{"id":3951,"date":"2013-07-10T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-10T17:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/?p=3951"},"modified":"2015-06-01T15:11:11","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T19:11:11","slug":"it-is-time-to-really-green-the-marvelous-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/2013\/07\/10\/it-is-time-to-really-green-the-marvelous-city\/","title":{"rendered":"It Is Time to Really \u201cGreen\u201d the Marvelous City"},"content":{"rendered":"

A vers\u00e3o em Portugu\u00eas<\/a> segue imediatamente.<\/em><\/p>\n

In my last TNOC article<\/a>, I wrote about the city of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s rich biodiversity and the huge transformations that the city is going through, boosted by the international events that are already taking place here: 2013 FIFA Confederations Soccer Cup happened in June and the Pope will visit the city for the World Youth Day in July, when millions of young people are expected<\/a>. In 2014\u00a0Brazil will host FIFA World Soccer Cup and in 2016 the Olympic Games will happen in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n

I have also talked about how the city is being \u201cprepared\u201d; how the urbanized areas are gray, expanding and destroying the last ecosystem remnants, cutting trees to give place to more concrete and asphalt. People are not participating in the decisions. Isolated local demonstrations against the eradication of\u00a0green areas have happened during this period of time, but the results have been always the same: bulldozers reign.<\/p>\n

We are living extremely intense and interesting days in Brazil, as in several other countries. People want to be heard and to be part of the game! In this historically peaceful country, suddenly masses gathered in the streets with more than 1 million citizens marching in one single day<\/a>! And the protests continue.<\/p>\n

Politicians are astonished. There are analysts of different fields of knowledge trying to understand what really is under those human surges in cities and towns all around the country. There are all kinds of requests: ethical behavior from our legislators, officeholders and all public representatives; full transparency and accountability of public investments and expenses; effective participation in the decisions, and so on.<\/p>\n

\"S\u00e3o
S\u00e3o Paulo during a protest at Avenida Paulista, the center economic and financial district of the city seen from inside the Bikers Vegetable Garden (Horta do Ciclista) done by Hortel\u00f5es Urbanos<\/a>\u2014a group of citizens concerned with healthy food and direct contact with nature. Photo: Fernanda Danelon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The problems are complex and quite intricate, but in my view, there is an important factor that is not being considered: people want to live in cities that are livable.<\/span>\u00a0Livable cities are those in which people matter and in which nature matters. During the last years I have seen how urban dwellers praise their trees and green areas, and how they are trying to protect them against creating cities \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d, based on car-centric transportation and sprawl. I love when I go to urban parks and they are packed with curious and happy families, with people of all ages enjoying trees, birds, monkeys, squirrels, and flowers\u2026 and life!<\/p>\n

\"Rio
Rio de Janeiro Botanic Garden<\/a>: people appreciating the huge Suma\u00fama (Ceiba petranda) \u2013 a giant tree from Amazon. Photo: Cecilia Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How can our decision makers destroy what make people happy? Ignorance, I guess. In my view, the only way is to teach and draw people out of the \u201cvideophilia\u201d that infects \u201cmodern\u201d life, to discover and enjoy biophilia. I believe the only way is through ecological literacy, as Tim Beatley<\/a>, Richard Louv<\/a>, Edward O. Wilson<\/a>, Fritjof Capra<\/a> and many others so eloquently write about. Unfortunately, Brazil is still out of all these exciting discussions. There are almost no publications in Portuguese, and most Brazilians don\u2019t read other languages.<\/p>\n

My reflections are about how people need to understand ecology and the cycles of life, and have a systems thinking to not only love and praise nature, but really protect and invest in biodiversity, especially inside the cities\u2014where most of us live! Our leaders should be ecologically educated so we can shift to a new paradigm focused on everyone\u2019s life, including ALL species!<\/p>\n

I have been involved in many activities related to urban nature in the last 10 years because I was lucky to radically change the course of my life.\u00a0In my first 50 years I was totally unaware of the web of life, but I loved nature! I went to business school because my father was an entrepreneur. It was the natural thing to do! Although I had thought about studying architecture twice\u2026 Buildings are not my main interest up to now, and there was no (and still there is not!) landscape architecture, nor formal education in urban ecology in this wonderful tropical country.<\/p>\n

