He graduated from the Architecture School of the Federal University of Paraná in 1964. A year later, he co-created the Institute of Urban Planning and Research of Curitiba, also known as IPPUC. He was the mayor of Curitiba three times (1971-1975, 1979-1983, 1989-1992) and mainly thanks to him, the city earned itself the title of a ‘model green city’. During his first term, which he began when he was barely thirty years old, Lerner introduced a system of integrated public transport that is considered to be one of the most innovative in the world due to its efficiency, quality, and cost. The same kind of system was then implemented in Seoul, Los Angeles and eighty other cities around the world. Lerner often says 'If you want to help the environment, use your car less.’ In his following terms, apart from implementing urban planning solutions, Lerner introduced a number of social programmes, due to which Curitiba ranked amongst the best cities in Brazil for quality of life. He also led an urban revolution that made the city renowned for urban planning, public transportation, environmental, social programmes, and urban projects that other cities now use as examples.
Lerner was elected governor of Parana twice (first in 1994, then in 1998), and he introduced a series of socio-economic reforms which contributed to the increase of quality of life, both in urban and rural areas. He is known for being responsible for one of the biggest economic and social transformation in the history of the state. For such projects as From the Street to School (Rua para a Escola), Protecting Life (Protegendo a Vida), he received the Child and Peace Award from UNICEF. He has won numerous prizes, such as the United Nations Environmental Award (1990), World Technology Award for Transportation (2001), Sir Robert Mathew Prize for the Improvement of Quality of Human Settlements (2002). In 2010, Lerner was nominated among the 25 most influential thinkers in the world by Time magazine.
Lerner is known for his bold and quick decisions. When he decided to transform one of the city streets, rua XV de Novembro in Curitiba, into a major pedestrian street, he did so in 72 hours. ‘Changes need to be quick’, he says. When Lerner heard about a possible protest by drivers, who planned to drive through the newly pedestrianized throughfare, he enlisted hundreds of children, armed them with paintbrushes and paper, and set them to play in the street.
During his numerous public appearances, the architect has been an advocate of sustainable cities and points out that you need to pay just as much attention to housing, jobs, and leisure as you do to historic preservation and investments in public transport. ‘He is a master at noticing the obvious’, said Maí Nascimento, the author of a book about the history of Curitiba.
