04/06/2021

Councilman Pedro Duarte defends IMPA's sustainable campus.

Reprodução: Facebook oficial

Rio de Janeiro city councilman Pedro Duarte congratulated IMPA (Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics) on the construction of its sustainable campus and for its work to keep science alive. In an article published in the newspaper O Dia , the councilman emphasized that the construction obtained all the necessary licenses. "The constructed area will use only 3.5% of the land, will have environmental compensation 16 times greater than its impact, and will include water security counterpart works, in addition to the natural social return to the educational institution itself," he highlighted.

Duarte cited the English expression "Not In My Back Yard," meaning "Not in my backyard," to refer to the resistance of neighboring residents to the construction. "They can build, as long as it's not in my neighborhood. Around here, it's not enough to comply with the law – it has to be in accordance with what I approve."

Read the full article:

IMPA, NIMBY, and how these acronyms relate.

Congratulations to IMPA for carrying forward such an important project, following the law and working to keep science alive, which has been so neglected in our country.

By Pedro Duarte

NIMBY is an expression that has become increasingly popular in the global debate about cities. It simplifies a phenomenon that many of you have probably already seen: "Not In My Back Yard".

Many people, who would normally be in favor of a new project, become opposed when they find out it will be in their neighborhood. After all, many don't want to live near a busy bar, next to a pharmacy (after all, why didn't they open something "cooler" here?) or near a school, with all those vans and noise. However, we all want bars, pharmacies, and schools for ourselves and our families, don't we? Herein lies a contradiction.

This even happens with the construction of new residential buildings, as they attract new residents to a street that was once quiet – and some, of course, will be against this. However, wasn't the street even quieter before they themselves moved there?

Okay, now let's bring this to the reality of Rio de Janeiro and the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA), one of the most respected institutions in the world in its field and organizer of the Mathematics Olympiads.

The institution received a donation of land next to its headquarters. To provide accommodation for its Master's and Doctoral scholarship students and expand its activities, it took the necessary step: obtaining urban and environmental permits for its construction. It fulfilled all the requirements and, after 6 years (!), obtained approval for both.

The constructed area will use only 3.5% of the land, will have environmental compensation 16 times greater than its impact, and will include water security offset works, in addition to the natural social return to the educational institution itself. It's worth mentioning that the project received a global award for responsible architecture.

Interestingly (or perhaps not so interestingly), there has been some resistance precisely from the residents, especially those on the street itself. Some say the project is "excellent and necessary," but that there are many other better locations for it in the city – as if it were secondary that the headquarters are there and the land was donated too! Others argue that the compensation is insufficient, which makes me wonder what was on those plots of land before the houses of those who now reside there…

Well, to sum it up: they can build, as long as it's not in my neighborhood. Around here, it's not enough to just follow the law – "it has to be in accordance with what I approve."

Congratulations to IMPA for carrying out such an important project, following the law and working to keep science alive, which has been so neglected in our country.

* Lawyer, city councilor, and president of the Science and Technology Committee in the City Council.