What made a difference? During a few years Fernando Chacel, who was a pioneer in ecological landscape planning and design in Brazil, coordinated a landscape architecture undergrad course at the Universidade Veiga de Almeida. I was fortunate to have studied with him. From then on, things suddenly started happening. I have been able to meet and learn with people from different places and fields. I became ecologically involved in life, in all species of life. Finally, I overcame my ecological ignorance.<\/p>\n

It has been almost a personal mission to study, research and teach about landscape, natural processes and flows, and the interrelations of biodiversity and natural resources with people, culture and human activities.<\/p>\n

\"A
A group presentation after a four week course organized by INVERDE Institute, where Pierre-Andr\u00e9 Martin and I teach green infrastructure and urban ecology\u2014May 2013. Photo: Cecilia Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the beginning of 2012, I decided to go further to try to transmit what I have learned, so I have started writing a book for Portuguese speakers aiming to contribute to fill the huge knowledge gap in a wider scale. The book \u201cCities for ALL: (re)learning to live with NATURE\u201d (Cidades para TODOS: (re)aprendendo a conviver com a NATUREZA<\/a>) was released in the World Environment Day, last June 5th<\/sup>. The response has been amazing!<\/p>\n

\"Cover
Cover of the book \u201cCities for ALL :(re)learning to live with NATURE<\/a>\u201d, release June 5th [in Portuguese] forewords by Cynthia Rosenzweig and Thomas Elmqvist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>I have signed books in Rio and S\u00e3o Paulo, and I am giving lectures to different audiences. I have gone to the radio and TV programs and have written articles for newspapers and digital blogs. In just a few weeks, I have already met more lovely people from all social, educational and professional backgrounds that are sharing the same passion for life and all kinds of living organisms, and nature! They all feel the same amazement I feel, they become enthusiasts and they want to collaborate and volunteer in any way they can. It is so rewarding.<\/p>\n

Finally, it is not all about the money! It is about getting together and sharing experiences, dreaming and working to transform what seems impossible: bringing people and native biodiversity to the forefront of urban discussions, planning and design.<\/p>\n

\"Book
Book signing with a group of architecture students. Photo: Alex Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new opportunity is opening: in June 24th<\/sup> UNDP launched the World Centre for Sustainable Development\u2014\u201cRio +\u201d. It aims to change the way \u201cwe do things\u201d in order to comply with our planetary boundaries. As our Minister of Environment Isabel Teixeira states<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cRIO+ will also be a relevant political space for the promotion of the dialogue with the society, opening doors for universities, private sector, governments and everybody interested in discussing and promoting sustainable development.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Rio+
Rio+ World Centre for Sustainable Development launching, June 24th 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Cecilia Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the same day there was a seminar<\/a> promoted by FBDS (Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Sustent\u00e1vel\u2014<\/i>Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network led by Jeffrey Sachs, to launch the \u201cRio Sustainable Initiative\u201d. It seems to be a good occasion<\/a> to introduce biodiversity and ecosystems services in the urban planning scenario to build a resilient and sustainable city.<\/p>\n

Soon the publication \u201cCities and Biodiversity Outlook\u2014Action and Policy<\/a>\u201d will be released in Portuguese, and hopefully it will be synergetic with our actions and dreams. Maybe we will be able to transform hearts and minds of more people and may influence the course of our cities towards a social-ecological outcome for ALL, (re)learning to live with NATURE.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Herzog
\n<\/strong>Rio de Janeiro<\/p>\n

On The Nature of Cities\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c9 Hora de Tornar a Cidade Maravilhosa Realmente \u201cVerde\u201d!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Em meu \u00faltimo artigo<\/a>, escrevi sobre a rica biodiversidade da cidade do Rio de Janeiro e as imensas transforma\u00e7\u00f5es que vem sofrendo impulsionadas pelos eventos internacionais que j\u00e1 est\u00e3o acontecendo: a Copa das Confedera\u00e7\u00f5es da FIFA foi em junho e a visita do Papa, devido ao Dia Mundial da Juventude, ser\u00e1 em julho \u2013 quando milh\u00f5es de jovens<\/a> est\u00e3o sendo esperados. No ano que vem o Brasil ir\u00e1 sediar a Copa do Mundo e em 2016 os Jogos Ol\u00edmpicos acontecer\u00e3o no Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n

