Curitiba (pronounced “Coo-ree-cheeba”), in southern Brazil, has cornered the market for a particular kind of tourist. They arrive from every part of the globe, smartly dressed, traveling in groups, taking copious notes as they progress around the city.

The usual itinerary of historic buildings, landmarks and museums is not for them. Their tours invariably feature bus stops, pedestrian streets, parks, recycling centers and civic buildings.

They are politicians, urban planners, transport officials and local administrators. They have come to see a modern miracle. This is the city that tackled some of the most insidious urban problems — flooding, traffic congestion, pollution, garbage, homelessness — and forged new solutions.

In the past two decades, Curitiba has become one of the most influential cities in the world. Ideas tested here have been adapted for towns and cities on every continent. Here is a place that encourages residents and visitors to think about what cities are for, about how they work and about how they can be improved. Of all modern Curitiba’s achievements, perhaps the most remarkable is this: It made urban planning cool.

Early on a Saturday morning, sitting on a bench in front of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, the problems of a city of 3 million people seem very distant. We face a cobbled plaza hedged with brightly painted, tile-roofed colonial buildings. This is the epitome of early-18th-century town planning. Here, in the very center of Curitiba, we are cast back to another age, to a modest agricultural settlement situated on a plateau in the southern state of Paraná.

Two and a half centuries ago, there were hundreds of similar settlements across Brazil. Their declines and successes were seldom by design. Some villages remained as backwaters while others, often for no discernible reason, metamorphosed into booming cities. On this morning, in this sleepy plaza, there is no immediate clue as to which fate befell Curitiba.

Old and new buildings in Curitiba © Intoit | Dreamstime.com

But when we stand up, turn around and stroll down the cobbled street leading east from the plaza, the provincial ambience fades. We pass bars and nightclubs that just a few hours earlier were in the noisy grip of Friday night. To our right, the colonial frontages are disrupted by the futuristic glass and steel atrium of an arts center. Up ahead, modern buildings rise skyward. Suddenly we can feel the thrum of the waking city.

At the bottom of the hill, we plunge into contemporary Curitiba. The traffic is already building. Pedestrians hurry along the sidewalks. Shop shutters are scrawled with graffiti. Now we can imagine the issues the city government faced in the 1970s, when rapid population growth outstripped the infrastructure. The problems were urgent; the coffers were empty.

“You get creative when you take a zero from your budget,” says Jaime Lerner, the city’s renowned former mayor. “But sustainability starts when you take two zeros from your budget.”

In 1972, Lerner proposed to pedestrianize the city’s main shopping drag, Rua das Flores (Street of Flowers). Similar schemes elsewhere usually involve months of political wrangling and cost a fortune. Lerner’s government completed the project in a single weekend for next to nothing.

Shopkeepers were initially opposed to pedestrianization and threatened to drive cars along the street the following weekend. In what would become the Curitiba way, the threat was subverted into an opportunity. That Saturday, the government spread rolls of paper onto the paving and made available paints and brushes for local children to make art, creating a tradition that continues to this day. The angry shopkeepers relented and soon learned to love the new street layout.

A more serious threat came from nature. The rivers flowing through the city were prone to regular flooding. Vast amounts had been spent attempting to contain the water within concrete embankments, but the local government had a fresh solution. They lined the waterways with parkland, providing flooding zones which, for most of the year, serve as popular recreational areas. Curitiba is visually — as well as philosophically — green.

Traffic appeared to be a more intractable issue. Ideally, the city needed a metro system, but the cost was impossible. Instead, Lerner initiated the world’s first BRT (bus rapid transit). The city created dedicated bus lanes, built raised bus stops to enable quick (and safe) entry and exit, and established a network of color-coded bus lines. It has become the blueprint for hundreds of similar systems worldwide.

In common with many Curitiba schemes, the bus network is intended to be flexible. Routes can change in response to fluctuating demand — something an expensive metro system can’t do. This is the city as a living organism, with infrastructure that can constantly adapt to the needs of the population.

The payback is plain to see. Curitiba is regularly cited as one of the world’s most livable cities. This achievement translated into enviable economic growth. Gross domestic product per capita is 60 percent higher than the Brazilian average. The city’s 30-year growth rate of 7.1 percent is also significantly higher than the national norm.

The contrast from São Paulo, Brazil’s economic capital, is dramatic. Most international visitors fly here via that vast city. Arrival in Curitiba is literally a breath of fresh air. Unsurprisingly, multinational companies are increasingly choosing to relocate their Brazilian operations here, offering their personnel a better environment in which to live and work.

