The protest never materialised.
Today, Curitiba is one of the most prosperous cities in Latin America; per capita income is 66% higher than the Brasilian average.
The unique culture of enlightened urban policy and citizen engagement first emerged in Curitiba in the 1960s in a strangely ironic brew of circumstances.
To combat flooding which had previously assaulted the city, Curitiba surrounded the urban area with fields of grass, saving itself the cost and environmental expense of dams.