Economic Changes

Curitiba's Master Plan brought on economic changes, with the creation of the Cidade Industrial de Curitiba (Industrial City of Curitiba) first called CIC, now known as Curitiba S.A., an incorporated company, which had already been defined in the preliminary plan. It began in 1973, in a sparsely populated and humid area, measuring 43.7 million square meters, in the western part of the city.

The location of the industrial park was based on many different criteria, including the tendency that Curitiba had of growing towards the west; the characteristics of the terrain, which could suitably support industries; a favorable topography; the direction of the winds; space for the construction of 5 roads of access, the connecting roads, all in conditions to be integrated in the ternary network. The CIC was planned and all works were carried out to make it a complete city within a larger city, and not an isolated industrial district.

The funds, which were available due to a favorable international scenario, the tax incentives, quality of life, the infrastructure of support and successful direct marketing campaigns attracted industries to the CIC and made the undertaking possible, giving rise to the Cidade Industrial de Curitiba district.

Currently, Curitiba S.A. is responsible for 50,000 direct jobs, 150,000 indirect jobs and for 25% of the industrial ICMS (State Value-Added Tax on Sales and Services) tax revenues of the State of Paraná.

Curitiba's Master Plan provided the city with a direction, which arose from the historical decision of the future desired. In addition to its physical and economic aspects it involved a third aspect, i.e., that of culture. The cultural transformation that was spurred on began with making the Rua XV de Novembro a pedestrian street, a moment when the city's citizens began to discuss the city and the plan, and began to feel they belonged in the collective space of the city's life.