Jaime Lerner

“Sometimes the media gives us the impression that we are terminal patients, because of problems of global warmth or the ozone layer. And the people, they don't understand that they can could change this situation for the better if they could act locally in a city.”

“If you want creativity, take a zero off your budget. If you want sustainability, take off two zeros.”

“Bureaucracy is like a fungus that contaminates everything.”

“A car is like a mother-in-law - if you let it, it will rule your life.”

“Garbage removal is a citizen responsibility.”

“Curitiba is not a paradise. We have all the problems that most Latin American cities have. We have slums. We have the same difficulties, but the big difference is the respect given by people due to the quality of the services which are provided.”

“A city is like a family portrait - you don't tear it up if you don't like your uncle's nose.”

“We have to change from 'ego-architecture' to 'eco-architecture.'”

“A city grows like an organism. It is a structure of living and working together a mix of functions.”

“After working in cities for nearly 40 years, I am telling you that every city can improve its quality of life in less than three years, no matter the scale or the financial conditions.”

“I always run into these Ph.D.s. They write and write and write about sustainable development. Then these guys ask me, 'But, how do you do it?' They are scared to death to do anything.”

“The design of a city is like a strange archeology.”

“Cities are not problems. They are solutions.”

“Every city has to deal with the problem of cars and public transport.”

“Brazil will change when its cities change.”

“There is little in the architecture of a city that is more beautifully designed than a tree.”

“If you provide good alternatives for public transport, you won't have traffic problems.”

“I always try to say, 'If you want to help the environment, try to do just two things. One, use less of your car. Second, separate your garbage.'”

“We can't have landfills forever, and we can't ask others to accept our trash.”

“Many cities end up putting off things because they want to understand everything. They don't understand that innovating is about starting. Taking care of a city is a process that you start, and then give the population space to respond.”