Today, December 15th, the Day of the Architect and Urban Planner of Brazil is celebrated, which is also the birthday of one of the most renowned architects and urban planners in the world, the Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer. On this date, I pay my respects to all the architects and urban planners in Brazil who contributed with their intelligence and creativity in the realization of great works for the benefit of Brazilian society, especially to the architects and urban planners Claudia Alcoforado (my daughter), Esperança Leria (mother of my granddaughter Sofia), Ernesto Carvalho (my nephew), Karla Andrade, Loris Brantes, Marcos Lopes, Paulo Ormindo de Azevedo, Eduardo Henrique Teixeira, Guivaldo D´Alexandria Baptista, Javier Alfaya and also to my late brother architect and urban planner Luiz Carlos Alcoforado. Architects and urban planners deserve our tributes because they have distinguished themselves from antiquity to the contemporary era, not only in the elaboration of building projects, many of which are true works of art, but also in urban planning whose objective is to improve the quality of life of cities through political, environmental and social actions, among others. Architecture and Urbanism has been responsible, since antiquity, for creating public and private spaces capable of uniting, at the same time, functionality, aesthetics and comfort. Nowadays, Architecture can be defined as the relationship between man and space, or rather, the way it interferes with the environment, creating favorable aesthetic and functional conditions for housing, use and organization of space. The exercise of planning cities comes from much older civilizations. The objective of urban planning is to respond to the problems faced by the gathering of many people in cities, which became more complex after the 1st Industrial Revolution in the 18th century in England. From the beginning of the 20th century to the contemporary era, there has been an accelerated urban growth that has led to serious problems that negatively affect the quality of life of people who live, mainly, in big cities. Architects and urban planners have worked closely with engineers, economists, sociologists and other professionals in planning and implementing solutions to urban problems.

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LONG LIVE THE DAY OF THE ARCHITECT AND URBANIST IN BRAZIL,
ONE OF THE GREAT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROGRESS OF
ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM WORLDWIDE
Fernando Alcoforado*
Today, December 15th, the Day of the Architect and Urban Planner of Brazil is
celebrated, which is also the birthday of one of the most renowned architects and urban
planners in the world, the Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer. On this date, I pay my respects to
all the architects and urban planners in Brazil who contributed with their intelligence and
creativity in the realization of great works for the benefit of Brazilian society, especially
to the architects and urban planners Claudia Alcoforado (my daughter), Esperança Leria
(mother of my granddaughter Sofia), Ernesto Carvalho (my nephew), Karla Andrade,
Loris Brantes, Marcos Lopes, Paulo Ormindo de Azevedo, Eduardo Henrique Teixeira,
Guivaldo D´Alexandria Baptista, Javier Alfaya and also to my late brother architect and
urban planner Luiz Carlos Alcoforado.
On the Day of the Architect and Urban Planner, we could not fail to also pay homage to
great architects of world architecture such as Imhotep, who was probably the first
architect and engineer in the world, who carried out in ancient Egypt the project and
accompanied the execution of the Pyramid of Giza, the architect et urban planner Le
Corbusier, who in partnership with Pierre Jeanneret designed the Villa Savoye, Poissy,
France, one of the great works of architecture in France, the architects Renzo Piano, Su
and Richards Rogers who designed the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris, France and,
in Brazil, it is opportune to highlight the architect Ruy Ohtake who designed the Hotel
Unique in São Paulo, the architect Lina Bo Bardi who designed the Museum of Art of
São Paulo (MASP), the architect Santiago Calatrava who designed the Museum of
Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, the architect and urban planner Oscar Niemeyer who
designed the Museum of Contemporary Art in Niterói, architect Domingos Bongestabs
who designed the Ópera de Arame in Curitiba, architects and urban planners Oscar
Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa who designed the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasilia, Antônio
de Lacerda who designed the Elevador Lacerda in Salvador and the architect Villanova
Artigas who designed the building for the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the
University of São Paulo.
Architects and urban planners deserve our tributes because they have distinguished
themselves from antiquity to the contemporary era, not only in the elaboration of building
projects, many of which are true works of art, but also in urban planning whose objective
is to improve the quality of life of cities through political, environmental and social
actions, among others. Architecture and Urbanism has been responsible, since antiquity,
for creating public and private spaces capable of uniting, at the same time, functionality,
aesthetics and comfort. Nowadays, Architecture can be defined as the relationship
between man and space, or rather, the way it interferes with the environment, creating
favorable aesthetic and functional conditions for housing, use and organization of space.
The exercise of planning cities comes from much older civilizations. The objective of
urban planning is to respond to the problems faced by the gathering of many people in
cities, which became more complex after the 1st Industrial Revolution in the 18th century
in England. From the beginning of the 20th century to the contemporary era, there has
been an accelerated urban growth that has led to serious problems that negatively affect
the quality of life of people who live, mainly, in big cities. Architects and urban planners
have worked closely with engineers, economists, sociologists and other professionals in
planning and implementing solutions to urban problems.

