Julian Juergensmeyer, Ben F. Johnson Jr. Chair in Law, and director of of the Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth, and Karen Johnston (J.D. ’08), assistant director, led students on a trip to Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, Brazil to study land use planning, sustainable and equitable development, growth management and environmental law and policy as part of the International Perspectives on Urban Law and Policy course.
“Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful city, but it suffers from great social and economic inequality. The site visits into the favelas showed me a level of poverty I have never seen, but community leaders, the city and nonprofit groups are making great strides in improving their lives,” Johnston said. “Curitiba was vastly different. A pioneer in public transit, Curitiba is a well-designed, sustainable city featuring a model bus system.”
In addition to site visits, the group met leading academic, public and private sector professionals. Tara Mitchell (M.S. ’16) said the trip was an amazing opportunity.
“What I was able to take away from the experience was an understanding of Brazil’s complex goal of providing opportunity and housing to all of its citizens while equally working to preserve the biosphere of the country,” she said. “I would definitely recommend students participate and experience the world outside the classroom!”