Eu tamb\u00e9m falei sobre como a cidade est\u00e1 sendo \u201cpreparada\u201d; como as \u00e1reas urbanizadas s\u00e3o cinza e est\u00e3o se expandindo e destruindo os \u00faltimos remanescentes de ecossistemas nativos, cortando \u00e1rvores para dar mais lugar para concreto e asfalto. As pessoas n\u00e3o est\u00e3o participando de fato das decis\u00f5es. Nesse per\u00edodo t\u00eam ocorrido demonstra\u00e7\u00f5es p\u00fablicas isoladas de insatisfa\u00e7\u00e3o contra a erradica\u00e7\u00e3o de \u00e1reas verdes, mas os resultados t\u00eam sido sempre o mesmo: motosserras e escavadeiras reinam.<\/p>\n

Estamos vivendo dias extremamente intensos e interessantes no Brasil, como em in\u00fameros pa\u00edses. As pessoas querem ser ouvidas e participar do jogo! Nesse pa\u00eds historicamente pac\u00edfico, de repente as massas ganharam as ruas com mais de 1 milh\u00e3o de cidad\u00e3os marchando<\/a> em um \u00fanico dia! E os protestos continuam.<\/p>\n

Os pol\u00edticos est\u00e3o estonteados. Analistas de diferentes campos do conhecimento est\u00e3o tentando compreender o que est\u00e1 por tr\u00e1s dessas hordas humanas nas cidades de todos os tamanhos ao redor do pa\u00eds. H\u00e1 todo tipo de demanda: comportamento \u00e9tico de nossos representantes nos poderes legislativo, executivo, judici\u00e1rio e de membros do Poder P\u00fablico; completa transpar\u00eancia e responsabiliza\u00e7\u00e3o nos gastos e presta\u00e7\u00e3o de contas com o dinheiro de nossos impostos; efetiva participa\u00e7\u00e3o nas decis\u00f5es e por a\u00ed vai.<\/p>\n

\"S\u00e3o
S\u00e3o Paulo durante as manifesta\u00e7\u00f5es na Avenida Paulista, o centro econ\u00f4mico e financeiro da cidade visto de dentro da Horta do Ciclista trabalho do grupo de \u201cHortel\u00f5es Urbanos\u201d \u2013 cidad\u00e3os que est\u00e3o preocupados com alimenta\u00e7\u00e3o saud\u00e1vel e contato direto com a natureza. Cr\u00e9dito: Fernanda Danelon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Os problemas s\u00e3o muito complexos e intrincados, mas sob a minha \u00f3tica, h\u00e1 um importante fator que n\u00e3o est\u00e1 sendo considerado: as pessoas querem viver em cidades com alta qualidade de vida, e nessas cidades pessoas e natureza importam. Durante os \u00faltimos anos tenho visto como os moradores da cidade valorizam as suas \u00e1rvores e \u00e1reas verdes, e como eles est\u00e3o tentando proteg\u00ea-las contra a transforma\u00e7\u00e3o das cidades \u201ccomo sempre se fez\u201d, com base em transporte individual e na expans\u00e3o urbana ilimitada. Eu adoro quando vou a parques e eles est\u00e3o lotados de fam\u00edlias felizes e interessadas na natureza, com gente de todas as idades apreciando \u00e1rvores e p\u00e1ssaros e macacos e esquilos e flores… e vida!<\/p>\n

\"Jardim
Jardim Bot\u00e2nico do Rio de Janeiro: pessoas apreciando a Suma\u00fama (Ceiba petranda) \u2013 gigantesca \u00e1rvore da Amaz\u00f4nia. Credito: Cecilia Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Como podem os nossos tomadores de decis\u00f5es destruir o que faz as pessoas felizes? Ignor\u00e2ncia, eu suponho. Em minha opini\u00e3o, a \u00fanica maneira \u00e9 ensinar para tirar as pessoas da \u201cvideofilia\u201d que contamina a vida moderna, de modo a que venham descobrir e apreciar a biofilia. Acredito que as pessoas precisam ter uma alfabetiza\u00e7\u00e3o ecol\u00f3gica, como Tim Beatley, Richard Louv, Edward O. Wilson, Fritjhof Capra e muitos outros escrevem a respeito eloquentemente. Infelizmente o Brasil ainda est\u00e1 fora dessas conversas estimulantes. N\u00e3o h\u00e1 praticamente publica\u00e7\u00f5es em portugu\u00eas sobre o tema, e os brasileiros raramente leem outras l\u00ednguas.<\/p>\n