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In an international survey conducted by Planetizin, Los Angeles, architects and urban
planners Jane Jacobs and Jaime Lerner were chosen as the two most influential urban
planners of all time. In early April 2018, the 100 nominated by voters were announced.
In descending order, the podium of the top five also includes the American Frederick Law
Olmsted, the Dane Jan Gehl, and the also American Andrés Duany. The American Jane
Jacobs wrote the book on urban planning “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”,
which was published in Brazil in 2000 under the title “Morte e Vida de Grandes Cidades”.
With her work, the global impetus of urban planning of cities separated by specific zones
of housing, work, commerce, leisure and public services, connected to each other by road
systems of viaducts, tunnels and expressways like Brasília, which was designed for car
scale was reduced. Jane Jacobs showed the need to mix neighborhoods with housing,
work, commerce, leisure and public services. Urban planning, according to her, should
strengthen and give order to this ancestral aggregating vocation of urban centers, both in
functions (uses) and in socioeconomic diversity. The Brazilian Jaime Lerner put into
practice principles proclaimed by Jane Jacobs in three terms as mayor of Curitiba, such
as the mix of functions and socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods, becoming,
worldwide, the mayor who carried out the largest set of actions aimed at qualification
urban development, especially in terms of public transport, pedestrian-only routes,
separation of recyclable waste, creation of forests and parks. In 1990, he won the top
award from the United Nations Environment Program with the home program for the
separation and collection of organic and recyclable waste, with door-to-door collection.
Jaime Lerner also carried out projects in cities in several countries.
The planned cities of the world are those of Singapore in Singapore, Chandigarh in India,
Zurich in Switzerland, Seoul in South Korea, Copenhagen in Denmark, Washington DC
in the United States, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Brasilia in Brazil, Songdo in South
Korea, Auroville in India, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Las Vegas in the United
States, Belo Horizonte in Brazil and Paris in France, which became the most stunning
city in the world thanks to the work of French architects, urban planners and engineers
under the command of Baron Haussmann. All of them had the participation of architects
and urban planners in their planning. The great challenge for contemporary architects and
urban planners is, however, that of building smart and sustainable cities with the support
of engineers and specialists in information technology. After all, what characterizes a
smart and sustainable city? It is the city being rationally managed with the use of
information technology, which ensures the population's right to urban land, housing,
environmental sanitation, urban infrastructure, transport and public services, work and
leisure, for the current and future generations and which ensures the right of the
population to decide on the fate of their city.
The future of cities and their populations depends, therefore, on what is done by architects
and urban planners in the sense of adopting a new management model with the use of
information technology, promoting the improvement of the quality of life for the entire
population, promoting the sustainable development of the city and promoting the
democratization of government decisions with the participation of the entire population.
Every smart city requires the use of information technology with the use of various
devices connected to the IoT (Internet of Things) network to rationally manage city
operations and services and connect with its citizens. The Internet of Things refers to a
technological revolution that aims to connect everyday used items to the World Wide
Web and its use in city management is one of the main global trends because it is
applicable in solutions ranging from the monitoring public lighting, pedestrians, cyclists,
motor vehicles, public transport, education and health services, among others. In addition,

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IoT will lead to a reduction in the waste of public resources in cities. Driven by the rise
of 5G Internet, IoT devices can bring benefits to people, businesses and the public sector.
Long live the architects and urban planners of Brazil, who are largely responsible for the
progress of world architecture and urbanism.
* Fernando Alcoforado, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member
of the Bahia Academy of Education, of the SBPC- Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science and of
IPB- Polytechnic Institute of Bahia, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development
from the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning,
business planning, regional planning, urban planning and energy systems, was Advisor to the Vice
President of Engineering and Technology at LIGHT S.A. Electric power distribution company from Rio de
Janeiro, Strategic Planning Coordinator of CEPED- Bahia Research and Development Center,
Undersecretary of Energy of the State of Bahia, Secretary of Planning of Salvador, is the author of the
books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem
Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os
condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de
Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora
Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos
na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social
Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG,
Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica,
Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate
ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores
Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no
Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba,
2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua
convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018), Como inventar o futuro para mudar o
mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019), A humanidade ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência
(Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021), A escalada da ciência e da tecnologia e sua contribuição ao progresso
e à sobrevivência da humanidade (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2022) and a chapter in the book Flood Handbook
(CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, United States, 2022).