Por la favelas do Curitiba...

Today was quite a day visiting the housing aspect of Curitiba.

For some, it was waking up at the "crack of dawn" that was a challenge.

"crack of dawn" = 7 AM, meet at 8:15 AM.

Of course, the working world would laugh at that, and wish they could do that.

Anywho, we visited COHAB CT, which is the housing authority for Curitiba. There, we listened in on two lectures that introduced what COHAB did in Curitiba, some housing projects in the city, and how COHAB interacts with the Curitiba citizenry.

Lunch was nearby at some buffets or Exec Lunch places, which are quite cheap (R$ 4 for the buffet, or R$ 7 for the Exec lunch).

In the afternoon, we took a bus ride to the favela Audi Uniao, where we drove by residences, and entered the construction site where land is being leveled. The land is a flood zone, with a sand based soil, so trucks are coming in with better soil from the Green Pathway project in west Curitiba, to fill in the sandbar with a more stable soilbase. From there, we visited the levy that protects the settlement from the 50 year flood. The levy is 8 1/2 meters high, and can only tolerate water up to 8 meters high, before being breached.

From Audi Uniao, we went to a satellite community, where favela residents that were relocated from the construction site are now living. They were relocated to this area with several options. Option 1 included a built house, and option 2 is a housing lot where they can build, as long as it meets building codes. Most residents have 15 year leases, where they pay based on their income levels, and are given the opportunity to own the home, or leave. Of course the program is in its 6th year, so it is yet to be seen what happens.

Our tour continued on to the Technology Park and the Citizenship Streets, where public agencies and services are located. The technology park was a housing showcase, where residents where shown different housing construction methods and materials that met building codes. One home was even made of styrofoam walls, and can resist gunshots and has good acoustics. Of course the exterior has a cement shell.

After our tour of the Tech Park, we managed to get on the ring road, which is like a bypass, or beltway for Curitiba. Being a major stop point on the way from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo, Curitiba used to be a holdup when trying to drive through it. Now with the bypass, time is reduced considerably driving by Curitiba.

From here, we made it back to the hotel, where we had a surprise waiting for all of the class. One of our classmates, who had a hassle getting into Brasil, and even was deported on the first day, has returned to join us in our program. Bem Venido.

Beware tomorrow. It looks like its going to be a wet one.