Minhas reflex\u00f5es s\u00e3o sobre como as pessoas precisam entender ecologia, os ciclos da vida e ter um pensamento sist\u00eamico para n\u00e3o apenas amar e apreciar a natureza, mas realmente proteger e investir na biodiversidade, especialmente nas cidades \u2013 onde a maior parte de n\u00f3s vive! Nossos l\u00edderes deveriam ser ecologicamente educados de modo que possam mudar para o novo paradigma focado na vida de cada um, incluindo TODAS as esp\u00e9cies!<\/p>\n

Tenho estado envolvida em diversas atividades relacionadas com natureza urbana nos \u00faltimos 10 anos porque tive a sorte de mudar radicalmente o curso de minha vida.<\/p>\n

Nos meus primeiros 50 anos de vida era totalmente desconectada da rede da vida, mas amava a natureza! Cursei administra\u00e7\u00e3o de empresas porque meu pai era um empres\u00e1rio. Era a coisa natural a fazer! Embora tivesse pensado em estudar arquitetura duas vezes… Edif\u00edcios n\u00e3o s\u00e3o meu foco principal de interesse at\u00e9 agora, e n\u00e3o havia (e ainda n\u00e3o h\u00e1!) curso superior de paisagismo, nem educa\u00e7\u00e3o formal em ecologia urbana nesse maravilhoso pa\u00eds tropical.<\/p>\n

O que fez diferen\u00e7a? Durante alguns anos Fernando Chacel, que foi um pioneiro em projeto e planejamento ecol\u00f3gico da paisagem no Brasil, coordenou um curso superior de paisagismo na Universidade Veiga de Almeida. Eu tive a sorte de ter estudado com ele e sua equipe. A partir de ent\u00e3o as coisas come\u00e7aram a acontecer rapidamente. Tive a oportunidade de conhecer e aprender com pessoas de diferentes lugares e campos do conhecimento. Eu me tornei ecologicamente envolvida com a vida, com todas as esp\u00e9cies de vida. Finalmente consegui ultrapassar minha ignor\u00e2ncia ecol\u00f3gica.<\/p>\n

Estudar, pesquisar e ensinar sobre paisagem, processos e fluxos naturais e suas inter-rela\u00e7\u00f5es com a biodiversidade, os recursos naturais e as pessoas e suas atividades se tornou quase uma miss\u00e3o pessoal.<\/p>\n

\"Apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o
Apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o de grupo depois de um curso de quatro semanas organizado pelo Instituto INVERDE, onde Pierre-Andr\u00e9 Martin e eu ensinamos sobre infraestrutura verde e ecologia urbana \u2013 maio de 2013. Cr\u00e9dito: Cecilia Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No come\u00e7o de 2012, decidi ir al\u00e9m para tentar transmitir o que tinha aprendido. Ent\u00e3o, comecei a escrever um livro destinado aos leitores de l\u00edngua portuguesa objetivando contribuir para preencher a enorme defasagem de conhecimento em uma escala mais abrangente. Lancei o livro \u201cCidades para TODOS: (re)aprendendo a conviver com a NATUREZA<\/a>\u201d no Dia Mundial do Meio Ambiente, dia 5 de junho passado. A resposta tem sido impressionante!<\/p>\n

\"Capa
Capa do livro \u201cCidades para TODOS: (re)aprendendo a conviver com a NATUREZA, lan\u00e7ado no dia 5 de junho com apresenta\u00e7\u00e3o de Luiz Fernando Janto e pref\u00e1cios de Cynthia Rosenzweig and Thomas Elmqvist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

O livro foi lan\u00e7ado no Rio e S\u00e3o Paulo, e estou dando palestras para diferentes p\u00fablicos. J\u00e1 fui ao r\u00e1dio e televis\u00e3o, e tenho escrito e contribu\u00eddo com artigos para jornais e blogs digitais. Em poucas semanas j\u00e1 encontrei pessoas ador\u00e1veis com diferentes forma\u00e7\u00f5es e origens sociais que est\u00e3o compartilhando a mesma paix\u00e3o pela vida de todos os organismos vivos, e pela natureza! Todos sentem o mesmo deslumbramento que eu sinto, e est\u00e3o se tornando entusiastas, querem colaborar, voluntariar de alguma maneira, qualquer maneira. \u00c9 muito recompensador. Afinal, n\u00e3o \u00e9 tudo apenas pelo dinheiro!! \u00c9 sobre conviver e compartilhar experi\u00eancias, sonhar e trabalhar para transformar o que parece imposs\u00edvel: trazer pessoas e biodiversidade nativa para a vanguarda das discuss\u00f5es, planejamento e projeto de nossas cidades.<\/p>\n

