Having the urban life as its main topic, we will be approaching its complementary themes, such as urbanism, public space, mobility, housing and other uses, financing, environment, participation, urban art, heritage and many others.

One of the greatest surprises I have ever experienced when taking a trip was to visit Madrid Río project, in 2012. The fantastic linear park along Manzanares river had just been opened and I hadn´t read much about it or even seen its images by then. Many people didn´t even acknowledge its existence, since the city has developed away from it, very differently from Paris or London, for example.

When the tram VLT Carioca started circulating last June in Rio de Janeiro society began discussing how public space is shared, as expected. The novelty brings along the fear of conflicts and it feels like this kind of transportation has never been used in Brazil. Although the technology might be new, the conviviality between trams, motorized vehicles, pedestrian and cyclists has already been part of daily routine in Rio de Janeiro – and it was substituted by buses for their flexibility of implementation and coverage. The tram system designed for the carioca capital is 28-km long, 18 of which are been operated. It integrates with other modals of public transportation, such as buses, BRT, subway, trains and ferryboats.  

Pedestrian's life is already difficult enough to fight with other forms of transportation!