Press Release:
For the first time in its 25-year history, the Intelligent Community Forum honored a Brazilian city with its top award today when it named Curitiba as the 2024 Intelligent Community of the Year. Curitiba, located in the state of Paraná, had been previously named a Smart21 Community eight times and to the prestigious list of Top7 four times since 2021.
Curitiba succeeds Binh Duong, Vietnam as ICF’s Intelligent Community of the Year. Curitiba was selected after more than a year of evaluation that included a quantitative analysis of extensive data, a site audit by an Intelligent Community Forum co-founder and votes from an international jury made up of experts from around the world. Communities in the Awards program are evaluated based on six Factors making up the Community Accelerator Strategy, which combine to produce inclusive economic growth, strengthen social connection and support rich and meaningful cultures.
Curitiba was named at the conclusion of the 2024 ICF Global Summit (www.icfsummit.com). explored how innovative cities and regions are turning technology change to the advantage of their people and employers – and finding in the threats of today the seeds of tomorrow’s opportunities. Its theme was “From Challenge to Opportunity: How Intelligent Communities turn the challenges of today into tomorrow’s economic, social and cultural opportunity.” Read the full announcement.
Urban planning works. That is the lesson of Curitiba, which has engaged in proactive planning for its future for nearly 40 years. While other Brazilian cities welcomed heavy industry, Curitiba accepted only non-polluters and developed an industrial district with so much green space that it was derided as a “golf course” until it filled up with more than 3,500 companies. Beginning in the 1970s, the master plan laid out streets, public transportation, shopping, industrial and residential areas. Today, clean water reaches 100% and sanitation 93% of the population, and the city offers a range of services still rare in emerging market nations: municipal healthcare, education and daycare networks, neighborhood libraries, and sports and culture facilities near mass transport terminals.
Curitiba has become one of the first Brazilian cities to offer VIVO 5G based on approving decree 989, which simplified the process to acquire an installation and operation license for radio base stations and antennas in the city. The decree also made small antennas and building-top equipment exempt from licensing requirements in their entirety. The city implemented EmpregoTech, a program to train young people ages 16 to 22 for a future in high-tech jobs. Curitiba developed an innovation ecosystem in Pinhão Valley. When COVID-19 reached Brazil in 2020, the Curitiba Agency for Development and Innovation worked with local startups and other companies to help entrepreneurs, local street market workers and artisans to create a virtual shop where they could exhibit and sell their goods, as they had previously had no online stores. The Agency also created a variety of online training courses for these businesses to help with their transition to online activities. The city also focused on multiple studies and projects to produce and implement clean energy in public buildings and public transportation. The city has installed a small hydroelectric plant in Barigui park to supply energy to the park, a project that will be replicated in other parks across the city. Read more about Curitiba.
