There was a time when Curitiba, a city in southern Brazil of 1.7 million inhabitants, was a model town heralding a future of durable development and urbanism. But that was 20 years ago. Today, although it features ample green spaces and a public transport system replicated in many other parts of the world, `Curitiba has ceased to innovate,` says Jaime Lerner, an architect behind much of the city`s layout. Lerner, who served three terms as Curitiba`s mayor from the 1970s to the 1990s, oversaw the creation of numerous parks, an integrated transport system that featured bus stops in the form of tubes, and a recycling system that was advanced for its time. In the 1980s, residents learned the basics of sorting their household waste under the slogan `Trash Is Not Trash,` becoming among the first in Brazil to do so. Curitiba also
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