Rio’s Casa Firjan to Show Documentary Film ‘The Human Scale’

By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Tuesday, October 23rd, Casa Firjan in Botafogo will be hosting a debate on the future of urban development in Rio de Janeiro, featuring a screening (in English) of the Danish documentary film, ‘The Human Scale,’ by director Andreas Dalsgaard.

This evening is curated by Ilda Santiago, director of the Rio Festival and founding partner of Grupo Estação. It will begin by asking a question about the future of the city: With an estimated eighty percent of the world’s population living in urban centers by the year 2050, what can be done to ensure that cities such as Rio de Janeiro follow the example of pedestrian-friendly cities like Copenhagen, Melbourne and San Francisco?

The featured documentary film, ‘The Human Scale,’ attempts to answer this question by following Jan Gehl, Danish architect and urban design consultant, who argues that many modern cities don’t adequately facilitate human interaction.

However, he believes that cities can and should be built in a way that puts humans first. His career has centered around developing and implementing models of urban centers that emphasize the pedestrian and the cyclist over the car.

‘The Human Scale’ features academics, urban planners, architects and commentators from around the world who are intent on also putting people at the center of their plans for future cities.

This evening is part of a series of lectures that are taking place on Tuesdays at Casa Firjan with the aim to present innovative solutions to the problems of the future that are impacting companies today.

The featured speakers will be Henrique Silveira, executive coordenator of Casa Fluminese, an association dedicated to proposing and enacting public policies in Rio de Janeiro; and Claudia Grangeiro, who works in urban planning and intervention at Rio’s city hall, and who actively collaborated in the preparation of the city for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The debate will be moderated by Víctor Andrade, professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and a specialist in transport, urban design and landscape architecture.

What: ‘A cidade para as pessoas: exibição de The Human Scale + debate’
When: Tuesday, October 23rd, 7PM
Where: Casa Firjan, Rua Guilhermina Guinle, 211, Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro
Entrance: R$25-R$50; available here