Nobody would claim that Curitiba is perfect. No city is. Yet there are many reasons this particular place attracts a constant procession of fact-finding apparatchiks.

It is not just municipal planners who can learn valuable lessons here. For businesses and individuals, a visit to Curitiba can be inspirational. Distilled to its basic element, the secret of the city’s accomplishments is this: Every problem gives rise to potential benefits.

Things to Do in Curitiba

Once you’ve mastered the celebrated bus system, getting around Curitiba is cheap and convenient — to most destinations. However, the Linha Tourismo, a 23-stop, 45-mile circuit taking in most of the main attractions, is comparatively expensive. A daily pass, which allows you to break your journey up to four times, costs $13. The tourist buses run every 30 minutes; there is no service on Mondays. Alternatively, you can sightsee using the main BRT network and complete each journey on foot; nowhere in the city is more than a quarter-mile from a bus stop.

A logical starting point for a tour is Largo da Ordem, the colonial heart of the city. Cobbled streets fan out from Garibaldi Plaza and its neighboring parks and squares. It’s an attractive place to explore by day and transforms into a trendy district of bars and nightclubs after dark.

A 30-minute walk west will take you to Torre Panorâmica, a rather ugly 300-foot communications tower with a top-floor observation deck which provides a worthwhile 360-degree view of the city. Best of all, when you’re up there you can’t see the tower itself. Admission is approximately $1.70.

Oscar Niemeyer Museum © Chris Schmid | Dreamstime.com

The architecture is much more impressive at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, designed by — and named after — the great Brazilian architect who died in 2011 at age 104. The architectural highlight is a futuristic annex resembling a human eye on a plinth. It was one of Niemeyer’s last masterpieces, completed when he was 95. The museum hosts a variety of exhibitions.

Another striking building is the Wire Opera House (Ópera de Arame), a metal and glass structure partly built over a forest-fringed, water-filled quarry in the north of the city. With capacity for 2,400 people, this uniquely Brazilian opera house stages regular performances.

Wire Opera House © istockphoto.com

In common with most Brazilian cities, immigrant populations built Curitiba. Their contributions are commemorated with monuments and parks dedicated to, among others, the Germans, the Italians, the Japanese, the Ukrainians, the Portuguese and the Poles. The Polish memorial, consisting of seven traditional log cabins, is located in Pope’s Wood, a public park inaugurated after the 1980 visit of Pope John Paul II to the city.

Curitiba: Just the Facts

Time Zone: GMT -3
Phone Code: Country code: 55 City code: 41
Entry/Exit Requirements: American citizens require a valid passport and a Brazilian visa, which can be obtained from the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C., or your nearest Brazilian consulate. Visas are not issued on arrival, and without one you will be refused entry to the country.
Currency: Brazilian real
Official Language: Portuguese
Key Industries: Vehicle manufacture, IT, finance, services

Curitiba Info to Go

Flights arrive at Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB), 11 miles southeast of downtown. Most international passengers arrive via São Paulo, though American Airlines announced plans to launch a non-stop Miami–Curitiba service in late 2013, pending government approval. The cheapest transport to the city is the Aeroporto Executivo shuttle bus, which runs to the train station and some hotels (approximately $5 one way).

Where to Stay in Curitiba

Four Points by Sheraton Curitiba This business-oriented, 165-room property in the heart of downtown features in-room workspace and free Internet. Av. Sete de Setembro 4211 $$$

Pestana Curitiba Part of a global Portuguese chain, the Pestana offers 173 bright and modern guestrooms in the upscale Batel district. Rua Comendador Araújo 499 $$$

San Juan Johnscher Hotel The hotel occupies a 1917 building next to Curitiba Convention Center, a short walk from the Street of Flowers. The décor is an inventive blend of traditional and contemporary. Rua Barão do Rio Branco 354 $$$

Restaurants in Curitiba

Barolo Trattoria Widely considered the best Italian restaurant in Curitiba, Barolo offers a sophisticated venue for a business lunch or a romantic dinner. Av. Silva Jardim 2487 $$$

Batel Grill Churrascaria At this carnivore’s paradise, the meat is cooked the traditional way, flame-grilled on skewers. All you can eat for $21. Av. Nossa Senhora Aparecida 84 $$

Bistrot do David This quirky restaurant full of character serves fine French food in a residential neighborhood of northeast Curitiba. Av. Nossa Senhora da Luz 1525 $$$