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| Latin America's greenest metropolis announced  In terms of environmental sustainability, Curitiba is Latin America's greenest metropolis, with other Brazilian cities, too, scoring above average. This is one of the results of a unique comparative study of 17 major Latin American cities carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of Siemens. Siemens presented the study findings at the World Mayors Summit on Climate in Mexico City.Curitiba is the fourth largest economy in Brazil. The city proper has a population of 1.9 million. At US$10, 800, it has the eighth highest GDP per capita in the Index. Over the years, it has won international recognition for its efforts in sustainable development. Curitiba is the only city in the Index that has an overall rank of well above average; it is the greenest city in the Index. Curitiba's impressive performance is largely attributable to its well-developed policies in areas such as waste management and clean air. According to the United Nations Population Division, around 81 percent of the population of Latin America lives in cities, making these countries some of the most heavily urbanized emerging economies. Worldwide, more than 50 percent of people live in cities, and urbanization is the trigger of many problems being experienced in traffic management, and in power and water supply. Cities are also at the forefront in the battle to combat climate change. The Latin American Green City Index is the second such comparative study of sustainable urban infrastructure that Siemens has commissioned. It is based on a similar one of European cities carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which was published at the occasion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 15 held in December 2009. In that study, Copenhagen was Europe's "greenest city." write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Construction News :: home page |