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Jaime Lerner

Jaime Lerner Associated Architects

Jaime Lerner was born in Curitiba Brazil, and is an architect, urban planner, graduating in those specialties from the School of Architecture of the Federal University of Parana in 1964. Responsible for the creation of the Institute of Urban Planning and Research on Curitiba, he participated in the Master Plan for that city that resulted in physical, economic and cultural transformation of the city.

During his term as mayor of Curitiba, Lerner consolidated the urban transformation and implemented a mass transit system that has been acknowledged worldwide for its efficiency, quality and low cost.

Elected Governor of Parana in 1994, and re-elected in 1998, Lerner promoted the greatest economic and social transformation in it history, creating an industrial hub, and receiving $20 billion in investments in six years alone. He tackled transport, land use, education, health, sanitation, recreation and industrialization as a whole. The policies received an award from UNICEF.

Lerner’s architectural team developed plans for several Brazilian cities and achieved awards in Brasilia, Spain, while Lerner himself received several state and national awards from the Institute of Urban Planning. He is a professor at the Architecture and Urban Planning School, and served as guest professor at University of California, Berkeley. He has lectured widely, including Japan and China.

Lerner founded a center to disseminate urban management strategies, and, as president of the International Union of Architects, promoted the Celebration of Cities, which invites all nations and cultures to propose solutions for their cities.