Oh do get over it, Hobert ! So they can't make pavements / sidewalks. So they force you to walk up and down insanely steep streets, pushing a baby buggy, and then they think it's perfectly ok to abandon the pavement altogether and dump some kind of excuse for steps ? Steps which are sometimes so gigantic they can't even be classified as steps, but more like a form of rock climbing ? And you still haven't got used to it, Hobert ? ... Well, no, I'm afraid I haven't and I never will. Apparently this country produces a ton(ne) of engineers. Apparently it has a booming IT industry. But here in one of the poshest parts of town, as everywhere else, they somehow can't find it in themselves to produce the most basic and essential infrastructure for any civilized society. I know that as mere pedestrians we must ipso facto be losers, pathetically reliant on public investment. But still it would be nice to know that someone else in this town gave a damn.
Sounds just like Bangkok. There are some huge steps here as well, but probably to keep the floods at bay. I think of it as an outdoor fitness course. LOL.
ReplyDeleteHi Manfred. Didn't know Bangkok was so hilly. The hill we live on has a stretch which is just horrendously steep. I grew up in the UK living on a steep hill and have always seen them as a fitness challenge but thie ones here have defeated me - with a pram to push it's game over !
ReplyDeleteIt is truly interesting to see these comments because its one thing if there are no engineers, resources, or any form of skill...when these exist and we remain living in such an environment -they are impressive asinine idiots. Failure to plan, failure to strategize -they believe in the concept of -everything will work out at the end.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, and thanks for your input. But who is this "they" and why does everyone in Brazil always blame "them" ? I assume we're talking about the government - in theory democratically elected but I suppose in reality still bearing all the hallmarks of a dysfunctional police state. I hope that one day Brazilians will start saying "we", for better or for worse, because they will feel that their government represents more than its own very narrow self-interest.
ReplyDeleteSadly, that day seems far off.
Rob, some of us Brazilians do take responsibility and work very hard to change things and help other people change their mindsets. Especially young people. Even though some situations don't - and will not - change overnight, not everyone in Brazil is sitting on their sofas with their arms crossed.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, well that's good to hear. If things are going on "behind the scenes" i look forward to their emergence centre stage. But I am of the belief that words always precede actions, by which I mean more open and honest debate is necessary. If anything written on this blog by my gringo self serves to get people arguing and discussing the merits or demerits of what I say then I've served my purpose. I contend that Brazil is a country crying out for confrontation, debate, rigorous self-criticism and, most importantly, anger. Anger with the status quo, which much of the time is just rubbish. If you'd care to expand on what kind of things you are working on then I'd love to hear, in fact, maybe even give your comments a blog post of their own. But for that a name and Brid description of who you are would be helpful. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteBrief, not Brid ! Damn autocorrect again.
ReplyDeleteAh it's you, Angelica. I thought it might be. Well, maybe start by posting all your comments on here rather than Facebook so they can potentially reach a wider audience (yes I know, 20 people instead of 10 !) On a more general note, you and I have almost comically opposing "agendas". For you Brazil is going up-up-up in the world and of course you have a vested business interest in that being so. For me, Bazil is not somewhere I particularly cared about before arriving here and since I came for purely personal rather than business reasons I like to think I am calling it as I see it, although I did acknowledge on another recent post that I might be just as blinkered as the next person. Despite our different sides of the fence, I very much appreciate your engagement in the debate, your energetic attemps to prove your points and to "be the change you seek" or whatever the truism is. You and Mark certainly seem to be doing a lot to "upgrade" Sao Paulo / Brazil and I'm sure you will make a difference. I'm just not sure how many others are out there, especially ones who never lived outside Brazil, also trying to get this country running properly ? Anyway, thanks for your input as always.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, here is Angelica and my Facebook exchange on the subject:
ReplyDeleteAngelica: After a quick investigation I got this: according the Office for the Coordination of "sub-councils" (sub-prefeituras) of São Paulo 1.14 million square meters of sidewalks have been repaired between 2005 and today. The initial budget of R$26m for deployment of accessibility on sidewalks for 2011 was augmented by $130,000. Investments in resurfacing of streets and avenues should be the order of R$150m this year. I do suspect that they are prioritising poorer areas but will check on this as well. I have also written to a congresswoman who has been relentlessly working on this, Mara Gabrilli, to get an update on what is happening on the Programme for Revitalisationof Sidewalks which she introduced. I will let you know what the government says as soon as I hear back.
Robert: Excellent research Angelica ! As always, figures alone sound encouraging. Certainly a lot better than no investment but I'll believe change when I see it. Maybe I need to be taken to a poorer area to experience the difference ?
Robert: I suppose it also depends on how one interprets the word "repair" ! For me the bigger issue is in how these sidewalks were not even "designed" in the first place, eg the massive steps or trees / electricity pole planted slap-bang in the middle, forcing you onto the road, etc etc. I would love to hear from someone in power how they account for this and why the situation has been allowed to persist for so long ?
Angelica: Sure...I agree on your point of poor road engineering. Will let you know what Mara Gabrilli (she is tetraplegic, was a local councillor for your neighbourhood and is now in the state congress in Brasilia) has to say. And on your point of being taken to a poorer area, I can take you to Diadema to show you the work they are doing on the sidewalks. We could even arrange to have a coffee with a local MP equivalent. Just let me know when.
Robert: Ok thx. That sounds interesting ...
Cheers Rob, thanks for posting the Facebook dialog here. Will comment on here from now on, it's just that I had problems previously (the comments would not be accepted even though I'd post them under my Google ID... hopefully it'll be ok)
ReplyDeleteYou and everyone else, apparently ! It's been an ongoing problem despite all my efforts to ensure that comments are unmoderated and open to all. Very disappointing, Google.
ReplyDelete