\"Durante
Durante o lan\u00e7amento do livo com um grupo de estudantes de Arquitetura. Cr\u00e9dito: Alex Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Uma nova oportunidade est\u00e1 se abrindo: dia 24 de junho foi lan\u00e7ado o \u201cRio+\u201d \u2013 Centro Mundial de Desenvolvimento Sustent\u00e1vel pelo PNUD<\/a> (Programa das Na\u00e7\u00f5es Unidas para o Desenvolvimento). Ele objetiva mudar a maneira como \u201cfazemos as coisas\u201d de modo a contemplar os limites planet\u00e1rios. \u00a0Como afirma a ministra do Meio Ambiente, Izabella Teixeira \u201cO RIO+\u201d ser\u00e1 tamb\u00e9m um espa\u00e7o pol\u00edtico relevante para a promo\u00e7\u00e3o do di\u00e1logo com a sociedade, abrindo portas para universidades, setor privado, governos e todas as pessoas interessadas em discutir e promover o desenvolvimento sustent\u00e1vel\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Rio+
Rio+ Lan\u00e7amento do Centro Mundial para o Desenvolvimento Sustent\u00e1vel \u2013 Rio+ no dia 24 de junho no Rio de Janeiro. Cr\u00e9dito: Cecilia Herzog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No mesmo dia teve lugar um semin\u00e1rio<\/a> promovido pelo FBDS (Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Sustent\u00e1vel presidido por Israel Klabin) e o Sustainable Development Solutions Network<\/i> (Rede de Solu\u00e7\u00f5es para o Desenvolvimento Sustent\u00e1vel liderado pelo economista Jeffrey Sachs), para lan\u00e7ar a \u201cIniciativa Rio Sustent\u00e1vel\u201d. Parece uma excelente oportunidade<\/a> para introduzir a biodiversidade e os servi\u00e7os ecossist\u00eamicos no planejamento de uma cidade resiliente e sustent\u00e1vel.<\/p>\n

Em breve ser\u00e1 lan\u00e7ada em portugu\u00eas a publica\u00e7\u00e3o \u201cPanorama das Cidades e Biodiversidade \u2013 A\u00e7\u00f5es e Pol\u00edticas<\/a>\u201d[1]<\/a>. Acredito que ter\u00e1 sinergia com nossas a\u00e7\u00f5es e sonhos. Talvez sejamos capazes de transformar cora\u00e7\u00f5es e mentes de mais pessoas e possamos influenciar o curso em dire\u00e7\u00e3o de uma perspectiva socioecol\u00f3gica para TODOS, (re)aprendendo a conviver com a NATUREZA.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Herzog
\n<\/strong>Rio de Janeiro<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

[1]<\/a> Publica\u00e7\u00e3o da Conven\u00e7\u00e3o da Biodiversidade da ONU, Centro de Resili\u00eancia de Estocolmo, Universidade de Estocolmo e ICLEI \u2013 Governos Locais pela Sustentabilidade, traduzido pelo Minist\u00e9rio de Meio Ambiente do Brasil. Foi lan\u00e7ado em 2012 na COP11 em Hyderabad na \u00cdndia, e j\u00e1 est\u00e1 traduzido para v\u00e1rios idiomas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A vers\u00e3o em Portugu\u00eas segue imediatamente. In my last TNOC article, I wrote about the city of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s rich biodiversity and the huge transformations that the city is going through, boosted by the international events that are already taking place here: 2013 FIFA Confederations Soccer Cup happened in June and the Pope will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":3962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,298,299],"tags":[40,401,73,49,28,34,84,27],"coauthors":[129],"class_list":["post-3951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","category-essay-people-and-communitites","category-essay-place-and-design","tag-architecture","tag-biodiversity","tag-biophilia","tag-communities","tag-design","tag-experiencing-nature","tag-livability","tag-south-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3951"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}