Ponta Grossa better, bigger and more human by Elizabeth Schmidt

Ponta Grossa is 203 years old and has never stopped growing. On many occasions this growth has been disorderly, even chaotic. For many decades, enlargement was irregular and controlled by needs – or opportunities. It was so in the contour of the rivers, in the occupation of the plains, in the choice of the path, of the construction, of the surroundings. Until recently, this was also true of what the immediate future could offer. Businesses, creations, crops, experiences, all occurred on the basis of the best judgment and the best intention. Reordering a city of this size, with the strength and power it has, is an immense task.

Today the city grows in a controlled way. In volume, in space, in compass. Regular, organize, stimulate, include, watch, care. The verbs used in the management of Ponta Grossa are all governed by a logic that I have as mandatory: we learn from what has happened, but we must prepare ourselves for everything that can be.

In these pages all some carefully chosen people follow the trajectory of Ponta Grossa from its humble origin to its vibrant present, projecting its future.

There is no room for improvisation anymore. There is no longer any room for adventure. Nearly 400,000 inhabitants expect, need and deserve to live in a place that is safe, accessible and welcoming. And that allows them to build their own story.

This was once the land of potential. Today is the land of opportunity. Nearly 30,000 individual microentrepreneurs work in the city. It is home to 59,200 companies of all sizes. In the rural area, nearly 2,900 properties of various sizes produce a lot and export a lot. And a growing industrial park transforms raw materials into manufactured goods that serve Brazil and dozens of countries.

The strength of our economy, however, lies in those who build, plant, manufacture, innovate, create. It's to the person behind the numbers that we do everything. Today the city is rebuilt day after day, driven by a fleet of 272,000 vehicles of various types and sizes. For this movement, it spreads and advances. Streets open, avenues tear, viaducts rise. They are not cars, buses and trucks: they are people who drive and occupy them. It's the people who call us. They are people to whom our work is destined and the riches that the city produces and tries to distribute.

Our wealth is climate, soil, water. But our greatest wealth is the very person who chose to live and build his history here. From many backgrounds and different ethnicities, with many creeds and so many cultures, the people who live in Ponta Grossa are our best heritage, our main asset and our true reason for being. It is theirs, and each one of them, the city we always want bigger, better and more humane.

Prefeita Elizabeth Schmidt's article for the book: "PONTA GROSSA: From the Route of the Trophers to the Tracks of Innovation"