capital.

With an industrial park of 43 million square meters, the Metropolitan Area of Curitiba has attracted large companies such as Audi, VW, Nissan, Renault, New Holland, Volvo, Fiat, ExxonMobil, Sadia, Kraft Foods, Esso, HSBC and Siemens.

The Greater Curitiba is home to the Afonso Pena International Airport (in the city of São José dos Pinhais) and the motorsports circuit Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba (in the city of Pinhais).

 Twin towns (sister cities) 

The twin towns of Curitiba are:
  Asuncion (Paraguay)
  Coimbra (Portugal)
  Córdoba (Argentina)
  Corrientes (Argentina)
  Guadalajara (Mexico)
  Hangzhou (China)
  Himeji (Japan)  Krakow (Poland)
  Lyon (France)
  Montevideo (Uruguay)
  Orlando (US)
  Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia)
  Suwon (South Korea)
  Treviso (Italy)

References

Other websites

 Official homepage 
 An interesting article about the city, written in simple English 
 Curitiba travel information at Wikivoyage

Category:Capitals of Brazilian states

Category:1690s establishments
Category:17th-century establishments in Brazil